The Bengals’ win over the Eagles moved their draft positioning back to the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. With a resurgence following that 32-14 win and some additional winnable games approaching, it’s possible the Bengals are bounced out of the top 10 of the draft order.
The Bengals currently have a 4-7-1 record that should improve to 5-7-1 on Sunday, as long as they keep the Browns winless and claim their second victory of the season over the league’s worst team. The Browns are currently in line for the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and it’s pretty likely they maintain that positioning.
The Bengals are in a position where it’s nearly impossible that they make the playoffs, but, every win they do get from here until the end of the season will only hurt their draft order next season.
Still, playing for pride and building momentum for next season are what I’d choose for this team instead of tanking for a better draft pick. The Bengals should be able to snag a great player whether they have the sixth pick or 16th pick.
Here’s the draft order heading into Week 14 in the NFL:
Order | Team | CONF | DIV | Wins | Losses | % | SOS% | Clinched/Projected |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cleveland Browns | AFC | North | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.544 | Clinched Elimination |
2 | San Francisco 49ers | NFC | West | 1 | 11 | 0.083 | 0.516 | Clinched Elimination |
3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | AFC | South | 2 | 10 | 0.167 | 0.542 | Clinched Elimination |
4 | Chicago Bears | NFC | North | 3 | 9 | 0.25 | 0.513 | Clinched Elimination |
5 | New York Jets | AFC | East | 3 | 9 | 0.25 | 0.513 | Clinched Elimination |
6 | Los Angeles Rams (Tennessee Titans own this pick) | NFC | West | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 0.495 | |
7 | Carolina Panthers | NFC | South | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 0.529 | |
8 | Cincinnati Bengals | AFC | North | 4.5 | 7.5 | 0.375 | 0.513 | |
9 | New Orleans Saints | NFC | South | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 0.536 | |
10 | San Diego Chargers | AFC | West | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 0.542 | |
11 | Philadelphia Eagles (Cleveland Browns own this pick) | NFC | East | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 0.563 | |
12 | Arizona Cardinals | NFC | West | 5.5 | 6.5 | 0.458 | 0.461 | |
13 | Buffalo Bills | AFC | East | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.466 | |
14 | Tennessee Titans | AFC | South | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.469 | |
15 | Indianapolis Colts | AFC | South | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.484 | |
16 | Minnesota Vikings (Philadelphia Eagles own this pick) | NFC | North | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.49 | |
17 | Green Bay Packers | NFC | North | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.521 | |
18 | Washington Redskins | NFC | East | 6.5 | 5.5 | 0.542 | 0.516 | |
19 | Miami Dolphins | AFC | East | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 0.451 | |
20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | AFC | North | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 0.492 |
Get more details on the draft order and strength of schedule here, courtesy of Scott Carasik.