With the playoffs no longer in the picture, we’ve set our sights on the 2025 NFL draft when trying to draw meaning from the NFL standings for the San Francisco 49ers.
Monday night’s loss ensured the 49ers stayed at the No. 11 pick with one week to go.
The No. 11 spot is the highest they’ll be able to climb. Ahead of them at No. 10 are the New Orleans Saints, but they’re one game worse than the 49ers. Even if San Francisco loses in Week 18 and New Orleans wins, the 49ers would hold the worse pick because of the strength of schedule tiebreaker. Higher strength of schedule gets a pick lower in the draft order. Since the 49ers have the highest projected full-season strength of schedule, they’ll lose the tiebreaker to any team.
Here’s what the draft order looks like after Week 17.
1. New England Patriots (3-13)
2. Tennessee Titans (3-13)
3. Cleveland Browns (3-13)
4. New York Giants (3-13)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)
6. Carolina Panthers (4-12)
7. New York Jets (4-12)
8. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12)
9. Chicago Bears (4-12)
10. New Orleans Saints (5-11)
11. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
12. Indianapolis Colts (7-9)
13. Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
14. Arizona Cardinals (7-9)
15. Miami Dolphins (8-8)
16. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
17. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)
18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
The good news is San Francisco won’t slide any further than No. 14 because of their 10 losses.
Here’s where they land based on Week 18 win/loss outcomes:
No. 11 pick
49ers lose to Cardinals
No. 12 pick
49ers beat Cardinals
Cowboys beat Commanders
Colts beat Jaguars
No. 13 pick
49ers beat Cardinals
Cowboys beat Commanders
Colts lose to Jaguars
OR
49ers beat Cardinals
Cowboys lose to Commanders
Colts beat/tie Jaguars
No. 14 pick
49ers beat Cardinals
Cowboys lose to Commanders
Colts lose to Jaguars
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the NFL scoreboard in Week 18.
Dallas and Indianapolis will both kick off in the 10:00am Pacific Time window. San Francisco and Arizona don’t kick off until 1:25pm Pacific Time.
