The Patriots will pick third overall in the draft after their 17-3 loss to the Jets in Week 18.

They would have needed a Commanders loss to the Cowboys to finish in the top two.

The 4-13 Patriots will be picking behind the Bears, who own the No. 1 overall pick from the Panthers, who finished 2-15, and the Commanders, who finished 4-13 but had a worse strength of schedule.

The Panthers traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Bears as part of their deal to move up to take QB Bryce Young in last year’s draft.

With Bill Belichick’s future up in the air, it’s unclear who will be making the pick for the Patriots, but they do need a quarterback. Mac Jones, their 2021 first-round pick, was benched after 11 games. Bailey Zappe went 2-4 in relief of Jones this season.

The Commanders also need a quarterback. The Bears selected Justin Fields eighth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft but could trade him and take a new quarterback of the future first.

The top QBs in this year’s draft are USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Washington’s Michael Penix. Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix will also be in the 2024 draft.