With two weeks left to play in the NFL regular season, 11 teams have been eliminated from the playoffs. But all is not over for those teams and those fans. The consolation prize for a lost 2024 season is the possibility of having the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2025.
No. 1 Pick Odds
If you are the team on top of the draft board in April, chances are you need a quarterback. Oddsmakers believe that quarterback will be Shedeur Sanders from Colorado. He is the favorite to be selected first, paying -250.
Second on the odds board is another quarterback, Cameron Ward from Miami. He is paying +300 to go No. 1. Two-way Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is third at +750, and two other quarterbacks round out the top five at +2500, Jaxson Dart from Mississippi and Jalen Milroe from Alabama.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers at +5000 is a potential wild card. He is in the middle of the College Football Playoff, and if he can lead the Longhorns to the national championship, that will no doubt catch the eye of many NFL general managers.
Current 2025 Draft Order
No. 1 – New York Giants (2-13)
The New York Giants are on the brink of franchise history.
If they finish with the worst record in the NFL, that will be the first time they are at the bottom since 1966. It will be their first time drafting No. 1 overall since 1965 (running back Tucker Fredrickson). They are one loss away from being winless at home for the first time since 1974, and a loss to Philadelphia in Week 18 would be their first winless season inside the division in team history.
They are the favorite to have the No. 1 pick, and they will select a quarterback. Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito are not NFL starting quarterbacks.
No. 2 – New England Patriots (3-12)
The New England Patriots might be the best 3-12 in the NFL. They’ve lost five games by one score, and on Sunday at Buffalo, they pushed the Bills to the very end. They also have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, who has been very good in his rookie season.
The Patriots finish the season at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, who are trying to secure a playoff spot, and at home against the Bills again, who are still in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12)
The Jacksonville Jaguars are another team that will be near the top of the draft board with their quarterback position secured. If the Patriots don’t take Travis Hunter, perhaps this is where he lands.
Trevor Lawrence will be healthy in 2025, rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. has become a star, but the defense ranks 29th in points allowed. They are at home in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans (a game that will influence the draft order), and then on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, who are still trying to get into the playoffs.
No. 4 Tennessee Titans (3-12)
The Tennessee Titans are a mixed bag when selecting a quarterback in the first round. Steve McNair at No. 3 overall in 1995 – good. Jake Locker at No. 8 overall in 2011, not good. And maybe they talk themselves into one more season of Will Levis before moving on to a new QB.
Tennessee needs a lot of help, and with a new stadium scheduled to open in 2027, they have two years to return to competitiveness. They may look competitive at the Jaguars in Week 17. They also might get a boost in Week 18 at the Houston Texans, if the Texans get locked into a playoff spot and decide to rest their starters.
No. 5 Cleveland Browns (3-12)
When the season began, the Cleveland Browns were +140 to come out of the tough AFC North as a playoff team. Not once this season have they actually looked like a potential playoff team, and they will enter the off-season with a lot of big questions that need to be answered.
Kevin Stefanski is just a year removed from Coach of the Year, but his return is in doubt. And what does this team do at quarterback? They can’t possibly bring Deshaun Watson back in 2025 and not face a max exodus of fans, and the benching of Jameis Winston this week signals the end of his time in Cleveland.
The Browns finish the season at home against the Miami Dolphins, and then confront a Ravens team still in the hunt for the division title.
No. 6 Las Vegas Raiders (3-12)
In the most Las Vegas Raiders way possible, the Raiders went from the No. 2 overall pick to the No. 6 overall pick by beating the Jaguars on Sunday. Their fans were not pleased, and whoever is in charge of the Raiders by next April will surely not be pleased.
The Raiders need a quarterback in the worst way, but so do three of the teams now picking ahead of them.
They finish the season at the New Orleans Saints, then at home against the Chargers.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
