There are two things that are clear 10 weeks into the New England Patriots' 2024 season. The first is that there are a lot of reasons to be excited about Drake Maye. The second, is that the team doesn't have nearly enough around him to be dangerous.

De facto general manager Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo have their work cut out for them. Early returns on the Maye pick are exciting, but there are a lot of holes the Patriots need to address before they can start competing in the AFC East again.

Unfortunately, things might get worse before they get better. The Pats are sitting on a 2-7 record, and an overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans last week was a demoralizing result.

Still, the 2025 draft should be source of optimism for the franchise. It's on track for a top-five pick and the class has some potential stars at non-QB positions who could help.

The latest mock draft from the B/R Scouting Department projects the Patriots to take Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter with the first pick overall. However, a lot of things will need to go their way as there are several teams with just two wins at this point in the season.

Here are some results Pats fans should be hoping for to help them out this week.

Current Top 10 Draft Order

1. New England Patriots (2-7)

2. Carolina Panthers (2-7)

3. Cleveland Browns (2-7)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7)

5. New Orleans Saints (2-7)

6. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)

7. New York Giants (2-7)

8. Miami Dolphins (2-6)

9. Tennessee Titans (2-6)

10. New York Jets (3-6)

Giants over Panthers

Fans with an eye on the draft order are going to have a reason to wake up early on Sunday. The Panthers meet the Giants in Munich, Germany with a 9:30 a.m. kickoff in a game that could have massive implications for the draft.

According to ESPN's FPI projections, the Panthers are the Patriots' top threat for the No. 1 pick. New England has a 36.8 percent chance to open the draft while the Panthers are projected to finish with the No. 2 selection, but they have 20.1 percent odds to end up with the first pick.

It's worth noting the Giants are also a threat. They come in fourth in ESPN's projections and carry a 7.2 percent chance to be picking No. 1. Still, it would be better for the Patriots to see one of their primary rivals for the top pick get a win.

The added travel and odd start time of a game in Germany could work in the Panthers' favor. That's an X-factor that can impact a contest.

There's also the fact that Carolina showed some signs of life last week. It earned its second of the season with Bryce Young at the helm. The second-year quarterback has a lot of motivation to prove he can be the franchise quarterback for someone moving forward.

That might be enough to pull off another win.

Titans over Chargers

Losing to the Tennessee Titans in overtime might have been one of the lowest points of the Patriots' season. But it would be at least some small consolation if it sparked the Titans to take themselves out of the No. 1 pick race.

They will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers in a game that will be tough for Tennessee to win. Jim Harbaugh's team has won three of its last four games and given up just 18 points over the last two weeks.

That's not great news for the Titans. Tennessee has only scored more than 20 points in regulation once this season, and the offense isn't even as good as it looked against the Patriots when it scored 17 in regulation.

This is a rooting guide, though. If we're looking for a reason that the Titans can pull off the upset it's in the fact that their defense has been decent in stopping the run. They rank 13th in yards allowed per carry and their own run game has shown growth throughout the season.

The secondary has also allowed the fewest yards per pass (sixth). Some of that has to do with game script and the fact that the Titans have been blown out a few times, but there's a case to be made the defense is good enough to keep them in this game.

Ultimately, the Chargers are right in the thick of the wild-card race. If the Titans can pick up a second consecutive win against a team like that, then they are going to win a few more and won't be a problem for the Patriots' draft pick hopes.

Jaguars over Vikings

In some ways, this result is even more important to the Patriots than the first two.

The Panthers and Titans both represent threats for the No. 1 overall pick, but both would likely be looking for a quarterback if they get that pick.

The value in the Patriots getting the selection is that they could trade it for a bounty of picks or take the top overall prospect.

Ultimately, getting the third pick would probably give them the ability to take the best non-quarterback.

The Jaguars are a direct threat to pick ahead of them and steal a talent like Travis Hunter.

In that way, the Jaguars are a bigger threat to the Patriots' draft hopes. The good news is they have a little better chance of winning some more games. ESPN's draft projections gives them a 44.2 percent chance to be picking in the top five.

The bad news is that this isn't likely to be the matchup where the Jaguars pick up a win.

The Vikings are 6-2 and have the highest pressure rate in the league (30.2 percent) and have maximized Sam Darnold to execute their offense at a high level. Meanwhile, the Jags are spiraling, have a lengthy injury report and don't seem to be responding to Doug Pederson's coaching.

Still, if Jacksonville can pull off the upset, it might be something that jump-starts the back half of its season and saves Pederson's job.