News: BTB: 2018 NFL Draft order: Cowboys currently with a top 15 pick, good chance of moving up

[NewsBot]

If the draft started today, the Cowboys would own a Top 15 draft pick.

Going by the quality of play in their recent three-game skid, it my feel like the Cowboys should have a Top 5 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. But their 5-6 record means that if the draft were held today, the Cowboys would be picking 15th overall.

The draft order is based on a team's regular season record and then overall strength of schedule. If those are the same, conference record then division record are used. If none of those results in a tie-breaker, a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine in February determines the final draft order.

In addition to the Cowboys, there are two other teams currently with a 5-6 record, the Chargers and Commanders. Washington has the toughest 2017 strength of schedule of the three, Los Angeles has the easiest, which means the Charges are picking one spot ahead of the Cowboys and the Commanders one spot behind the Cowboys.

Here's the current 2018 NFL Draft order (with the 2017 strength of schedule for all 16 opponents taken from the appropriately named Tankathon.com).

1. Cleveland Browns: 0-10 (.528 strength of schedule)

2. San Francisco 49ers: 1-9 (.521 SOS)

3. New York Giants: 2-8 (.506 SOS)

4. Denver Broncos: 3-7 (.479 SOS)

5. Indianapolis Colts: 3-7 (.481 SOS)

6. Chicago Bears: 3-7 (.561 SOS)

7. Cincinnati Bengals: 4-6 (.475 SOS)

8. Arizona Cardinals: 4-6 (.482 SOS)

9. Oakland Raiders: 4-6 (.491 SOS)

10. Houston Texans (->CLE): 4-6 (.506 SOS)

11. New York Jets: 4-6 (.522 SOS)

12. Miami Dolphins: 4-6 (.547 SOS)

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-6 (.564 SOS)

14. San Diego Chargers: 5-6 (.460 SOS)

15. Dallas Cowboys: 5-6 (.479 SOS)

16. Washington Commanders: 5-6 (.512)

17. Buffalo Bills: 5-5 (.509 SOS)

18. Green Bay Packers: 5-5 (.539 SOS)

19. Detroit Lions: 6-5 (.503 SOS)

20. Seattle Seahawks: 6-4 (.466 SOS)

Currently projected to make the playoffs:

21. Baltimore Ravens: 5-5 (.463 SOS)

22. Tennessee Titans: 6-4 (.444 SOS)

23. Kansas City Chiefs: (-> BUF): 6-4 (.473 SOS)

24. Atlanta Falcons: 6-4 (.571 SOS)

25. Carolina Panthers: 7-3 (.556 SOS)

26. Los Angeles Rams: 7-3 (.488 SOS)

27. Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-3 (.435 SOS)

28. New Orleans Saints: 8-2 (.552 SOS)

29. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-2 (.463 SOS)

30. New England Patriots: 8-2 (.503 SOS)

31. Minnesota Vikings: 9-2 (.503 SOS)

32. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-1 (.419 SOS)

There are currently seven teams ahead of the Cowboys with a 4-6 record. In theory, if they all were to win their games this weekend, the Cowboys could potentially move up as high as the No. 8 spot in the draft order.

Unfortunately, only two of those seven teams are favored to win this weekend, so the Cowboys won't get a lot of help moving up the draft board. They'll have to do it all by themselves over the next five games.

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