With the wild-card round of the playoffs complete, the 2012 NFL Draft order is another step closer to being set. The four teams that lost this weekend are locked into spots 21-24, and the remaining eight spots will be determined over the next few weeks as the playoffs come to a close.
Since the Detroit Lions bowed out in the wild-card round, they will pick 23rd overall. This is because the Cincinnati Bengals are slotted in at No. 21 by virtue of having the worst record among the teams that were eliminated over the weekend. The Atlanta Falcons had an easier schedule than Detroit, so they own the tiebreaker with the Lions and have their pick slotted 22nd overall. The Lions are 23rd, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are 24th. (The victory by Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos moved the Lions up a spot.)
The first-round order for the top 24 picks can be seen after the jump.
| 1 |
Indianapolis Colts (2-14) |
| 2 |
St. Louis Rams (2-14) |
| 3 |
Minnesota Vikings (3-13) |
| 4 |
Cleveland Browns (4-12) |
| 5 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) |
| 6 |
Washington Redskins (5-11) |
| 7 |
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) |
| 8* |
Carolina Panthers (6-10) |
| 8* | Miami Dolphins (6-10) |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills (6-10) |
| 11* | Kansas City Chiefs (7-9) |
| 11* | Seattle Seahawks (7-9) |
| 13 | Arizona Cardinals (8-8) |
| 14 | Dallas Cowboys (8-8) |
| 15 | Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) |
| 16 | New York Jets (8-8) |
| 17 | Cincinnati Bengals from OAK (8-8) |
| 18 | San Diego Chargers (8-8) |
| 19 | Chicago Bears (8-8) |
| 20 | Tennessee Titans (9-7) |
| 21 | Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) |
| 22 |
Cleveland Browns from ATL (10-6) |
| 23 | Detroit Lions (10-6) |
| 24 | Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) |
| Picks 25-32 will determined by remainder of playoffs | |
| *Coin flip needed to break tie | |