New England Patriots end up with third pick in 2024 NFL Draft
FOXBORO -- A disastrous 2023 Patriots season came to an end Sunday with a loss to the Jets, dropping New England to an embarrassing 4-13.
While the record is embarrassing, and losing to the Jets is embarrassing, both of those things brought a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel by Sunday evening. Securing the team's worst record in three decades also secured a pretty big silver lining for the Patriots, as New England will draft third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Picking third will guarantee the Patriots a shot at one of the best quarterbacks available in the draft, a trio that is made up of USC's Caleb Williams (who is projected to go first overall), UNC's Drake Maye, and LSU's Jayden Daniels. Game-changing Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. may also be around when it's New England's turn to pick this April.
This will be the highest that the Patriots have drafted since taking Drew Bledsoe first overall in 1993. The Patriots also had a top-10 pick in 2001, when Bill Belichick drafted Richard Seymour sixth overall with his first first-round pick as the man in charge of the Patriots.
Now we'll wait and see if Belichick is the one making this selection, or if Robert Kraft makes a franchise-altering decision to move on from the architect of six Super Bowl titles in new England.
The Patriots did have a chance to move up to the No. 2 pick on Sunday after losing to the Jets, but that went out the window when the Washington Commanders were trounced by the Dallas Cowboys, 38-10. A Commanders win would have moved New England up a spot on the draft board, but that did not break in the Patriots' favor.
While both New England and Washington finished at 4-13, and the Commanders had a win over the Patriots during the season, Washington had the weaker Strength of Schedule (.513 to .523), which is the first tiebreaker when it comes to draft picks.
The Chicago Bears currently own the first selection, as part of the return from a blockbuster trade with the Panthers (who finished the 2023 season at an NFL-worst 2-15) that sent last year's first overall pick to Carolina.
The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft will take place on April 25 in Detroit.