NFL draft order: How pick selection is decided

Now that the NFL draft is here, there will be many questions as to how the process works. Let’s explain one of the most basic concepts of the draft: what determines the order.

It’s really quite simple — teams are slotted from No. 1 to No. 32 in the first round, depending on win-loss record from the previous year. The team with the worst record gets the top spot, while the Super Bowl champion and runner-up pick at No. 32 and 31, respectively.

Teams that missed the postseason are automatically entered in the first 20 spots. The postseason teams that missed the Super Bowl are slotted in anywhere from 21 to 30, depending on which round they lost. Tiebreakers are settled by strength of schedule, and if those are identical we go to records against common teams. If teams are still tied after that, they just flip a coin, which actually happened at this year’s NFL Combine when the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings were deadlocked.

The order largely stays the same in the later rounds, with teams picking in reverse order of last year’s record. Starting in the third round, there’s a wrinkle added, with teams able to use compensatory draft picks they got rewarded after losing players in free agency. These compensatory picks are used at the end of each round.

Of course, this draft order won’t follow the exact standings thanks to trades. We already saw a handful of first-round picks change hands this year. The Tennessee Titans finished 9-7 and have the No. 18 pick, but they also hold the No. 5 pick, thanks to the Jared Goff trade with the Los Angeles Rams last year.

Similarly, the 1-15 Cleveland Browns have both the No. 1 and No. 12 picks. Last year, they made a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, who made an aggressive move to get Carson Wentz. The Eagles got back in the first round shortly afterwards, ending up with the No. 14 spot after the Vikings dealt it away for Sam Bradford.

Finally, the New Orleans Saints went 7-9 and earned the No. 11 pick, but they also hold pick No. 32 after a trade with the New England Patriots sent Brandin Cooks to the defending champions. There are also dozens of draft picks shaken up in the later rounds.

In short, the draft order is simple on the surface, but trades and compensatory picks can make it a bit hard to figure out. So here’s a quick shortcut to keep up — was your team bad last year? They’ll probably pick early in the rounds. Was your team good? They’ll probably be picking late. Anything beyond that is just splitting hairs.