Just after noon on Friday, the league held a coin flip to settle the Nos. 14 and 15 overall picks plus the Nos. 46 and 47 picks and beyond. The results are in: the Eagles will have the 14th pick while the Colts will select at No. 15. The No. 14 pick originally belonged to the Vikings, but it is now property of the Eagles by way of the Sam Bradford trade.
Meanwhile, in the second round, the Colts will get the 46th pick, the Ravens will get No. 47, and the Vikings will get the 48th pick. For rounds three through seven, the Colts, Ravens, and Vikings will alternate in the order since all three clubs finished with identical 8-8 records and strength of schedule. The complete order can be found here.
The draft order, of course, is determined by the reverse order of the standings. Naturally, with 16-game seasons, there are often ties. There are multiple tiebreakers, but when those fail, it goes to a coin toss. Here’s the full breakdown from the NFL rule book:
“In situations where teams finished the previous season with identical records, the determination of draft position is decided by strength of schedule — the aggregate winning percentage of a team’s opponents. The team that played the schedule with the lowest winning percentage will be awarded the higher pick. If the teams have the same strength of schedule, their records against common opponents in their division or conference are applied, if applicable. If the divisional or conference tiebreakers are not applicable, ties will be broken by a coin flip.”
Most exciting headline I’ve ever seen.
@ GM….lol