Updated NFL draft order after Week 18: Patriots secure Top 3, Giants out of Top 5

The 2023 NFL regular season has entered its final week. The main storyline of the weekend was the teams looking to clinch their spots in the playoffs. By Sunday evening, the entire 14-team playoff field was set, with the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Green Bay Packers all clinching the final five spots available entering Saturday afternoon.

While the playoff field was set, there was the matter of the NFL Draft order. Regarding this, the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, and Arizona Cardinals were all in contention to earn the second-overall pick. The Chicago Bears had already clinched the No. 1 pick by way of the Carolina Panthers long before Week 18.

On Sunday, the Commanders earned the second overall pick following their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This comes even after the Patriots and Cardinals both lost to the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, respectively.

In other news, the New York Giants earned a big divisional win to end their season after beating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10. But with this victory, the Giants fell outside of the Top 5.

Without further ado, let's look at the full NFL Draft order after Week 18.

Updated NFL Draft order after Week 18 games

The current NFL Draft order after Week 18 comes courtesy of Tankathon.

1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers (2-15))
2. Washington Commanders (4-13)
3. New England Patriots (4-13)
4. Arizona Cardinals (4-13)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
6. New York Giants (6-11)
7. Tennessee Titans (6-11)
8. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
9. Chicago Bears (7-10)
10. New York Jets (7-10)
11. Minnesota Vikings (7-10)
12. Denver Broncos (8-9)
13. Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)
14. New Orlean Saints (9-8)
15. Indianapolis Colts (9-8)
16. Seattle Seahawks (9-8)
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
18. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
19. Green Bay Packers (9-8)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)
21. Arizona Cardinals (via Houston Texans (9-8))
22. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
23. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
24. Miami Dolphins (11-6)
25. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
26. Kansas City Chiefs (11-6)
27. Houston Texans (via Cleveland Browns (11-6))
28. Detroit Lions (12-5)
29. Buffalo Bills (11-6)
30. Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
31. San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
32. Baltimore Ravens (13-4)

The Bears hold the No. 1 pick, putting them in position to select a quarterback like USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye. But will they take one? Justin Fields showed promise late in the season when the team was picking up wins. That is a question that the Bears regime will have to answer, as they are likely returning for 2024.

As for the Commanders, they are big winners. They will end up taking one of Williams or Maye with the second-overall pick. With the team expected to move on from head coach Ron Rivera after the season, the Commanders vacancy will be highly coveted.

This does put teams like the Patriots and Giants in tough positions. They are all out of position to take either Williams or Maye. All they can really do is hope the Bears stick with Fields at quarterback and once again deal the first-overall pick. If that's the case, expect them or any quarterback-needy team to send offers to Chicago.