Will a blue-chip prospect fall to the Patriots at No. 4 in the NFL Draft?

Due to their Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots lost out on the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Now sitting at No. 4 overall, their player selection will be contingent on the preceding picks of the Titans, Browns, and Giants.

For the Patriots to have their freedom-of-choice -- to select a top-ranked prospect that would fill a position of need at No. 4 -- two of the three prior teams would have to select a quarterback. The issue is the 2025 draft is reportedly not necessarily top-end quarterback-heavy.

The top-two quarterbacks in 2025 are Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward, but both are ranked outside the top-five of the best available prospects in 2025 (Sanders No. 9 and Ward No. 18), according to ESPN. But due to the nature of the position, there's a chance they could be overdrafted - and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network believes that could happen.

During Thursday's edition of "NFL Game Day Kickoff", Rapoport presented the idea that despite 2025 having less quarterback talent than past drafts, the Browns and Giants "will probably take [a quarterback]."

So, according to Rapoport, the Titans may be the only top-three team to pass on a quarterback to fill a different need, opening up the possibility for a high-end prospect to fall to the Patriots at four.

"I think [the Titans' staff] kind of raise some eyebrows a little bit saying, 'they will not pass on a generational talent at [first overall],'" Rapoport said.

Regardless, if the Giants and Browns use their picks on a quarterback, the Patriots will presumably have a top player in a position of need available to them at No. 4.

Patriots' positions of need (offensive tackle, inside offensive lineman, wide receiver, edge rusher, and cornerback), so they will likely be targeting either Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, or Colorado cornerback/wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Both have been widely touted as potential generational talents at their respective positions.

So, even though they have the fourth pick in 2025, the Patriots may be in prime position to pick a potential star player who could make an immediate impact at a needed position on their roster.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore communications student at Northeastern University. Follow him on X @LukeGraham05.