As the season comes to a close, the handful of teams with no playoff hopes have no choice but to look forward to next year. A select few of these organizations have such bad records that they could end up with the number one pick in the 2025 draft. The last week of the regular season is around the corner, and the results of these games will make the draft order clear. What does each team need in order to lock in the first pick?
Patriots Draft Scenario
Following the Giants’ shocking victory over the Colts, the Patriots now hold the number one pick in the upcoming draft. There are two scenarios in which New England can completely secure its spot. Primarily, a loss next week against a top-tier Bills team in Foxborough would solidify the first pick. If they somehow manage to beat Buffalo, the Pats would need the other teams with a 3-13 record to pull out wins in their final games: Titans over Texans, Browns over Ravens, and Giants over Eagles.
Titans Scenario
The Titans only have one possible scenario that would clinch the draft’s first selection. Tennessee would have to lose their matchup against Houston at home for this scenario to become attainable. They then need the Patriots to pull off a major upset versus Josh Allen and the Bills. This series of events could potentially happen since the Bills have already clinched their division and essentially don’t have anything else to play for. Also, the Texans might go out and try to win this game even though they’ve clinched their division as well. Doing this would give them their tenth win; this would mark back-to-back ten-win seasons for the first time since 2019.
Browns Scenario
The Browns would need a lot to go their way in order to take the top draft pick. One of the factors that would affect this outcome is seemingly inevitable: they would have to take a loss at the hands of Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Other than that, Cleveland would need both the Patriots and the Titans to cap their seasons off with victories.
Giants Scenario
New York stunned the football world on Sunday by defeating the Colts, eliminating them from playoff contention. Before this win, they were set to have the number one pick in the upcoming draft; now the team that will get the top selection is up in the air. The Giants need all the dominoes to fall in their favor in Week 18 in order to claim the top pick, starting with a loss against the Eagles in Philly. At that point, they need each of the other three teams in the running to win their final games. Fans of these organizations will be glued to their televisions next weekend.
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