We’re a quarter of the way through the NFL season, and now is the time many fans start looking at draft positioning.
Despite how you may feel about your team’s fortune through the first four weeks of the season, no one is out of it yet. That won’t stop some of the more hopeless fan bases from taking a peak at the Draft order, and who can blame you?
Even fans rooting for a team with a winning record are glancing at draft positioning, especially if you root for a team that was supposed to be picking high but is now somehow in the playoff hunt.
Here’s a look at the updated draft order through the Sunday slate of games. The Chiefs and Redskins don’t play until Monday night, but neither of them will have high draft selections unless something goes horrendously wrong.
1. Cleveland Browns (0-4)
2. San Francisco 49ers (0-4)
3. New York Giants (0-4)
4. Los Angeles Chargers (0-4)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
6. Chicago Bears (1-3)
7. Miami Dolphins (1-2)**
8. Indianapolis Colts (1-2)
9. Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
10. Baltimore Ravens (2-2)
That is not what most people thought the Top 10 picks would look like. Who had money on the Giants being the New York team with a Top-3 pick? The Jets were believed to be the worst team in football and a mortal lock for the top pick, yet they’re nowhere to be found in the Top 10.
11. Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
12. Tennessee Titans (2-2)
13. Cleveland Browns From Houston Texans (2-2)
14. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
15. New York Jets (2-2)
16. New Orleans Saints (2-2)
17. Oakland Raiders (2-2)
18. Minnesota Vikings (2-2)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)**
20. Washington Redskins (2-1)*
This is a little closer to what we expected as far as the middle of the pack. The Buccaneers and Raiders picking this high is a bit of a surprise, but we’re only four weeks in so it’s hard to tell where they’ll settle. Houston’s pick is likely to drop if they keep hanging 57-points on people in the Deshaun Watson era.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
22. New England Patriots (2-2)
23. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
24. Los Angeles Rams (3-1)
25. Philadelphia Eagles (3-1)
This is where things get weird. The Jaguars, Rams, and Eagles all sitting with picks outside of the Top 20 was unheard of before the season. The Patriots picking anywhere lower than 30th is also something that stands out as odd.
26. Green Bay Packers (3-1)
27. Detroit Lions (3-1)
28. Carolina Panthers (3-1)
29. Denver Broncos (3-1)
30. Atlanta Falcons (3-1)
31. Buffalo Bills (3-1)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0)*
* – Plays on Monday Night
** – Missed Week 1 due to Hurricane Irma
There’s a lot of football left to play, but already the NFL Draft order is shaping up as weirdly as the season is playing out on the field.