BETTING NFL
12:41 PM, January 19, 2023

2023 NFL Draft Order Entering the Divisional Round

Grant White Grant White

It’s an awful distinction, but one team has to have it. In the NFL, the top draft pick is awarded to the last-place team in the league. A specific formula weighing the different outcomes allows the NFL to designate which franchise was worse than every other. Sometimes, one pick near the top of the draft can turn around a team’s misfortune. However, some organizations are perennially picking near the top with a seemingly neverending string of busts. 

This year, we’re tracking the draft order and watching which teams have the best chance of selecting first overall.

2023 NFL Draft Order Entering the Divisional Round

Team

Pick This Week

Pick Last Week

Bears

1

 2
Texans 2 1

Cardinals

3

4
Colts 4 5
Broncos 5

3

Rams

6

6
Raiders 7 8

Falcons

 8

7
Panthers 9 9

Saints

10

10

Titans

11

11
Browns 12

12

Jets

13

13

Patriots

14

 22

Packers

15

16

Commanders

16

14

Steelers

17

15

Lions

 18

17

Buccaneers

 19 21

Seahawks

 20 19
Dolphins 21

18

Chargers

22

25

Ravens

 23 24
Vikings 24 27
Jaguars 25 20
Giants 26

23
Cowboys 27

28
Bengals 28 26
49ers 29

29

Bills

30

 30
Chiefs

31

 31
Eagles 32 32

Not every year a division winner gets to pick in the top 20, but that’s exactly where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will choose at Union Station on April 27. The Tom Brady-led Bucs were dismantled at home, dropping a 31-14 decision to the Dallas Cowboys, potentially ending Brady’s tenure in central Florida. Tampa Bay is in a state of flux as they assess their quarterback and head coaching situations. If they choose not to re-sign Brady, they may be wise to use their first selection on a top-tier signal caller. 

The only silver lining the Miami Dolphins could take from their wild-card round defeat is that they covered the spread as hefty underdogs. The Fins took on the Buffalo Bills as meaty +14 underdogs, claiming an ATS victory in a 34-31 loss. Like the Buccaneers, the Dolphins head into the offseason with questions regarding their quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa’s playing career is in jeopardy after a string of head injuries kept him out of the last few weeks of the season. Worse, Miami doesn’t even have their first-round pick to look forward to after they forfeited it due to tampering misconduct. It will be a long wait until they make their first selection. 

The Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and Minnesota Vikings were also eliminated in the opening round, meaning the top 24 picks of the draft are set in stone. However, Minnesota earned a unique distinction from the past weekend. They were the only home team that was favored that failed to win. The Vikings entered the contest as -2.5 chalk but spent most of the game trailing and eventually dropped a 31-24 decision to the New York Giants. 

2023 NFL Draft Trades

Only one of the remaining teams does not possess a first-round pick — the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners made a move up the board at the 2021 NFL Draft, sending their opening round choice from 2021, 2022, and 2023 to the Dolphins in exchange for the third overall pick in the 2021 draft. San Francisco used that pick to select Trey Lance, who has played only eight games through the first two seasons of his career, starting four. 
 
Miami didn’t hold onto the pick, trading the Niners’ draft capital to the Denver Broncos in the Bradley Chubb deal earlier this season. Although it didn’t work out in the Dolphins’ favor, the Broncos desperately needed a hand-up after they got fleeced in the Russell Wilson trade last year. 
 
The Fins and 49ers are in a similar position, not owning an opening-round pick. Still, the Niners are looking ahead to another home playoff game while the Dolphins are left wondering what might have been.