NFL Draft 2025: Is it a bad year to have the No. 1 overall pick? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Timing is everything in life, and for the New England Patriots, they could end up owning the No. 1 pick in an NFL Draft that is considered weaker than in recent years.
The Patriots are one of seven teams at the bottom of the standings with a 2-7 record, but because they have the worst schedule of those teams, they are ranked No. 1 entering Sunday’s game in week 10 against the chicago bears.
There is always a lot of hype in any NFL Draft, regardless of whether the class is considered super strong or fairly weak. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the class of 2025 is not considered elite, and the lack of high-end quarterback prospects is a major reason for that.
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There isn’t a can’t-miss QB prospect like Andrew Luck, Trevor Lawrence or Caleb Williams in college football right now. There’s still a good chunk of season left, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see a few quarterbacks make a huge jump in the rankings, but right now there’s no consensus No. 1 pick.
Even last year, it was clear that quarterbacks would be selected with the first three picks, and that finally happened when Caleb Williams (No. 1 to Bears), Jayden Daniels (No. 2 to Commanders) and Drake Maye (No. 3 to Patriots ) were the first three players off the board. There is no guarantee that a similar scenario will occur in 2025.
That said, is it a bad year to be #1?
Athletic’s draft guru Dane Brugler joined Phil Perry on a new episode of NBC Sports Boston’s Next Pats podcast to discuss that topic and much more.
“Being the No. 1 overall pick in a draft is never a bad thing because there will always be good players to choose from,” Brugler said. “But relatively speaking, I guess you could say that.
“Because two years ago we saw the spoils the Bears got for the Panthers to go up and acquire Bryce Young. These types of trade offers simply won’t happen in this draft. I mean, that could always happen, you never know. a team is desperate enough, and there are instructions from the owners down saying, hey, get us a quarterback. You never know, we could see something like that, but at first glance, with what we know now, that’s just not how. It seems like that’s not how NFL teams talk about these guys, talk about these quarterbacks, talk about this draft.”
“But again, if you enter the draft with the first pick compared to the 15th pick, you have an advantage over team selection later because you have the opportunity to take the best player on your board.”
The player projected to go No. 1 in the most recent mock drafts is Colorado star Travis Hunter. Brugler has strong opinions on Hunter’s benefits.
“In my opinion, the best player in this draft is Colorado’s Travis Hunter, the wide receiver/cornerback who plays both sides of the football,” Brugler said. “It’ll be interesting how that’s talked about throughout the process. Every team will look at it a little differently. I’d like him to be my starting cornerback, and then you mix in 10, 15, 20 plays a game.” on the attack – I think that makes the most sense. But I think he’s worthy of that No. 1 overall pick.
“While you simply don’t have that as a quarterback position. Some teams like Miami’s Cam Ward, some teams like Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders, but they’re not talked about as, oh yeah, the No. 1 overall pick. , register it right now. That’s just not how teams see these guys.”
Patriots fans should aim for the top QB prospects in this draft class to finish the season strong. That kind of scenario would make the class of 2025 stronger and, as a result, make the Patriots’ first-round pick more valuable if they ever consider trading it.
“I think right now, in early November, Miami’s Cam Ward is the favorite to be drafted as the first quarterback,” Brugler said. “That’s not a consensus, but the majority of teams I’ve talked to are leaning toward that. Some of those teams don’t need a quarterback, so they might not look at it as critically. an eye, but I think that’s where the atmosphere is now.
“Cam Ward is the favorite. And so if I’m a Patriots fan, I’m rooting for Cam Ward to finish the season strong, go into the College Football Playoff and put his best foot forward.”
Also in this episode:
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Why Drake Maye has been a better quarterback than Caleb Williams (so far)
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Is it a bad year to have the No. 1 pick in the draft?
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What should the Patriots do if they end up with a top 5 pick?
