The Broncos will have the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft after losing to the Chargers on Sunday.
Denver shares a 6-10 regular season record with three other teams: the Lions, the Bills and the Bengals. Detroit had the weakest strength of schedule (the Lions’ opponents had an aggregate winning percentage of .500) of the four, so they were awarded the No. 8 pick. Cincinnati had the toughest (.531), so they received the No. 11 pick.
Denver and Buffalo shared the same strength of schedule as both teams’ opponents finished with a record of 133-121-2 (.523). From there, it gets a bit complicated. Adam Stites of SB Nation breaks down the subsequent tiebreaks.
1. Strength of schedule (opponents for both are 133-121-2)
2. Conference record (both are 4-8)
3. Common games (both are 1-4)
4. Strength of victory (record of teams Bills beat 39-45-1; Broncos 44-41-1)Bills will pick 9th, Broncos 10th
— Adam Stites (@AdamStites_)
Here’s a look at the 2019 first-round draft order for the teams eliminated from the playoffs:
1. Arizona Cardinals (3-13)
2. San Francisco 49ers (4-12)
3. New York Jets (4-12)
4. Oakland Raiders (4-12)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
6. New York Giants (5-11)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
8. Detroit Lions (6-10)
9. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
10. Denver Broncos (6-10)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)
12. Green Bay Packers (6-9-1)
13. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
14. Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
15. Washington Redskins (7-9)
16. Carolina Panthers (7-9)
17. Cleveland Browns (7-8-1)
18. Minnesota Vikings (8-7-1)
19. Indianapolis Colts (9-7)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6-1)
21. Seattle Seahawks (10-6)
22. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
23. Houston Texans (11-5)
24. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears 12-4)
25-28: The four teams eliminated in the divisional round in the reverse order of their regular season finishes.
29-30: The two teams eliminated in the conference championships in the reverse order of their regular season finishes.
31. Super Bowl loser.
32. Super Bowl winner.
CORRECTION: Due to a source error, the Broncos’ position was incorrectly named. Denver will receive the No. 10 pick in the first round.
