The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the Patriots are in a great spot to add one of the best players of the entire class to their roster. That has made them the favorites to pick the widely considered best receiver, Colorado's Travis Hunter, the best left tackle, LSU's Will Campbell, or the best pass rusher, Penn State's Abdul Carter.
The new regime is reportedly interested in all three prospects, with a significant liking for Hunter specifically. He is a dual-threat player who can be a solid receiver and a playmaking cornerback for their weakened secondary.
The problem is that despite their great positioning with the fourth overall pick, the three teams who are on the board ahead of them will ultimately dictate if they'll even have the chance to draft a guy like Hunter.
They are teams that need a quarterback, so the expectation is they'd use their prime selection to get him. However, with underwhelming talent and potentially bigger needs elsewhere, those teams could decide to hold off on a signal caller for a blue-chip player like Hunter or even Carter.
That is becoming an increasingly likely scenario as the draft nears, which is the last thing the Patriots want to hear when they need a lot of hope on offense for Drake Maye this upcoming season.
The Giants signing Jameis Winston throws a wrench into the Patriots draft plans
With the Titans on the board with the first overall pick, there's a good chance they will decide to take the best quarterback of the incoming class to be their next franchise player. They hoped that would be Will Levis when they selected him in the second round in 2023, only for that to be proven unlikely in the following two years.
The latest intel from insiders suggests Tennessee is seriously looking at Miami's Cam Ward for their pick, meaning the Patriots only have to worry about the Browns and Giants ahead of them.
So far, not much has been made about their plans for their picks. But the Giants just signed veteran quarterback Jameis Winston and are rumored to still be interested in signing Aaron Rodgers, which would take them out of contention to draft a quarterback this year, putting them square in the mix for Carter or Hunter.
The Browns could also pass on a quarterback if they don't feel any are worthy of such a high selection. That could result in both players the Patriots are most intrigued by being off the board by the time they're on the clock at No. 4.
That would be the worst-case scenario for a team in their position, even if that would mean they could still get their next starting left tackle instead. They need a game-changer like Carter on defense or Hunter on offense, especially since they missed out offensively in free agency, but that might be a dream at this point.
The next few weeks will be very telling and might provide more clues as to how the picks will fall and who could land in the Patriots' lap.