The NFL draft order is a muddled mess up top including the Browns joining the top 5
The Cleveland Browns lost again as the 2024 NFL season spirals toward the end. The loss to the AFC North and in-state rival Cincinnati Bengals said a lot about both teams but at least set the Browns NFL draft order up to continue to “Race to the Bottom” of the standings and the top of the draft.
After last week, Cleveland was slotted into the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Our rooting guide had eight games of importance for draft positioning and a few results actually went the Browns way, at least in terms of the NFL draft:
- Bengals beat the Browns
- Raiders beat the Jaguars
- Panthers beat the Cardinals
Those three outcomes moved Cleveland into the top five with a chance at the top overall pick still within reach. With just two weeks to go, the Strength of Schedule tiebreaker comes more into focus when looking at the top 10:
- New York Giants: 2-13, .555 SOS
- New England Patriots: 3-12, .463 SOS
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-12, .480 SOS
- Tennessee Titans: 3-12, .512 SOS
- Cleveland Browns: 3-12, .532 SOS
- Las Vegas Raiders: 3-12, .543 SOS
- Carolina Panthers: 4-11, .498 SOS
- New York Jets: 4-11, .502 SOS
- Chicago Bears: 4-11, .557 SOS
- New Orleans Saints: 5-9, .504 SOS (Play on Monday Night Football)
Barry Shuck will have our updated “Race to the Bottom” with all of the details but a quick look at the Giants schedule shows two games against teams in playoff contention but the Philadelphia Eagles could be resting starters in Week 18.
The Jaguars and Titans play each other in Week 17 while the Patriots could see the Buffalo Bills resting starters in Week 18.
The path to the top overall pick seems unlikely given the gap in Strength of SChedule between Cleveland and the three teams directly in front of them. A New York win would be huge in opening up the possibility of getting a top-two pick given their SOS.
Where do you think the Browns will be selecting when the 2024 NFL season ends? Does a top two or three pick excite you?