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What Week 17 means for the 2021 NFL Draft order

The top two spots are locked in, but there’s still plenty of intrigue over the draft order heading into the season’s final week.

By LTruscott
NFL: Cleveland Browns-2021 NFL Draft Press Conference Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE: Full rundown of post-Week 17 draft order

Thanks to a recent run of unusual competency, the New York Jets have ceded the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even a win by the Jags this week can’t pry them out of that spot either — they have officially clinched it.

The Jets have sewn up the second spot too. No scenario can change that in the season’s final week of play. So the draft intrigue heading into Sunday’s regular season finale is all about the spots starting at No. 3.

Here’s a look at the top 10 spots as they currently stand. After individual records, strength of schedule is the first tiebreaker for teams and is in parenthesis after each team’s record. Hat tip to Tankathon for providing that. Each team’s Week 17 opponent is listed as well.

  1. Jets: 2-13 (.592) — @ Patriots
  2. Texans: 4-11 (.540) — vs. Titans
  3. Falcons: 4-11 (.550) — @ Buccaneers
  4. Bengals: 4-10-1 (.527) — vs. Ravens
  5. Eagles: 4-10-1 (.531) — vs. Washington
  6. Lions: 5-10 (.504) — vs. Vikings
  7. Giants: 5-10 (.506) — vs. Cowboys
  8. Panthers: 5-10 (.529) — vs. Saints
  9. Broncos: 5-10 (.567) — vs. Raiders

The most intriguing and weirdest game on the schedule has to be the Giants vs. Cowboys. Both teams could wind up with a top-10 pick or they could win the NFC East title with a Washington loss in primetime on Sunday night.

After the four teams with 5-10 records, there are another five sitting at 6-9, so the draft order could look a lot different by Sunday night. Stay tuned!

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