Here’s an updated look at where teams are picking in the first round of next April’s draft.
The 2018 NFL season is paring down its playoff teams, and for a handful of hopeful contenders that means a December filled with important wins and crushing losses as January’s seedings unfold. There’s another race taking place on the opposite end of the spectrum as well: the spiral to the bottom of the standings and the top of the 2019 NFL Draft board.
Several rebuilding teams have a legitimate chance to secure the No. 1 spot in next year’s draft where franchise-changing talents like Ed Oliver, Rashan Gary, and Nick Bosa await. The Raiders, 49ers, and Cardinals all stand to turn this fall’s misery into a spring bounty and the foundation for a return to the postseason.
But they aren’t alone. The Jacksonville Jaguars could turn this season’s fall from AFC title contender to doormat into a potential replacement for Blake Bortles at quarterback. The Giants could do the same for an aging Eli Manning. The Bills and Browns can add to their stores of young talent in their quests to be something other than the “Bills” and “Browns.”
Draft order is determined by final record, with any ties being broken by their strength of schedule. Slots 21-32 are determined primarily by postseason success (Wild Card losers get the earliest spots, then Divisional Round losers, and so forth), and any ties are then broken by regular season record and strength of schedule. If two teams have the same record and same SoS, the pick in question will be resolved with a coin flip.
Here’s how that order looks after Week 13: