NFL Draft order scenarios: How Patriots, Giants, Browns or Titans can get No. 1 pick

Week 17 in the NFL provided some wacky results that mattered more to the basement dwellers than they did to those jockeying for playoff positions.

Several teams vying for top draft positions saw their selection status shift dramatically, none more so than the New York Football Giants who entered the week with the No. 1 overall pick. After defeating the Indianapolis Colts in a wild 45-33 shootout victory, they now sit with the No. 4 pick and a slim chance of getting back to the top.

The New England Patriots gained the most out of the chaos, inheriting the No. 1 pick from New York and setting itself up nicely to potentially trade out for a mighty package of assets from a desperate team.

However, there are still two others in contention to hear their names called first as being on the clock in April. The Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns also have paths to mathematically being the worst team in the league this year.

What the Patriots, Giants, Titans and Browns need in order to land the No. 1 pick

Only one team is locked into a Top 5 draft pick even with a win in Week 18 and that's the Patriots. A loss to Buffalo and they'll be on the clock first in April. The other three are still at risk of falling farther but with losses they'll need some assistance in passing New England.

The simplest path for New York, Cleveland or Tennessee to secure the No. 1 pick would be to lose and have New England plus the other two win their respective games. Beyond that some confusing tie-breakers then come into play.

The most important of them is strength of schedule. As it stands, all four teams have the same record (3-13) but New England owns the weakest strength of schedule, thus putting them on top.

Any sort of tie would see whichever team is already picking ahead of the other into the No. 1 selection. For example, if New England wins and Cleveland, Tennessee and New York all lose, then that three-way tie would see the Browns picking No. 1 overall followed by the Titans and Giants based on strength of record. That formula can be used for any combination of ties that may arise in Week 18.

New York's win over the Colts seems to have definitely cost them the No. 1 selection but there's still hope, albeit very slim. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out on Jan. 5.