Week 16 of the NFL season sees the Texans claiming the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Whether they win or lose against the Titans, they will retain that spot. They can clinch the No. 1 pick with a win and a Bears loss. Otherwise, they’ll have to wait until next week to secure the top spot.
The Broncos and Rams will be playing each other on Sunday, with the winner earning a better record but the loser earning a better projected draft pick. The losing team between the Saints and Browns will likely have a top-10 draft pick.
1 p.m. window update
The top of the draft order will remain the same coming out of Week 16, but it’s gotten a little more interesting. The Texans upset the Titans in Nashville to improve to 2-12-1. They remain in the No. 1 draft position, but with the Bears losing, Houston is less than a game up with two weeks remaining. The No. 1 pick race has gotten a lot more interesting. The rest of the top five will not be settled until after the Sunday and Monday games. The Broncos face the Rams, the Cardinals host the Bucs, and the Colts wrap things at home on Monday against the Chargers.
Saturday PM update
The 4 p.m. window featured four teams all in the playoff race with the 49ers beating the Commanders and the Cowboys beating the Eagles. The Christmas Eve slate concluded with the Steelers beating the Raiders. Both can be eliminated from playoff contention if the Dolphins and Chargers close out Week 16 with wins. That would lock Pittsburgh and Las Vegas into top 18 picks.
Sunday update
The Rams beat the Broncos on Christmas Day, and that coupled with the Cardinals loss to the Bucs moves the LA pick to No. 7, while the Denver pick and Arizona are tied for third and fourth.
Monday update
The Colts lost to the Chargers to close out Week 16. The result does not change the final draft order from the weekend, and so the Colts remain in the No. 5 position while the Chargers are No. 24.
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.
- Houston Texans, 2-12-1, .490
- Chicago Bears, 3-12, .567
- Denver Broncos (Seahawks have pick), 4-11, .490
- Arizona Cardinals, 4-11, .522
- Indianapolis Colts, 4-10-1, .510
- Atlanta Falcons, 5-10, .465
- Los Angeles Rams (Lions have pick), 5-10, .506
- Carolina Panthers, 6-9, .457
- Las Vegas Raiders, 6-9, .463
- New Orleans Saints (Eagles have pick), 6-9, .502
- Cleveland Browns (Texans have pick), 6-9, .522
- Seattle Seahawks, 7-8, .461
- Tennessee Titans, 7-8, .506
- New England Patriots, 7-8, .516
- New York Jets, 7-8, .529
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 7-8, .531
- Green Bay Packers, 7-8, .537
- Detroit Lions, 7-8, .541
- Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-8, .482
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7-8, .490
- Washington Commanders, 7-7-1, .537
- Miami Dolphins (Forfeit pick due to tampering), 8-7, .539
- New York Giants, 8-6-1, .533
- Los Angeles Chargers, 9-6, .435
- Baltimore Ravens, 10-5, .492
- San Francisco 49ers (Broncos have pick), 11-4, .414
- Dallas Cowboys, 11-4, .514
- Cincinnati Bengals, 11-4, .525
- Kansas City Chiefs, 12-3, .455
- Minnesota Vikings, 12-3, .480
- Buffalo Bills, 12-3, .514
- Philadelphia Eagles, 13-2, .475