The San Francisco 49ers have now won four of their last five games and three straight since Jimmy Garoppolo was named the starting quarterback. Each win boosts confidence among the 49ers players as the team closes out the season. Of course, the only downside is that each win hurts the 49ers potential draft position next year.
With the 49ers' franchise quarterback finally identified, draft status isn't as vital as it once was. Still, the 4-10 team dropped from the number three spot to fourth in the draft order following its 25-23 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The positioning is based on if the season ended today -- which, in case you were wondering, it does not.
Ahead of San Francisco are the still-winless Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants, and now the Indianapolis Colts. The Browns own the Houston Texans' first-round pick. Houston and the Chicago Bears each have four wins like the 49ers, but San Francisco benefits from a weaker strength of schedule.
How high the 49ers will actually select will be determined by the rest of the season and their final record.
Monday night's game between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have no bearing on the teams within the top five spots of the projected draft order. However, it will have a slight impact on the draft position of teams after that. A Falcons victory would cause the Buccaneers and Chicago Bears to swap spots. A Buccaneers victory would drop them to the 10th-overall position.
Below is the current draft order, based on playoff seeding (21-32), record, and strength of schedule (SOS) for all 32 first-round spots if the season ended today. Of course, the order of the bottom 12 teams will eventually be determined by the playoff results and Super Bowl winner.
| Team | W-L | SOS | |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | 0-14 | .510 |
| 2 | New York Giants | 2-12 | .544 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts | 3-11 | .495 |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | 4-10 | .485 |
| 5 | Cleveland Browns (from Texans) | 4-10 | .505 |
| 6 | Chicago Bears | 4-10 | .582 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-9 | .536 |
| 8 | Cincinnati Bengals | 5-9 | .459 |
| 9 | Denver Broncos | 5-9 | .480 |
| 10 | New York Jets | 5-9 | .515 |
| 11 | Oakland Raiders | 6-8 | .485 |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals | 6-8 | .508 |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | 6-8 | .546 |
| 14 | Washington Redskins | 6-8 | .571 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Chargers | 7-7 | .485 |
| 16 | Green Bay Packers | 7-7 | .510 |
| 17 | Dallas Cowboys | 8-6 | .456 |
| 18 | Baltimore Ravens | 8-6 | .464 |
| 19 | Seattle Seahawks | 8-6 | .482 |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | 8-6 | .495 |
| 21 | Buffalo Bills | 8-6 | -- |
| 22 | Atlanta Falcons | 8-5 | -- |
| 23 | Tennessee Titans | 8-6 | -- |
| 24 | Carolina Panthers | 10-4 | -- |
| 25 | Buffalo Bills (from Chiefs) | 8-6 | -- |
| 26 | New Orleans Saints | 10-4 | -- |
| 27 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 10-4 | -- |
| 28 | Los Angeles Rams | 10-4 | -- |
| 29 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-3 | -- |
| 30 | Minnesota Vikings | 11-3 | -- |
| 31 | New England Patriots | 11-3 | -- |
| 32 | Philadelphia Eagles | 12-2 | -- |
* 21-32 based on projected playoff seeding, not record or strength of schedule
** Trades show the record of the origin team