2024 NFL Draft order: Patriots stay on course for a top-3 pick

The New England Patriots continue to be well on their way to owning a top-3 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. After losing their ninth game of the season on Sunday — a lackluster 10-7 effort against the New York Giants — the two-win team continues to hold the third overall pick heading into Week 13.

And not just that: the Patriots, who are tied for the longest losing streak in the NFL at four straight defeats, also increased their wiggle room a bit. Not only did they lose to a now-4-8 Giants team, they also saw the Chicago Bears improve to 4-8 on Monday.

NFL Draft order: Week 13

Pick Team Record Win % ick Team Record Win % hicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers) 1-10 0.091 0.513 2 Arizona Cardinals 2-10 0.167 0.560 3 New England Patriots 2-9 0.182 0.536 4 Chicago Bears 4-8 0.333 0.464 5 Washington Commanders 4-8 0.333 0.521 6 New York Giants 4-8 0.333 0.521 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-7 0.364 0.489 8 New York Jets 4-7 0.364 0.516 9 Los Angeles Chargers 4-7 0.364 0.528 10 Tennessee Titans 4-7 0.364 0.537 11 Las Vegas Raiders 5-7 0.417 0.503 12 New Orleans Saints 5-6 0.455 0.411 13 Green Bay Packers 5-6 0.455 0.466 14 Los Angeles Rams 5-6 0.455 0.531 15 Cincinnati Bengals 5-6 0.455 0.578 16 Buffalo Bills 6-6 0.500 0.495 17 Arizona Cardinals (via Houston Texans) 6-5 0.545 0.481 18 Denver Broncos 6-5 0.545 0.487 The Patriots are very much also in striking distance of the first two spots on the draft board as well. Both the Carolina Panthers (who traded their first-round pick to the Chicago Bears last year) and the Arizona Cardinals are currently above them, but it does not take much for New England to overtake them over the final six weeks of the regular season.

One big unknown in all of this is the fact that Carolina just parted ways with its head coach, Frank Reich, just 10 months after hiring him. In-season coaching changes oftentimes change a team’s dynamic, as evidenced by Las Vegas winning back-to-back games after firing Josh McDaniels in late October.

The Panthers suddenly going on a winning streak should not be expected — they are still the worst team in football top-to-bottom — but any slip-up might allow Arizona and New England to take advantage and move up. And with the Cardinals currently having a superior strength of schedule, there is a realistic path for the Patriots to maybe move even further up from No. 3.

They will play host to the 4-7 Los Angeles Chargers , current owners of the ninth overall pick, this coming Sunday.