NFL Draft Order 2017: Late Season Upsets Shake Up Draft Picks

The 2017 NFL Draft order seemed just about set at the top, with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers giving new meaning to the term “inept” this season. The Browns still hadn’t won a game and the 49ers had only managed one victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Then during Week 16 of the NFL schedule, the Browns beat the San Diego Chargers, giving 49ers fans hope of nabbing that first overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Instead, the 49ers beat the Rams again late that weekend, moving back ahead of the Browns in the updated NFL standings.

Heading into Week 17, all the Browns had to do to clinch the first overall pick in the draft was to roll over against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the game taking place in Pittsburgh, it seemed like it would easily become the latest loss of the season for the Browns. That’s not how the game started out, though, as the Browns raced out to a 14-0 lead and threatened to possibly pull off the biggest upset of the week. Meanwhile, there were a host of other upsets also brewing in the Week 17 games, even though they didn’t all turn out in favor of the underdogs.

Several teams projected to have high first-round selections in the 2017 NFL Draft order had early leads in Week 17 games. Winning those games could possibly lead to having a worse pick when draft day rolls around. The early Week 17 scores included the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Baltimore Ravens, the Carolina Panthers beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cleveland Browns beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Jets beating the Buffalo Bills, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Indianapolis Colts.

None of the Week 17 NFL picks coming from the experts predicted that many upsets taking place during the final regular season games. While the favored teams have pulled out some of those games, other matchups are close to yielding upsets that will shift the 2017 NFL Draft order. At the end of this article is the updated list of first-round picks, including the ones that have been traded through past deals. The order will get updated further as more games come to an end on January 1.

One of the big takeaways from a quick view of the first round picks is that two teams now have multiple selections early on. The Cleveland Browns own their pick and that of the Philadelphia Eagles. This will give the Browns two elite talents from college football, unless the team decides to trade one of the picks. The Tennessee Titans will also have two really good picks, as they possess their own selection and that of the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams pick could be very valuable, as it is projected to fall within the top five selections.

The yearly draft order goes in reverse order of the final standings, no matter what seed a team receives in the playoffs. The postseason will also affect how the final order looks, with the Super Bowl winner getting the last pick and the Super Bowl loser awarded the penultimate selection. The conference championship game losers come in at No. 29 and No. 30 and it works backward from there, with the teams making it further in the NFL Playoffs getting the worse selections in the final 2017 NFL Draft order.

2017 NFL Draft Order (Through January 1)

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

[Featured Image by Joe Sargent/Getty Images]