As a diehard fan of two teams that are both 3-10, I am not having a good year. Needless to say, I am turning my attention to the 2025 draft. Let's examine the teams currently holding the top 5 picks:
Right now the Las Vegas Raiders are in possession of the #1 overall pick with their 2-11 record. They're the only team in the AFC with a worse record than the Patriots and Jaguars. They are also in desperate need of a quarterback. It's far too early to predict how teams will rank this year's QB prospects and I haven't had the time to scout all of the QB prospects yet, but it's generally pretty safe to assume the first quarterbacks off the board will be Shedeur Sanders from the University of Colorado, or Cam Ward from the University of Miami. If the Raiders are still holding pick #1 in April, I believe they will take one of those guys. The New York Giants are currently in position to pick second, and they are in a slightly less desperate situation at quarterback. If they stay at #2, they will likely take whichever of those two quarterbacks the Raiders don't take.
That brings us to the Patriots. If they do end up picking third overall, that puts them in a very good position. Their QB needs have seemingly already been fulfilled by rookie Drake Maye, who provided a much-needed spark to the offense the moment he took over as the starter and might have turned New England into an actual destination for free agent receivers this offseason. Other teams are going to have to take a close look at the remaining QB prospects available and try to decide if any of them are worth a first round pick, but the Patriots would be able to simply draft the best non-QB available. With so many other holes in the roster on offense, this should be an easy pick to get right.
Right between the Patriots' #3 pick and the Jaguars #5 pick, the Carolina Panthers are currently set up to pick at #4. I have been very openly critical of the Panthers decision to trade up in the 2023 Draft and take Bryce Young first overall, to then plummet straight to the bottom of the league in his rookie year. I would still be very critical of that decision of their trade partner, the Bears, had seen better results from Caleb Williams this year and if Bryce Young didn't show some signs of improvement over the last month. I thought Bryce Young was completely broken by the Panthers' lack of success, but he has played well in their last few games and I think the Panthers have to give him at least one more season if he doesn't crash and burn over these final few games. The Panthers, presumably, would then take whatever the best non-QB is still available after the Patriots.
Jacksonville would likely continue this trend for one more pick. Trevor Lawrence had a down year this season and he is ending it on injured reserve with both a concussion and an injury to his left shoulder AC joint. I would like to think the Jaguars are smart enough to realize their QB is not their problem, but I'm also shocked that Doug Pederson and everyone else on that staff have not been fired yet. If they don't make it through the season with their jobs intact, we could have someone new making this pick. I do not like or agree with anyone saying they need to take a QB here. They should use this pick to draft an offensive lineman, given that they are two years removed from the Jaguars making an actual playoff run and both of the two years since then have ended with an injured quarterback.
