Mac Jones Helps Patriots Move Up to Third in NFL Draft Order

The New England Patriots (3-10) had a bye in Week 14 but still managed to win. Their record didn’t change, but their position in the 2025 NFL Draft order did. The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans, moving New England to third in the draft order.

Former Patriots quarterback Mac Jones helped lead the Jaguars to the win, which benefitted his old team. Jones’ numbers did not look great in Jacksonville’s 10-6 victory. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 220 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. But on the Jaguars’ game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, resulting in the game’s only touchdown, Jones went 3-for-3 passing for 57 yards.

New England is now one of six teams with a 3-10 record after Week 14. They are joined by the Browns, Jaguars, Jets, Panthers, and Titans. However, the Patriots would currently select first among these teams due to having the easiest strength of schedule. That leaves the Giants and Raiders (both 2-10) as the lone teams ahead of the Patriots in the 2025 NFL Draft order. Since those teams need quarterbacks, New England could end up with their choice of every non-QB in the draft.

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The four remaining games for the New England Patriots will find them underdogs in all of them. They play road games against Arizona (Dec. 15) and Buffalo (Dec. 22) before finishing off the season by hosting the Chargers (Dec. 29) and Bills (Jan. 5).

New England Patriots Draft History

The Patriots selected quarterback Drake Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. If they draft in the top three again in 2025, it would be a franchise first. New England held top three picks in 1990 and 1991 but traded down in both years.

New England owned the No. 3 overall pick in 1990. The Seattle Seahawks moved up in a deal that included six draft picks. Seattle used their picks to draft Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy (No. 3) and linebacker Terry Wooten (No. 29). New England took linebacker Chris Singleton (No. 8) and defensive lineman Ray Agnew (No. 10). The Patriots also received two later picks, which were subsequently traded in other deals.

A year later, the Patriots earned the first overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft. On draft day, Raghib “Rocket” Ismael, the player New England was expected to take, signed a contract to play for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. The Patriots opted to trade back again, this time to the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas took Russell Maryland with the No. 1 pick, and the defensive tackle won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys.

New England received an underwhelming return for trading away the first pick of the draft. They got Dallas’ first and second-round picks, along with veterans David Howard, Eugene Lockhart, and Ron Francis. The picks were used to take Pat Harlow (No. 11 overall) and Jerome Henderson (No. 41).

Could the New England Patriots make franchise history in 2025 with a top-three selection in consecutive years? A lot can still happen before April, but thanks to old friend Mac Jones and company, New England might get to decide that answer for themselves now.