The good news for the San Francisco 49ers following Monday night's loss to the New York Giants is that their draft status has improved slightly. If the season ended today, which it does not, the Oakland Raiders would own the No. 1 overall pick while the 49ers would be drafting one spot behind them.
The Giants would be selecting with the No. 3 overall pick thanks to a weaker strength of schedule compared to the Arizona Cardinals.
The higher draft pick is small consolation for a team looking to show it is better than its record. Head coach Kyle Shanahan's 49ers have won just two games over the past two seasons without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leading the offense.
How high the 49ers will actually select will be determined by the rest of the season and their final record.
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 | Oakland Raiders | 1-8 | .524 |
2 | San Francisco 49ers | 2-8 | .489 |
3 | New York Giants | 2-7 | .524 |
4 | Arizona Cardinals | 2-7 | .547 |
5 | New York Jets | 3-7 | .436 |
6 | Buffalo Bills | 3-7 | .565 |
7 | Detroit Lions | 3-6 | .482 |
8 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-6 | .524 |
9 | Denver Broncos | 3-6 | .553 |
10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-6 | .598 |
11 | Cleveland Browns | 3-6-1 | .565 |
12 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4-5 | .451 |
13 | Indianapolis Colts | 4-5 | .452 |
14 | Oakland Raiders (from Cowboys) | 4-5 | .481 |
15 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-5 | .530 |
16 | Atlanta Falcons | 4-5 | .537 |
17 | Baltimore Ravens | 4-5 | .560 |
18 | Miami Dolphins | 5-5 | .468 |
19 | Green Bay Packers | 4-4-1 | .541 |
20 | Tennessee Titans | 5-4 | .512 |
21 | Cincinnati Bengals | 5-4 | -- |
22 | Minnesota Vikings | 5-3-1 | -- |
23 | Carolina Panthers | 6-3 | -- |
24 | Los Angeles Chargers | 7-2 | -- |
25 | Houston Texans | 6-3 | -- |
26 | Washington Redskins | 6-3 | -- |
27 | Oakland Raiders (from Bears) | 6-3 | -- |
28 | New England Patriots | 7-3 | -- |
29 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-2-1 | -- |
30 | Green Bay Packers (from Saints) | 8-1 | -- |
31 | Los Angeles Rams | 9-1 | -- |
32 | Kansas City Chiefs | 9-1 | -- |
* 21-32 based on projected playoff seeding, not record or strength of schedule
** Trades show the record of the origin team