By Draft Specialist: Brian Tollcot

Determining the First Round

The draft order is first determined by a teams win-loss record during the previous season.  The teams with the worst winning percentage draft first and so on.  Teams with identical records are placed by the won-loss records of their opponents during the season.  The worse the opponents cumulative win-loss record, the higher they will draft among their group.  For example:

If the teams records and opponents win-loss records are tied then the following tiebreakers, when applicable are taken into consideration with the loser getting the higher selection.

1. divisional record

2. conference record

If teams are tied after all tiebreaking procedures are exhausted, a coin toss would then take place to determine draft position.

Playoff teams, as they are eliminated in the playoffs are slotted at the end of their record group (strength of schedule is not taken into consideration unless teams with identical records are eliminated the same week of the playoffs).  The teams that advance further in the playoffs get positioned lower in their win-loss grouping.  The Super Bowl winner will pick 32nd and runner-up 31st.

For Example:

* The Jets were eliminated in the first week of the playoffs, the Eagles the second and the Saints the 3rd.  All opponents win-loss records are thrown out and each teams draft position is determined by the round they were eliminated.

Determining Later Rounds

After the first round is established, each team in their win-loss bracket will rotate up one pick for the next round.  The top team in each win-loss group goes to the bottom.  For example, the second round for all 10-6 teams would look like this:

* In the 3rd round, Philadelphia would rotate down and the order would be: New Orleans - NY Jets - Philadelphia.