If the NFL season ended today, the San Francisco 49ers would still own the second-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. However, due to the 49ers' 31-21 victory over the New York Giants, the team could slip to the third pick after this weekend. The 49ers are only at the number two spot because they have played fewer games than the Giants. Both teams have one win, but the 49ers have a worse record because of their nine losses compared to the Giants' eight.
The 49ers do not play this weekend, but the Giants do. New York will host the 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs, who are currently 11.5-point favorites to beat the Giants. A loss will give New York a similar record to the 49ers and an upgrade to the number two spot due to a weaker strength of schedule. Head-to-head, which the 49ers own anyway, is not a factor when determining draft status.
Of course, the number one spot belongs to the winless Cleveland Browns. How high the 49ers will actually select will be determined by the rest of the season and their final record.
The 49ers can't be happy about the New Orleans Saints' seven-game win streak either. The Saints opened the season with two-straight losses. Why do the 49ers care what New Orleans is doing? They own the Saints' second-round pick and, thanks to a trade for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, that selection is currently their only one in the round.
#49ers are not celebrating #Saints 7-game win streak: Their second-round pick in 2018 draft is from New Orleans.
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) November 14, 2017
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 | 0-9 | .506 |
| 2 | San Francisco 49ers | 1-9 | .533 |
| 3 | New York Giants | 1-8 | .500 |
| 4 | Indianapolis Colts | 3-7 | .473 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3-6 | .476 |
| 6T | Denver Broncos | 3-6 | .519 |
| 6T | Los Angeles Chargers | 3-6 | .519 |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns (from Texans) | 3-6 | .537 |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-6 | .542 |
| 10 | Chicago Bears | 3-6 | .610 |
| 11 | New York Jets | 4-6 | .478 |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals | 4-5 | .464 |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | 4-5 | .476 |
| 14 | Baltimore Ravens | 4-5 | .494 |
| 15 | Miami Dolphins | 4-5 | .524 |
| 16 | Washington Redskins | 4-5 | .634 |
| 17 | Dallas Cowboys | 5-4 | .439 |
| 18 | Detroit Lions | 5-4 | .524 |
| 19 | Atlanta Falcons | 5-4 | .542 |
| 20 | Green Bay Packers | 5-4 | .543 |
| 21 | Buffalo Bills | 5-4 | -- |
| 22 | Seattle Seahawks | 6-3 | -- |
| 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-3 | -- |
| 24 | Carolina Panthers | 7-3 | -- |
| 25 | Tennessee Titans | 6-3 | -- |
| 26 | Los Angeles Rams | 7-2 | -- |
| 27 | Buffalo Bills (from Chiefs) | 6-3 | -- |
| 28 | New Orleans Saints | 7-2 | -- |
| 29 | Minnesota Vikings | 7-2 | -- |
| 30 | New England Patriots | 7-2 | -- |
| 31 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-2 | -- |
| 32 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8-1 | -- |
* 21-32 based on projected playoff seeding, not record or strength of schedule
** Trades show the record of the origin team
*** Teams with similar records and SOS will have a coin flip as a tiebreaker
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