Sunday's Week 9 road game against the Tennessee Titans will officially go down as a loss for the New England Patriots. But it could end up being a huge win in the long run.
The Patriots forced overtime when rookie quarterback Drake Maye made a tremendous play to evade pass rushers and find running back Rhamondre Stevenson for a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the score 17-17 as time expired. New England ultimately lost 20-17 in OT, but Maye's effort was a step forward in his development.
But more importantly for the Patriots, this loss drops their record to 2-7, and as a result they have moved into the No. 1 pick spot in the updated order for the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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The Carolina Panthers' surprising win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon was a huge help to the Patriots from a draft pick positioning perspective. The Panthers came into Week 9 with the league's worst record at 1-7.
New England is one of seven teams tied at the bottom of the standings with a 2-7 record, but the AFC East franchise owns the tiebreaker with the worst strength of schedule. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants join the Patriots, Saints and Panthers at 2-7, while the Miami Dolphins and Titans are 2-6.
Here's an updated look at the order for the top 10 picks in the 2025 draft. It will be updated through the remainder of Week 9 as more games conclude.