The patriots They were inactive on Sunday but got a little closer to the top the NFL Draft with a little help from an old friend.
Former New England quarterback Mac Jones got his first win as a starter for the Jaguars. Their win over the Titans moved Jacksonville out of first place and into the six-team bracket at 3-10.
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Right now, the Patriots’ biggest asset is their schedule, currently the weakest among teams in the high-pick combine. It’s what separates New England from the parade of other teams with an even 3-8 record. There’s enough of a cushion there, that if they don’t win another game this season they’re unlikely to pick below third. If the Raiders of the Giants win another game, the Patriots’ SOS would also throw them to a higher pick.
Projected draft order
Sunday night and Monday night games will not affect early picks. So here’s what the top of the projected draft order looks like. Included is each team’s strength of schedule after the first few games (the total winning percentage of a team’s opponents compiled by Closeathon) until now. The team that played schedule with the lowest winning percentage the highest pick would be awarded:
- Raiders — 2-11. (SOS .535) – lost to Buccaneers
- Giants — 2-11 (SOS .546) — lost to the Saints
- Patriots: 3-10 (SOS .463) inactive
- Panthers – 3-10 (SOS .484) lost to Eagles
- Jaguars: 3-10 (SOS .491) beat the Titans
- Titans — 3-10 (SOS .514) lost to Jaguars
- Jets: 3-10 (SOS .518) lost to Dolphins
- Browns – 3-10 (SOS .523) lost to Steelers
The rest of the tiebreakers look like this:
From NFL.com — In situations where teams finished the previous season with identical records, the determination of draft position is decided by:
- Strength of schedule
- Division or Conference Tiebreaker:
- Head to head, if applicable
- Best win-loss-draw percentage in common games (minimum of four)
- Strength of victory in all matches
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games
- Best net points in all matches
- Best net touchdowns of all games
- Coin toss