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Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order After Sunday’s Week 5 Results
JOE TANSEY
OCTOBER 07, 2024

The New England Patriots now reside in a position that many experts thought they would sit in going into the 2024 NFL season.

New England is the new team on top of the projected 2025 NFL draft order following Sunday’s Week 5 games.

The Patriots are one of six 1-4 teams who have established themselves as the top contenders for the No. 1 overall pick.

The Carolina Panthers were expected to be part of that group, but some of the other 1-4 squads are surprises, including the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams.

However, none of those teams may be as bad as the Cleveland Browns, who you could argue are the worst franchise in the NFL right now with the way Deshaun Watson is playing.

New England ended Sunday on top of the projected draft order.

The Patriots might be there for at least a few weeks given their upcoming schedule.

New England welcomes the Houston Texans to Gillette Stadium in Week 6, a game in which the Texans should be heavily favored in.

Jerod Mayo’s team will be at a disadvantage for Week 7’s trip to London because the Jacksonville Jaguars will be there for their second week in a row.

The New York Jets come to Foxborough in Week 8 for a game the Jets absolutely need to stay afloat in the AFC playoff conversation.

There isn’t much reprieve after that since the Pats play three of four on the road in November.

The two biggest questions surrounding the Patriots’ season are how bad will things actually get and when does Drake Maye take over for Jacoby Brissett so that the team can evaluate where it stands going into 2025?

The Browns may be the true favorite to land the No. 1 overall pick.

Deshaun Watson has played the worst of any NFL quarterback in five weeks and the Browns have little hope for things to get better.

Sunday’s 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders could be a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.

Cleveland visits the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6 in what will probably be another lopsided result.

The Browns at least have three straight home games before their Week 10, but those contests are against the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers.

Cincinnati’s had a tough start to the campaign, but most of its woes are on defense. Joe Burrow has looked far better than Watson.

New England is the only other 1-4 that could make a case to have a worse offense at this point in the season, but even its been able to move the ball for stretches of games.

Cleveland’s offense just looks lifeless and that could be the primary reason it lands a very high draft pick in April.