The NFL season has reached its halfway point as the Week 9 games have concluded following the Steelers' win over the Bears on Teams are starting to figure out where they stand as the second half of the season begins, with some in a race for the playoffs.
For the teams who don't stand a chance at the postseason, the draft comes into play. As the league's only winless team, the Detroit Lions are currently in position to have the No. 1 overall pick, while the Houston Texans remain in contention for the top spot with only one win.
The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and New York Jets control the top of the draft board thanks to offseason trades -- owning seven of the first 14 picks. Philadelphia currently has the No. 3, No. 7, and No. 14 picks in the draft while the Jets have the No. 4 and No. 10 picks and the Giants own No. 8 and No. 11. Seeing how high these picks can become will be worth monitoring during the second half of the season.
The 2022 draft setup has a number of factors that determine the order. Win percentage is the determination of the order as the first tiebreaker between multiple teams is strength of schedule (the weaker strength of schedule, the higher a team picks). For teams in the playoffs as of Week 9, the order is determined by playoff seeding.
The Atlanta Falcons are currently the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff race and have the worst record amongst the playoff teams, so they have the highest draft positioning among those teams at No. 19 overall. The Arizona Cardinals have the best record amongst the playoff teams, which means they have the lowest draft positioning at No. 32 overall.
While the draft order will be changing week-to-week based on results, here's a first look at the order through the Week 9 slate of games:
2022 NFL Draft Order -- through Week 9
- Detroit Lions -- 0-8
- Houston Texans -- 1-8
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Miami Dolphins) -- 2-7
- New York Jets -- 2-6
- Jacksonville Jaguars -- 2-6
- Washington Football Team -- 2-6
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 3-6
- New York Giants -- 3-6
- New York Giants (via Chicago Bears) -- 3-6
- Miami Dolphins (via San Francisco 49ers) -- 3-6
- New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks) -- 3-5
- Minnesota Vikings -- 3-5
- Carolina Panthers -- 4-5
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Indianapolis Colts) -- 4-5
- Denver Broncos -- 5-4
- Cincinnati Bengals -- 5-4
- Cleveland Browns -- 5-4
- Kansas City Chiefs -- 5-4
- Atlanta Falcons -- 4-4
- New England Patriots -- 5-4
- New Orleans Saints -- 5-3
- Pittsburgh Steelers -- 5-3
- Las Vegas Raiders -- 5-3
- Dallas Cowboys -- 6-2
- Buffalo Bills -- 5-3
- Los Angeles Chargers -- 5-3
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 6-2
- Detroit Lions (via Los Angeles Rams) -- 6-2
- Baltimore Ravens -- 6-2
- Green Bay Packers -- 7-2
- Tennessee Titans -- 7-2
- Arizona Cardinals -- 8-1
