Cardinals atop 2019 NFL Draft order after loss to Falcons
Dec 17, 2018, 7:57 AM
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
The Arizona Cardinals were separated from the Atlanta Falcons by just a game heading into Sunday.
After a 40-14 drubbing at the hands of the Falcons (5-9) in Week 15, plus a little outside help, Arizona (3-11) finds itself currently holding the top NFL Draft pick in 2019 with two weeks to play.
The Cardinals and the Raiders fell to 3-11 on Sunday as Oakland lost, 30-16, to the Cincinnati Bengals. Arizona and Oakland are now alone at the bottom of the NFL standings, but the former has a less impressive strength of schedule, giving it the tiebreaker in terms of draft order.
Helping both teams’ odds in terms of the draft in Week 15 were the San Francisco 49ers, who pulled out a 26-23 overtime win at home against the Seattle Seahawks.
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Below, you’ll find the order at the top of the NFL Draft with only a inconsequential Monday night game, for these purposes, to play.
Before that, a few quick rules:
• The top of the draft order is decided by the inverse winning percentage of non-playoff teams.
• Tiebreakers are based on inverse strength of schedule — the aggregate winning percentage of a team’s opponents. In other words, the team that played the weakest schedule with the worst combined record will earn a higher pick.
• The second tiebreaker is divisional records against common opponents.
2019 NFL Draft order (after Week 15)
| Pick | Team | Record | Strength of schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-11 | .522 |
| 2 | Oakland Raiders | 3-11 | .562 |
| 3 | New York Jets | 4-10 | .502 |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | 4-10 | .504 |
| 5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-10 | .551 |
| 6 | Atlanta Falcons | 5-9 | .493 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | 5-9 | .498 |
| 8 | New York Giants | 5-9 | .518 |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-9 | .518 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | 5-9 | .522 |
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