Halfway through the regular season, the race for the top spot in the 2025 NFL Draft remains wide open. It is a race that is again being led by the New England Patriots.
Following their 20-17 overtime defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the Patriots climbed from the third to top spot. Sharing a 2-7 record with six other teams now, they are separated from the pack because of their strength of schedule: at .466, the Patriots’ ranks lowest among the 2-7 teams and fifth-lowest in the entire NFL.
At for this week, that means the team of rookie head coach Jerod Mayo is on track to select first overall next April.
NFL Draft order: Week 10
| Pick | Team | Record | Win % | SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick | Team | Record | Win % | SOS |
| 1 | New England Patriots | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.466 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.486 |
| 3 | New Orleans Saints | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.500 |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.507 |
| 5 | Cleveland Browns | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.521 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.521 |
| 7 | New York Giants | 2-7 | 0.222 | 0.531 |
| 8 | Miami Dolphins | 2-6 | 0.250 | 0.433 |
| 9 | Tennessee Titans | 2-6 | 0.250 | 0.520 |
| 10 | New York Jets | 3-6 | 0.333 | 0.479 |
| 11 | Dallas Cowboys | 3-5 | 0.375 | 0.534 |
| 12 | Indianapolis Colts | 4-5 | 0.444 | 0.479 |
| 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4-5 | 0.444 | 0.493 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-5 | 0.444 | 0.510 |
| 15 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-5 | 0.444 | 0.524 |
| 16 | Los Angeles Rams | 4-4 | 0.500 | 0.500 |
| 17 | San Francisco 49ers | 4-4 | 0.500 | 0.538 |
| 18 | Chicago Bears | 4-4 | 0.500 | 0.548 |
Even though half the season is in the books, nothing is even remotely close to being set in stone. With nine two-win teams in total, every single one of them has the potential to move up and down the board based on its upcoming results.
For the Patriots, for example, a win this week against the Chicago Bears might very well move them out of the top three again and possibly even further down the table. Likewise, losses accumulating will keep them in a competitive position for the No. 1 pick in the draft — which is especially relevant given that New England has only two games left against teams that currently own losing records (at Miami, vs. Indianapolis).
Regardless of what will happen, though, the Patriots find themselves in what has become a familiar position for them over the last two years: closer to the top of the draft than the bottom. It seems unlikely that that will change anytime soon.
