Updated NFL Draft Order after Bears, Broncos, Rams lose in Week 13
Here’s what the updated NFL Draft order looks like now that we’re through Week 13 of the season.
Perhaps a perfect encapsulation of how unexpected and weird this season has been was at Soldier Field in Week 13.
Rather than marching into Chicago looking to pad its lead in the NFC North, the biggest thing on the line was draft positioning. Coming into the weekend, the Bears controlled the No. 2 overall pick in the draft with the Packers not far behind at No. 8 overall.
That’s right, the Bears and Packers meeting in Week 13 was a matchup between two teams with Top 10 draft picks.
The question for Bears fans was which thing was more valuable: Beating Aaron Rodgers and the hated Packers knowing that it could end up meaning Green Bay gets a higher draft pick, or losing to a rival but securing a top draft pick?
Despite leading the Packers for most of the game on Sunday, the Bears did what they always do and lost. So while Chicago still hasn’t bucked Aaron Rodgers off its back, the No. 2 pick in the draft is the Bears to lose at this point in the season.
Just like the NFL Playoff Picture, there’s a lot of football left in the season and the draft order will undoubtedly change between now and the end of the year. But after Week 13, here’s a look at where things stack up.
Updated NFL Draft Order after Week 13
Here’s what the top half of the NFL Draft looks like right now:
- Houston Texans (1-10-1)
- Chicago Bears (3-10)
- Seattle Seahawks – From Denver Broncos (3-9)
- Detroit Lions – From Los Angeles Rams (3-8)
- Carolina Panthers (4-8)
- Philadelphia Eagles – From New Orleans Saints (4-8)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)
- Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
- Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-8)
- Green Bay Packers (5-8)
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
- Houston Texans – From Cleveland Browns (5-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)
- Detroit Lions (5-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)
- New England Patriots (6-6)
- Washington Commanders (7-5-1)
After this point, the NFL Draft order is determined by playoff losing position. Teams that lose in the Wild Card pick 19-24, Divisional Round losers pick 25-28, teams that lose in the Championship Round pick 29-30, and the Super Bowl teams pick last. For the sake of argument, the following teams are simply listed by their record and not playoff predictions.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)
20. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)
21. Tennessee Titans (7-5)
22. New York Jets (7-5)
23. New York Giants (7-4-1)
24. Miami Dolphins – Forfieted
25. Denver Broncos – From San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
26. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)
27. Cincinnati Bengals (8-4)
28. Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (9-3)
30. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)
31. Buffalo Bills (9-3)
32. Philadelphia Eagles (11-1)
One of the most interesting developments is the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles have the best record in football but own a Top 10 pick. That pick originally belonged to the New Orleans Saints, but was moved to Philly by way of a draft day trade this past April.
Continuing to pick at the thread of old trades paying off, the Detroit Lions will truly cash in on the Matthew Stafford trade this upcoming summer. Right now the Rams first round pick belongs to the Lions, which means Detroit traded Stafford for the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft and will likely be drafting his replacement with it.
