By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-05 21:48:15 | Updated at 2025-01-07 12:08:42
1 day ago
The dogfight for the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL Draft took one final twist Sunday as the regular season played out its finale.
Heading into Week 18, the New England Patriots were in pole position to lock down the first selection in April's draft but it was the the Tennessee Titans who emerged from Sunday's slate of action in the top spot.
The Patriots fell victim to their own success when they shocked the Buffalo Bills to clinch a 23-16 win - their first since November 10.
It was a game they had been heavily expected to lose and their shock defeat had disastrous consequences for their draft standings as they were knocked down all the way to fourth, opening up top spot for a new team to swoop in.
With a 23-14 defeat to the Houston Texans, the Titans stole the no. 1 pick - a small consolation for their ugly 3-14 season.
The Cleveland Browns will now select second and the New York Giants will take their turn third at the 2025 Draft, which will take place on April 24-26 in Green Bay.
The Tennessee Titans have stolen the No. 1 Draft pick from the New England Patriots
With a defeat to the Houston Texans to end the season, the Titans moved into the top spot
The Patriots fell victim to their own success as they shock win over the Bills bumped them
The last time the Titans held the first pick was back in 2016. They ended up trading it to the Rams - who selected Jared Goff - in a major exchange for draft selections, one of which ended up being spent on Derrick Henry.
The theft of the pick is a boost for the Titans who will likely be in the market for a quarterback in the offseason.
Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is the top-rated quarterback entering the draft, followed by Miami's Cam Ward, Alabama's Jalen Milroe, and Texas' Quinn Ewers.
Meanwhile, the two-way Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, appears to be the consensus top-rated player in the 2025 class.
The Colorado star not expected to fall beyond the top three picks, meaning should the Titans pass on him with the first selection, the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants could snatch him up with the second or third picks respectively.
The No. 1 pick has flipflopped between a number of the NFL's worst in recent weeks with the New York Giants, who finish the campaign 3-14, clutching it ahead of Week 17.
In a blow to the floundering franchise, they suffered a similar fate to the Patriots on December 29 when they stunned the Indianapolis Colts with a shock 45-33 victory - their first win in nearly three months.
New York is also in desperate need of a new quarterback after Daniel Jones was released from his contract last month, leaving head coach Brian Daboll to rotate between backups Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito.
The Browns, meanwhile, will be making a first-round selection for the first time since 2021, after dealing away its three previous top picks to the Texans in a trade for Deshaun Watson.
After losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday to finish the season 3-14, Cleveland needed both the Patriots and Titans to win their respective matchups on Sunday in order to obtain the top pick.
