Two weekends of playoff football have come and gone, providing us with 10 more draft slots cemented into position as NFL teams continue to be eliminated from the playoffs. The top 18 picks were already divvied up at the conclusion of the regular season to the teams who failed to make the playoffs, while picks 19-28 have been determined over the past two weeks.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order has been determined by the inverted 2024 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. The playoff squads are being slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular-season record.
The league’s Super Wild Card weekend resulted in the elimination of Chargers, Steelers, Broncos, Packers, Buccaneers, and Vikings after their respective losses. Tampa Bay benefitted from the three-way tie in record with Denver and Pittsburgh, just as the Chargers did over the Packers.
The divisional round of the playoffs resulted in the elimination of the Texans, Rams, Ravens, and Lions. This time, Houston held the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, gifting it higher draft priority.
We are still at a place that, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.
Here is how the draft order looks following two weeks of playoff football:
- Tennessee Titans (3-14)
- Cleveland Browns (3-14)
- New York Giants (3-14)
- New England Patriots (4-13)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
- Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
- New York Jets (5-12)
- Carolina Panthers (5-12)
- New Orleans Saints (5-12)
- Chicago Bears (5-12)
- San Francisco (6-11)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
- Miami Dolphins (8-9)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
- Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
- Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
- Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
- Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
- Denver Broncos (10-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
- Green Bay Packers (11-6)
- Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
- Houston Texans (10-7)
- Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
- Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
- Detroit Lions (15-2)
- Washington Commanders (12-5)
- Buffalo Bills (13-4)
- Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
Sad time for us Lions fans. May the best team win.
Sad time for every team no longer playing. The difference is you got your hopes up more than most.
Hindsight is always 20/20 but had the Lions just kept giving the ball to Gibbs, would they have won? Like the Texans, disaster struck when they went back to pass.
Everyone talks about the importance of the QB but I found it interesting that the 8 teams that passed the most (% based) missed the playoffs while the 7 teams that passed the least made the playoffs. Perhaps the run game isn’t as irrelevant as some fans seem to think.
Double edged sword as playing from behind makes you pass more. Kind of a flawed statistic
Yep, and having a lead usually means you play conservatively and run out the clock.
Only mouth-breathing a$$holes and Dumb Jocks scream “It’s All About The Quarterback”. Three of the last 4 teams standing have reliable ground games.
The final 4 QBs are damn good too.
Hurts is average.
I’m a bear fan but was rooting for the Lions to win it all . If the lions Didn’t have all the Injuries on defense I Think they would’ve won it all . With all that talent they have there. I still think they will be the team to beat the NFC North.
No first round picks traded yet. That will change, but unusual that all 32 teams kept theirs.
I don’t mind that division champs with poor records host their first playoff game. But they also should not get a higher draft pick than the wild card teams with a better record who lose in round 1 too.
Interesting draft positioning that clearly shows the massive on-field flop by the Minnesota Vikings in the last game of the season and the first round of the playoffs. It also shows how teams with lesser records stepped up. Note that the Vikings draft ahead of teams with records of: 10-7, 10-7, 12-05, 12-5, 13-4.
That is because 10-7 and 10-7 were division winners you twit.
If you’re going to call people twits, at least be accurate.
The 10-7 teams after Minnesota advanced further in the playoffs. 19-24 are Wildcard losers, 25-28 are Divisional Round losers.
Not about winning a division.
I’m still sick to my stomach that the Pats won the last game and dropped 3 spots. That set their rebuild back a year.
How much did it really if the first two picks are QBs that they would not have taken anyway?