What Should New England Do if They Stay Number One?

The 2025 NFL Draft is over four months away. That leaves plenty of time for players to move up and down draft boards. Prospects will finish college campaigns, perform in a post-season bowl, work out at the NFL Scouting Combine and their Pro Days, take Top 30 visits, and interview with NFL teams.

There is also plenty of time for NFL teams to move up and down the draft board regarding positioning. Had the New England Patriots beaten the Tennessee Titans in Week 9, they’d currently own the No. 9 pick in the 2025 draft. However, the Patriots lost 20-17 in overtime. The loss moved New England into pole position for the first overall pick in April’s draft.

New England has not drafted first overall since selecting Drew Bledsoe in that spot back in 1993. The closest they’ve come since was taking Drake Maye third overall in 2024. Taking the best quarterback prospect on the board can be an easy option for a team in desperate need of a quarterback, as the Patriots were in both instances. But with Maye still a rookie, what direction would New England take at No. 1 in 2025? There are several options.

Also Read – Dan Kelley’s New England Patriots 2024 NFL Draft Report Card

Draft the Best Offensive Lineman

The New England Patriots roster has several big needs to fill. Perhaps the primary one among these is getting better protection for Drake Maye. LSU’s Will Campbell and Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. will likely be the top two tackles off the board, in some order. LSU’s Emery Jones Jr. and Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery are Round 1 offensive tackles as well. However, none of these players appears worthy of the first overall selection.

Nobody in this year’s class is the caliber of prospect as the 2024 NFL Draft’s top lineman, Joe Alt. The Chargers took Alt with the fifth overall pick. He’d potentially be number one in this class, especially if the Patriots kept the pick. It’s hard to envision Campbell or Banks being the first player off the board though.

Draft the Best Wide Receiver

Another void for the New England Patriots, in the minds of many, is a true number-one wide receiver. Nobody should have expected that from the Patriots’ second-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Ja’Lynn Polk. He was his team’s second option in college. Whether people believe a star receiver is imperative or not, New England needs to improve the overall unit. They can do this in free agency by signing a player like Tee Higgins of Cincinnati. They can also do so in the draft.

Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is the top wide receiver on the PFN rankings (in November) and would be an immediate improvement to the Patriots’ wide receiver core. He is a safer bet to be a productive NFL player than any of the available offensive linemen. Luther Burden III from Missouri should also go off the board quickly. He is a much different receiving option than McMillan. Burden possesses incredible speed and playmaking ability. Both should be quality NFL options, but it is like comparing Mike Evans to Tyreek Hill; same position, different game.

Draft the Best Defensive Player

The offense isn’t the only area of need for New England. Defensive help is needed and is far more readily available at the top of the 2025 draft than in 2024. Several players could step in immediately and be impact players for the Patriots’ defense. If they want a defensive lineman, Mason Graham (Michigan) might be the best overall prospect in the draft. If Christian Barmore returns, they will form a dynamic duo up front for New England. If the New England Patriots went cornerback, Graham’s Michigan teammate Will Johnson would pair nicely with Christian Gonzalez.

Several quality edge defenders will be available in the 2025 NFL Draft. The list includes Abdul Carter (Penn State), James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee), Jaylon Walker (Georgia), and Mykel Williams (Georgia). New England’s Keion White appears to be a “core player” moving forward for New England. Getting him some help on the opposite side would bolster the entire defense. While arguments can be made for several of these players being worthy of the number one pick, some of those same players will fall out of the top five and perhaps the top ten altogether.

Draft a Unicorn

Colorado’s Travis Hunter is a general talent. He plays both ways for the Buffaloes, though his NFL position is TBD. If he played exclusively as a wide receiver, he’d be in the top three at that position, though behind McMillan. If he played exclusively as a cornerback, he’d be alongside Johnson as the top prospect there. If he opts to play only one-way in the NFL, Hunter is still a top-ten pick and in the conversation to go first overall. But what if he played both ways in the NFL?

Heisman contender Colorado WR/DB Travis Hunter mid-season highlights. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/G5KBGVXUj7

— College Football Alerts  (@CFBAlerts_) October 14, 2024

The last true two-way player in the NFL was Philadelphia Eagles legend Chuck Bednarik, who retired in 1962. That was four seasons before the first Super Bowl. That does not mean Travis Hunter couldn’t do it in 2025. As a wide receiver this season, Hunter caught 60 passes for 757 yards and eight touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gives Hunter an 86.5 defensive grade this season, including an 88.7 in coverage. Hunter has handled a two-way workload in college. An NFL team should allow such a special player to continue doing so. It’s not the norm, but neither is Travis Hunter.

Trade the Pick

If none of those players appeal to Eliot Wolf and the New England Patriots, they can trade the pick. That is still an option, even if they love all ten players mentioned above. New England needs more than one player to make them into a quality team. Some of that should come through players like Christian Barmore returning. Another part comes from current players on the roster developing and improving. The Patriots have money to spend in free agency and should spend it. But one way to build up the overall roster is to exchange one pick for multiple pieces.

Teams needing a quarterback are willing to move up and get their target. Two quarterbacks likely to get taken early are Cam Ward (Miami) and Shadeur Sanders (Colorado). If New England remains at the top of the draft order, Patriots fans should root for these QBs to dominate the rest of the college football season. The more attractive they are to teams, the more New England can obtain in a trade.

At this point, it is hard to envision a scenario in which the New England Patriots had the first overall pick and would not benefit by trading down. No team currently has multiple first-round picks, but if the Raiders (for example) can get one elsewhere, they could give the Patriots two quality picks, plus something more, so Las Vegas can move up and get their quarterback.

Plenty will change between Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season and the 2025 NFL Draft. However, one thing unlikely to change is the New England Patriots trading out of the first overall pick if that’s where they wind up in the draft order.