The NFL heads into Week 14 and the Texans remain in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They are 1-10-1 and hold a little under a one-game lead on the 3-10 Bears for the top spot. With Chicago on a bye this week, Houston can firm that position up further when they travel to face the Cowboys as a 17-point underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook.
This week, we see quite a few matchups featuring one team with a record at or above .500 and one team with a record below .500. We might see little draft order movement in the top ten, or an upset or two could throw things for a loop.
We already saw the Rams stun the Raiders on Thursday Night Football, to Las Vegas into the top ten. The 5-7 Browns and Steelers are facing their 8-4 counterparts in the AFC North. The 4-8 Jaguars are traveling to face the first place Titans. The 3-9 Broncos host the first-place Chiefs. And the 4-8 Panthers are headed to face the second-place Seahawks. It makes for a busy Sunday that could do a lot or very little to the draft order.
1 p.m. window update
The Texans almost shocked the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday, but came up short as Dallas scored in the final minute to come back and get the victory. Houston would have remained No. 1 in the draft order with a win, but this further solidifies their position. The bigger news for the early schedule was the Jaguars beating the Titans. Jacksonville leaves the top ten for the time-being and at 5-8 still has an outside shot at a playoff berth.
4 p.m. window update
The biggest news of the late afternoon slate of games was Carolina shocking Seattle. The Panthers remain in the top ten after the road upset, but they are trending away from it. They’re not going to make the playoffs, but they’re finishing the season strong. For draft purposes, the most notable news is that the Broncos loss to the Chiefs moves Denver into the No. 2 spot. The Seahawks hold that pick from the Russell Wilson trade, so that’s a big move for them.
SNF update
The Chargers held off the Dolphins and that changes up the middle of the draft order. LA moves into the final AFC playoff berth, which drops the Jets out and into the top 18 for the time-being.
MNF update
The Patriots didn’t have much trouble against the Cardinals after Kyler Murray went down with what appears to be an ACL tear. They’re still in the playoff race and hurt their draft spot with a win, but the Cardinals are moving down hill rapidly and now with Murray likely out, have a shot at the No. 2 overall pick.
Here’s the complete 2023 NFL Draft order. The first 18 picks are teams that would currently miss the playoffs. A division leader has a lower draft position than a non-playoff or wild card team with a better record because of the nature of playoff seeding. SOS serves as the tiebreaker and comes via Tankathon. We’ll update this as the league works through the Week 14 schedule on Sunday and Monday.
- Houston Texans, 1-11-1, .502
- Denver Broncos (Seahawks have pick), 3-10, .484
- Chicago Bears, 3-10, .572
- Los Angeles Rams (Lions have pick), 4-9, .498
- New Orleans Saints (Eagles have pick), 4-9, .502
- Arizona Cardinals, 4-9, .516
- Indianapolis Colts, 4-8-1, .502
- Las Vegas Raiders, 5-8, .443
- Carolina Panthers, 5-8, .446
- Atlanta Falcons, 5-8, .450
- Jacksonville Jaguars, 5-8, .498
- Cleveland Browns (Texans have pick), 5-8, .516
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-8, .541
- Green Bay Packers, 5-8, .561
- Detroit Lions, 6-7, .552
- Los Angeles Chargers, 7-6, .434
- Seattle Seahawks, 7-6, .450
- New York Jets, 7-6, .529
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-7, .475
- Tennessee Titans, 7-6, .489
- New England Patriots, 7-6, .523
- Washington Commanders, 7-5-1, .543
- New York Giants, 7-5-1, .552
- Miami Dolphins (Forfeit pick due to tampering), 8-4, .532
- San Francisco 49ers (Broncos have pick), 9-4, .423
- Baltimore Ravens, 9-4, .477
- Cincinnati Bengals, 9-4, .529
- Dallas Cowboys, 10-3, .520
- Kansas City Chiefs, 10-3, .439
- Minnesota Vikings, 10-3, .495
- Buffalo Bills, 10-3, .529
- Philadelphia Eagles, 12-1, .475