The dogfight for the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft took a final twist on Sunday as the regular season played 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 the Tennessee Titans emerged in the top spot on Sunday’s action list.
The Patriots became a victim of their own success on Sunday when they shocked the Buffalo Bills and earned a 23-16 victory – their first since November 10.
It was a game they were expected to lose and their shocking defeat had disastrous consequences for their draft rankings as they were bumped all the way to fourth place, leaving a top spot open for a new team to swoop in.
With a 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans, the Titans emerged with the No. 1 pick – small consolation for their ugly 3-14 season.
The Cleveland Browns are now second and the New York Giants are third in the 2025 Draft, which takes place April 24-26 in Green Bay.
The Tennessee Titans have stolen the No. 1 Draft pick from the New England Patriots
With a loss to the Houston Texans to end the season, the Titans moved into first place
The Patriots became victims of their own success when their shocking victory over the bills hit them
The last time the Titans had the first pick was in 2016. They ultimately traded it to the Rams – who selected Jared Goff – in a major trade for draft selections, one of which was ultimately spent on Derrick Henry.
The steal of the pick is a boost for the Titans, who are looking for a quarterback this 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, two-time Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter appears to be the consensus top-rated player in the class of 2025.
The Colorado star wasn’t expected to fall outside the top three, meaning if the Titans passed on him with the first selection, the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants could take him with the second or third picks, respectively.
The No. 1 pick has bounced between some of the NFL’s worst in recent weeks, with the New York Giants finishing the campaign 3-14 and holding the campaign before Week 17.
In a blow to the floundering franchise, they suffered a similar fate to the Patriots on December 29 with a shocking 45-33 victory against the Indianapolis Colts – their first win in almost three months.
New York is in desperate need of a new quarterback after Daniel Jones was released from his contract last month, forcing head coach Brian Daboll to alternate between backups Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito.
The Browns, meanwhile, will make a first-round selection for the first time since 2021 after dealing their 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 games on Sunday to get the top pick.