2023 NFL Draft order: Lions climbing, Panthers slipping after upset of Bucs

The NFL heads into Monday Night Football with a new team atop the projected 2022 NFL Draft order. The Lions have climbed to the top of the leaderboard after their loss to the Cowboys coupled with wins by both the Panthers and Raiders. The Lions are 1-5 and are followed by the 1-4-1 Texans and then five teams with a 2-5 record.

The Lions being atop the draft order isn’t shocking, but how it came about this past weekend was to some degree. The Panthers had the top pick and the past week showed a team ready to tank its way to the top spot. They traded Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson and most figured they would get crushed as 13-point underdogs at home against the Bucs. Instead, they dominated the game and won 21-3.

There’s a lot of football remaining, but the Lions, Texans, and Panthers all offer something that suggests they’ll be battling it out all season long for the top spot. Carolina came into the weekend with a 42.8% chance of securing the No. 1 pick, according to Football Outsiders. The Texans followed at 7.2% and the 2-4 Bears were 7.0%. Chicago plays on Monday Night Football, traveling to face the Patriots.

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.

1. Detroit Lions, 1-5, .583
2. Houston Texans, 1-4-1, .530
3. Carolina Panthers, 2-5, .427
4. New Orleans Saints (Eagles have pick), 2-5, .470
5. Cleveland Browns (Texans have pick), 2-5, .474
6. Denver Broncos (Seahawks have pick), 2-5, .500
7. Pittsburgh Steelers, 2-5, .504
8. Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-5, .545
9. Las Vegas Raiders, 2-4, .457
10. Atlanta Falcons, 3-4, .415
11. San Francisco 49ers (Dolphins have pick), 3-4, .457
12. Arizona Cardinals, 3-4, .500
13. New England Patriots, 3-4, .531
14. Chicago Bears, 3-4, .558
15. Washington Commanders, 3-4, .575
16. Green Bay Packers, 3-4, .586
17. Indianapolis Colts, 3-3-1, .518
18. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-3, .487
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-4, .441
20. Los Angeles Rams (Lions have pick), 3-3, .479
21. Los Angeles Chargers, 4-3, .447
22. Baltimore Ravens, 4-3, .449
23. Seattle Seahawks, 4-3, .461
24. Miami Dolphins (Forfeit pick due to tampering), 4-3, .513
25. Tennessee Titans, 4-2, .518
26. New York Jets, 5-2, .487
27. Dallas Cowboys, 5-2, .562
28. Minnesota Vikings, 5-1, .517
29. Kansas City Chiefs, 5-2, .460
30. New York Giants, 6-1, .540
31. Buffalo Bills, 5-1, .522
32. Philadelphia Eagles, 6-0, .504