After a long hiatus, the Buffalo Bills will finally pay a tax levied to all playoff teams each year - by sneaking into the NFL playoffs at the last moment, the Bills locked their draft picks to the bottom third of each round. At the moment, Buffalo, who finished as the sixth seed in the AFC, possesses the 22nd overall pick in the draft. Buffalo edges out 9-7 Tennessee for the lower pick with a 0.4922 strength of schedule, versus Tennessee’s 0.4336 SoS.
The eventual draft order will adjust as the playoffs play out. The losers of the four wildcard games will be sorted according to the regular NFL Draft sorting (strength of schedule, strength of victory, et cetera), followed by the losers of the conference semifinal and final games and the eventual outcome of the Super Bowl.
The 9-7 Bills have one of the weakest resumes in the playoffs, and a loss on Sunday could give them the 21st overall pick, while a win would mean they’d pick no higher than 25th overall.
Buffalo’s other first round pick is part of the playoff race, with the Kansas City Chiefs finishing as the fourth overall seed in the AFC with a 10-6 record. The Chiefs currently hold the 24th overall pick, but if Wild Card weekend is upset-heavy, there’s still a chance that their pick could rise as high as 21st overall. For the best combination of draft slot and season success, root for the Bills and Tennessee Titans this weekend.
For the full NFL Draft order as it stands today, SB Nation has you covered.