Patriots

The Patriots are now expected to take second overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.

For the second time this month, Mac Jones improved his former team’s chances of landing one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Even though New England lost to the Bills on Sunday, their 24-21 loss in Buffalo kept the Patriots in the running for a top-three spot in the upcoming draft.

But Jones – currently the Jaguars’ starting quarterback after Trevor Lawrence’s shoulder injury – helped New England clinch another spot in the draft order on Sunday.

Jones and the Jaguars fell 19-14 to the Raiders on Sunday, giving Las Vegas its first win since Sept. 29 against the Browns.

As a result, the Patriots have overtaken the Raiders in the rankings and are now ranked No. 2 overall in the draft order, behind only the 2-13 New York Giants.

Here’s a look at the current top 10 order per tankathon:

• New York Giants (2-13, .554)
• New England Patriots (3-12, .463)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12, .480)
• Tennessee Titans (3-12, .512)
• Cleveland Browns (3-12, .530)
• Las Vegas Raiders (3-12, .545)
• Carolina Panthers (4-11, .500)
• New York Jets (4-11, .502)
• Chicago Bears (4-11, .557)
• New Orleans Saints (5-9, .506)

All in all, Jones didn’t have a bad performance with the Jaguars; He completed 25 of 39 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown. But Jacksonville still wasn’t able to beat Vegas’ lackluster squad, with both Tank Bigsby and Brenton Strange ejected for fumbles.

Jones and the Jags tried to orchestrate a late-game rally with less than two minutes left, but Jones couldn’t take advantage of a 4th-and-11 play to move the chains – completing an 8-yard pass to D ‘Ernest Johnson to force a turnover on downs.

New England passing on the Raiders should put them in a prime position to either select a blue-chip prospect like Travis Hunter or potentially trade for a ton of picks, especially for a team in desperate need of a QB like the Raiders or Titans.

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.