Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports A look at how the Patriots’ 26-23 win over the Broncos impacts their draft position. As soon as rookie kicker Chad Ryland split the uprights from 56 yards out to secure a New England Patriots upset over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve, the team’s draft outlook took a tumble. Originally having entered Week 16 in second position behind only the Chicago Bears (who own the Carolina Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick), they dropped two spots in the standings. Now at 4-11, the Patriots find themselves behind the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals and 4-11 Washington Commanders; the latter own the third overall pick at the moment due to their worse strength of schedule. In addition, the win over Denver also allowed some other clubs to gain ground on New England. The Patriots, after all, were the only team in the current top-7 to earn a victory this weekend. Compare to Sunday night, immediately after the Patriots’ win over the Broncos, little changed atop the draft order. However, the Monday night games did slightly impact the strength of schedule standings: the Cardinals and Commanders entered Christmas at .564 and .520, respectively, but now stand at .560 and .518. Given how close the race for the top positions currently is, those minor differences can end up making a big one come draft day. That is especially true considering that two or more teams finishing with identical records behind the likely No. 1 pick Bears seems like a strong possibility. A look at the upcoming schedules for the teams up top — including those currently at 5-10 — illustrates this: The NFL repeatedly shows that anything is possible. However, as a look at those schedules and the current standings above shows, the Patriots need some help to return to the top-3. They also have lost their wiggle room when it comes to even staying in the top-4. Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2023/12/26/2 ... -cardinals
