There's still no certainty as to where the Washington Commanders will land in the draft order for 2024, but there is a strong possibility that they will be one of the first teams on the clock when things kick off in Detroit on April 25.
With one game left -- a home matchup with the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 7 at 4:25 p..m. -- the Commanders own the No. 2 overall pick behind the Chicago Bears, who have already locked in their spot at the top of the draft thanks to the Carolina Panthers trading D.J. Moore along with their 2024 first-round pick and 2025 second-round pick to acquire the No. 1 overall pick from them in the 2023 draft.
Tiebreakers in the NFL draft are settled by opposing strength of schedule, and teams with a weaker schedule get the higher pick. The Commanders (4-12) currently have a .515 strength of schedule. The New England Patriots (4-12) own the No. 3 pick heading into Week 18 with a .518 strength of schedule.
Here's how the top five picks in the draft look ahead of the regular season finale, per tankathon.com.
| Pick | Team | Record | Opp. SOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Bears* (from Panthers) | 2-14 | .518 |
| 2 | Washington Commanders | 4-12 | .515 |
| 3 | New England Patriots | 4-12 | .518 |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals | 4-12 | .562 |
| 5 | New York Giants | 5-11 | .511 |
*No. 1 overall pick already clinched
- Here are the teams that need to win in order for Washington to strengthen its tiebreaker over the Patriots, also via tankathon.com:
| Game | Outcome |
|---|---|
| PIT @ BAL | PIT |
| HOU @ IND | IND |
| ATL @ NO | NO |
| CHI @ GB | GB |
| DEN @ LV | LV |
