The New York Jets’ playoff odds have dwindled to 1%, per the New York Times, which means many Jets fans have officially turned their attention to the 2025 NFL Draft order.
While not all fans are rooting for draft position, some certainly are, so it’s worthwhile to inform those fans of how the Jets’ draft positioning could change throughout this Sunday as the team is on its bye week.
Visit our New York Jets News page to stay updated on the latest happenings.
Here is how the top of the NFL draft order shakes out prior to Week 12’s Sunday games:
- Jacksonville (2-9 / .494 SOS)
- Tennessee (2-8 / .514)
- NY Giants (2-8 / .520)
- Las Vegas (2-8 / .525)
- New England (3-8 / .472)
- NY Jets (3-8 / .508)
- Cleveland (3-8 / .511)
- Carolina (3-7 / .486)
- Dallas (3-7 / .525)
- New Orleans (4-7 / .486)
The Jets opened Week 12 in the seventh slot, but they leapfrogged the Cleveland Browns due to their Thursday night win over Pittsburgh.
It is extremely unlikely, but the Jets could climb as high as the second overall pick by the end of today if everything goes their way.
Here are the key games to keep an eye on regarding the Jets’ draft position, and who Jets fans should be rooting for.
Titans (2-8) over @Texans (7-4)
The Jets currently have a lower SOS than the Titans (.508 to .514), although the margin is close enough to the point where the advantage could shift by the end of today. If the Jets’ edge holds, though, they can pass the Titans if Tennessee gets the upset in Houston.
Houston has been vulnerable lately, winning just two of its past five games after a 5-1 start, but the Texans are 4-1 at home. However, all four of those wins were by one score. The Titans are coming off back-to-back 10-point losses after a home overtime win over the Patriots in Week 9.
Patriots (3-8) over @Dolphins (4-6)
New England is currently tied with the Jets and owns a significantly lower SOS (.472 to .508), making the Patriots one of New York’s key rivals in the race for draft position. A Patriots win in Miami would give New England an outright better record than the Jets, pushing New York up one spot.
Miami has won two straight and is 3-3 in games started by Tua Tagovailoa. However, the Dolphins are just 2-3 at home, which could be troubling news against a Patriots team that has played competitively on the road. New England is 2-4 on the road (versus 1-4 at home) with one of the losses coming in overtime. The Patriots allow just 19.8 points per game on the road.
@Giants (2-8) over Buccaneers (4-6)
The perpetually overrated Tommy Cutlets has taken over the Giants (as an Italian, I wish we were represented in the NFL by a quarterback who can actually play). Unless Cutlets improves drastically over his horrendous 2023 performance (23.7 QBR), it will be tough for New York to defeat a solid Bucs team that has gone 4-6 with a +13 point differential despite facing the NFL’s hardest schedule (this will be just their second game against a sub-.500 team).
If Big Blue somehow pulls off the win, the Jets would likely pass the Giants in the draft order, as the green side currently owns a lower SOS by a slight margin (.508 to .520).
@Raiders (2-8) over Broncos (6-5)
The Jets currently have a solid SOS advantage over the Raiders (.508 to .525), making it likely that New York would surpass Las Vegas in the draft order if the Raiders pull off a divisional upset at home against the improved Broncos.
Denver won by a score of 34-18 when these two teams met in Week 5. Las Vegas enters today on a six-game losing streak and is looking for its first home win since Week 4.
@Panthers (3-7) over Chiefs (9-1)
The Chiefs are the new villains of the NFL, so everyone would love to see them lose, anyway. As an added bonus, though, Jets fans can see their team maintain its spot in the draft order if Carolina pulls off the upset today.
If the Panthers lose today, they will likely surpass the Jets in the draft order, as the two teams would be tied at 3-8 while Carolina currently owns a lower SOS by a solid margin (.486 to .508). However, if the Panthers win, they would move to 4-7, keeping them behind the Jets in the draft order.
Cowboys (3-7) over @Commanders (7-4)
With a .525 SOS to the Jets’ .508, the Cowboys are unlikely to win the tiebreaker over New York at the moment, but the Cowboys can tie the Jets’ outright record if they lose in Landover today. With Dak Prescott out for the season, Dallas is a serious threat to continue climbing the draft board, so it would be great for New York if Dallas can steal a game they should lose.
The Jets can climb as high as the second overall pick by the end of today if all six of these results go their way. Obviously, that is highly unlikely to occur, but every result in the Jets’ favor would every-so-slightly improve the franchise’s future outlook. So, happy rooting!
Here is a roundup of the key games:
- Titans over Texans
- Patriots over Dolphins
- Giants over Buccaneers
- Raiders over Broncos
- Panthers over Chiefs
- Cowboys over Commanders
