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NFL Draft Basics

Determining Order of Selection

By James Alder, About.com

• The team with the lowest winning percentage at the end of the previous season drafts first in the NFL Draft.

• The rest of the teams are placed in order from lowest winning percentage to the highest.

• The Super Bowl winner drafts last, even if they do not have the highest winning percentage.

• The Super Bowl loser drafts next to last.

• Strength of schedule for the previous season is the first tie-breaker for teams with the same winning percentage.

• Divisional and conference records are the next step in the tie-breaking procedure.

• As a last resort, a coin toss is used to determine the order of selection for teams with the same winning percentage.

• If a playoff and non-playoff team end the season with the same winning percentage, the non-playoff team selects before the playoff team regardless of strength of schedule.

2009 NFL Draft Discussions by Team

Arizona Dallas Miami Pittsburgh
Atlanta Denver Minnesota San Diego
Baltimore Detroit New England San Francisco
Buffalo Green Bay New Orleans Seattle
Carolina Houston NY Giants St. Louis
Chicago Indianapolis NY Jets Tampa Bay
Cincinnati Jacksonville Oakland Tennessee
Cleveland Kansas City Philadelphia Washington
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