Browns' Rooting Guide for 2025 NFL Draft Implications of Week 14
The Cleveland Browns are a few results away from being in contention for a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Browns enter Week 14's clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 8 overall pick in the projected order.
They need a few of the three-win teams to pick up victories in Week 14 or the coming weeks to get into the top five.
A few opportunities are out there in Week 14 for the Browns to lose to the Steelers and get some help to move up the draft order.
The Tennessee Titans and New York Jets provide the best hope for the Browns to move up in the draft order. The Carolina Panthers likely aren't beating the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots are on a bye.
With that in mind, the Browns could use a victory from one of the three two-win teams to level out the competition for a top-five selection.
Titans over Jaguars
The Titans are playing much better football than the Jaguars.
That's a positive for the Browns in the hunt for a top-five pick.
The three-win Titans have to clear out of the top eight for the Browns to elevate themselves in the draft order.
Tennessee picked up a win over the Houston Texans two weeks ago, and even though it lost big to the Washington Commanders last week, it played some close games in the last month.
Meanwhile, the Jags are starting Mac Jones at quarterback with Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve and are now even more likely to land the No. 1 overall pick.
Tennessee plays Jacksonville twice in the next four weeks, so the Titans could end up nowhere close to the Browns in the draft order with two victories.
Jets over Dolphins
Rooting for the New York Jets is a thankless experience, but that's where the Browns are with the draft order.
The Jets have a single victory since Week 4, but they have lost by a combined six points in the last two weeks.
So there is at least a sliver of hope that the Jets can successfully play the role of spoiler against the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins enter Week 14 with a small margin for error since they are three games back in the win column of the Denver Broncos in the final AFC wild-card spot.
Miami will be playing with all of the pressure, while the Jets are trying to salvage something from a lost season.
The Dolphins are the better team, but anything can happen in divisional games, as the Browns know firsthand from their wins over the Ravens and Steelers.
Giants over Saints
The best spot for one of the two-win teams to pick up a Week 14 victory is the New York Giants' home game against the New Orleans Saints.
Jacksonville is playing Tennessee with a backup quarterback and the Las Vegas Raiders are on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Giants are at least at home against another team with a projected top-10 pick.
New York displayed some ounces of promise with Drew Lock at quarterback on Thanksgiving Day, and now with a full week of practice, the Giants could potentially look better on offense on Sunday.
It's a stretch because the Giants have so many flaws, but it's worth rooting for them to win from a Browns perspective just to level the playing field with one team in the top five.