Through nine weeks of the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers own the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Is this a lead the Bucs can actually hold?
2014 NFL Draft order: Buccaneers move into No. 1
As a reward for beating the Seattle Seahawks in the first half Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been awarded the top pick. Actually, no, that’s not how it works.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The Buccaneers haven't had the No. 1 pick since 1987 when they took quarterback Vinny Testaverde.
By virtue of strength of schedule through games played, Tampa Bay is narrowly edging out the Jacksonville Jaguars for the top pick in the draft. Presumably, both teams would be targeting a quarterback with the top pick. So would the Minnesota Vikings, which hold down the No. 3 spot.
Things get interesting after that with the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers flipping for the No. 4 pick due to having the same strength of schedule while being in opposing conferences. Players like South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or Texas A&M left tackle Jake Matthews would be in play at that point.
Draft order tiebreakers are first determined by opponent strength of schedule. Then it's by division record if those teams are in the same division. The final tiebreaker is in-conference record, if only those teams are in the same conference. The last tiebreaker is a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 0-8 (.603)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars - 0-8 (.687)
3. Minnesota Vikings - 1-7 (.500)
4 or 5. Pittsburgh Steelers - 2-6 (.507)
4 or 5. Atlanta Falcons - 2-6 (.507)
6. New York Giants - 2-6 (.588)
7. Houston Texans - 2-6 (.642)
8. St. Louis Rams - 3-6 (.486)
9. Buffalo Bills - 3-6 (.636)
10. Baltimore Ravens - 3-5 (.463)
11. Oakland Raiders - 3-5 (.530)
12. St. Louis Rams (via Washington Redskins) - 3-5 (.576)
13. Philadelphia Eagles - 4-5 (.473)
14. Cleveland Browns - 4-5 (.520)
15. San Diego Chargers - 4-4 (.409)
16. Arizona Cardinals - 4-4 (.530)
17. Miami Dolphins - 4-4 (.544)
18. Tennessee Titans - 4-4 (.574)
19. Chicago Bears - 5-3 (.462)
20. Green Bay Packers - 5-3 (.500)
Teams currently on pace to make the playoffs where elimination will determine the proper order:
21. New York Jets - 5-4 (.487)
22. Dallas Cowboys 5-4 (.507)
23. Carolina Panthers - 5-3 (.343)
24. Detroit Lions - 5-3 (.493)
25. Cincinnati Bengals - 6-3 (.526)
26. Cleveland Browns (via Indianapolis Colts) - 6-2 (.523)
27. New Orleans Saints - 6-2 (.448)
28. San Francisco 49ers - 6-2 (.485)
29. New England Patriots - 7-2 (.434)
30. Denver Broncos - 7-1 (.394)
31. Seattle Seahawks - 8-1 (.411)
32. Kansas City Chiefs - 9-0 (.355)
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