The NFL Draft to be held in Cleveland is just months away. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl 55 champions. With the 2020 NFL season officially in the rearview mirror, the final 2021 NFL Draft order comes into focus.
2021 NFL Mock Drafts
Pauline | Tanier | Cummings | Farabaugh | Hodgkinson | Miller | Valdovinos | Schulte
After you review the current 2021 NFL Draft order, be sure to head over to the Pro Football Network free NFL Mock Draft Simulator to run a few mock drafts of your own.
Current 2021 NFL Draft Order | Round One
Order as of February 18 at 5:45 AM ET. Complete tiebreaking procedures are below the 2021 NFL Draft order.
Once the compensatory picks are known, the full seven-round 2021 NFL Draft order will be listed. Until then, only the top 95 selections are listed.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-15)
2. New York Jets (2-14)
3. Miami Dolphins (from Houston 4-12)
4. Atlanta Falcons (4-12)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1)
6. Philadelphia Eagles (4-11-1)
7. Detroit Lions (5-11)
8. Carolina Panthers (5-11)
9. Denver Broncos (5-11)
10. Dallas Cowboys (6-10)
11. New York Giants (6-10)
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
13. Los Angeles Chargers (7-9)
14. Minnesota Vikings (7-9)
15. New England Patriots (7-9)
16. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
17. Las Vegas Raiders (8-8)
18. Miami Dolphins (10-6)
19. Washington Football Team (7-9)
20. Chicago Bears (8-8)
21. Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
22. Tennessee Titans (11-5)
23. New York Jets (from Seattle 12-4)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LA Rams 10-6)
26. Cleveland Browns (11-5)
27. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
28. New Orleans Saints (12-4)
29. Green Bay Packers (13-3)
30. Buffalo Bills (13-3)
31. Kansas City Chiefs (14-2)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)
Current 2021 NFL Draft Order | Round Two
33. Jacksonville Jaguars
34. New York Jets
35. Atlanta Falcons
36. Miami Dolphins (from Houston)
37. Philadelphia Eagles
38. Cincinnati Bengals
39. Carolina Panthers
40. Denver Broncos
41. Detroit Lions
42. New York Giants
43. San Francisco 49ers
44. Dallas Cowboys
45. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Minnesota)
46. New England Patriots
47. Los Angeles Chargers
48. Las Vegas Raiders
49. Arizona Cardinals
50. Miami Dolphins
51. Washington Football Team
52. Chicago Bears
53. Tennessee Titans
54. Indianapolis Colts
55. Pittsburgh Steelers
56. Seattle Seahawks
57. Los Angeles Rams
58. Baltimore Ravens
59. Cleveland Browns
60. New Orleans Saints
61. Buffalo Bills
62. Green Bay Packers
63. Kansas City Chiefs
64. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2021 NFL Draft Order | Round Three
65. Jacksonville Jaguars
66. New York Jets
67. Houston Texans
68. Atlanta Falcons
69. Cincinnati Bengals
70. Philadelphia Eagles
71. Denver Broncos
72. Detroit Lions
73. Carolina Panthers
74. Washington Football Team (from San Francisco)
75. Dallas Cowboys
76. New York Giants
The New England Patriots forfeited their third-round pick as punishment for illegally filming the field and sidelines of a 2019 game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.
77. Los Angeles Chargers
78. Minnesota Vikings
79. Arizona Cardinals
80. Las Vegas Raiders
81. Miami Dolphins
82. Washington Football Team
83. Chicago Bears
84. Philadelphia Eagles (from Indianapolis)
85. Tennessee Titans
86. New York Jets (from Seattle)
87. Pittsburgh Steelers
88. Detroit Lions (from Los Angeles Rams)
89. Cleveland Browns
90. Minnesota Vikings (from Baltimore)
91. Cleveland Browns (from New Orleans)
92. Green Bay Packers
93. Buffalo Bills
94. Kansas City Chiefs
95. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There are already four compensatory picks known as part of the 2021 NFL Draft order. These are due to the NFL Resolution JC-2A, which rewards teams for developing minority candidates. These draft picks are awarded at the end of the third round, following the standard compensatory selections. They are awarded in the order of the first round.
These selections are in addition to the standard 32 compensatory selections awarded. However, they are not included above, as the number of the pick will not be known until the standard compensatory picks are awarded. The four additional picks are:
- San Francisco 49ers: additional selections also awarded in 2022 and 2023. These were awarded following Robert Saleh and Martin Mayhew being hired by the Jets and Washington, respectively.
- Los Angeles Rams: additional selection also awarded in 2022. These were awarded following Brad Holmes being hired by the Lions.
- Baltimore Ravens: additional selection also awarded in 2022. These were awarded following David Culley being hired by the Texans.
- New Orleans Saints: additional selection also awarded in 2022. These were awarded following Terry Fontenot being hired by the Falcons.
How the 2021 NFL Draft order is determined
The NFL Draft order is determined by the reverse order of each team’s finish that season. The teams that do not qualify for the playoffs are assigned picks 1 through 18. Teams reaching the playoffs receive picks 19 through 32 based on a combination of their postseason finish and regular season record.
- The six teams eliminated on Wild Card Weekend receive picks 19-24 based on regular season record.
- The four teams eliminated in the Divisional Round receive picks 25-28 based on regular season record.
- The two teams eliminated in the Conference Championships receive picks 29 and 30 based on regular season record.
- The team that loses the Super Bowl is pick 31.
- The Super Bowl champion is pick 32.
NFL Draft tiebreaking procedures
In situations where teams finish the regular season with identical records, draft position is determined by strength of schedule — defined as the aggregate winning percentage of a team’s opponents. The team with the lower strength of schedule gets the higher pick to break the tie.
If the teams with identical regular season records also have the same strength of schedule, division or conference tiebreakers are applied to determine which team will be awarded the higher pick.
Division Tiebreaking Procedures
If a tie remains between teams with both the same record and the same strength of schedule, and the teams are from the same division, then the division tiebreaking procedures are followed:
- Head-to-head record: the team with the worse record in games played against each other gets the higher pick in the draft order.
- Winning percentage in games played within the division: the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Win percentage in common games: the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Winning percentage in games played within the conference: the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Strength of victory: the aggregate winning percentage for opponents each team defeated is calculated, and the team with the lower strength of victory is awarded the higher pick.
Conference Tiebreaking Procedures
If a tie remains between teams with both the same record and the same strength of schedule, and the teams are from the same conference but not the same division, then the conference tiebreaking procedures are followed:
- Head-to-head record: the team with the worse record in games played against each other gets the higher pick in the NFL Draft order.
- Winning percentage in games played within the conference: the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Winning percentage in common games (min of 4): the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Strength of victory: the aggregate winning percentage for opponents each team defeated is calculated, and the team with the lower strength of victory is awarded the higher pick.
Non-Conference Tiebreaking Procedures
If a tie remains between teams with both the same record and the same strength of schedule, and the teams are not from the same conference, then the following tiebreaking procedures are followed:
- Head-to-head record: the team with the worse record in games played against each other gets the higher pick in the NFL Draft order.
- Winning percentage in common games (min of 4): the team with the lower winning percentage gets the higher pick.
- Strength of victory: the aggregate winning percentage for opponents each team defeated is calculated, and the team with the lower strength of victory is awarded the higher pick.
- Combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games: For example, if Team A is ranked 15th in points scored and 20th in points allowed, Team A’s combined ranking would be 35. If Team B is ranked 13th in points scored and 21st in points allowed, Team B’s combined ranking would be 34. Team B’s combined ranking is better, so Team A would be awarded the higher pick.
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