49ers 2019 NFL Draft position: Week 11 games of interest to San Francisco

With the San Francisco 49ers on the bye in Week 12, Niner Noise takes a look around the league to see which games will be of interest for the team’s 2019 NFL Draft position.

At 2-8, the San Francisco 49ers are in hot contention for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Despite falling 27-23 to the previously one-win New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 10, there’s a silver lining. The loss greatly improves the Niners’ positioning come April’s draft.

Now, head-to-head matchups don’t matter. But strength of schedule does. And losing to what is now a two-win Giants squad, tacking on two additional losses to a fellow two-win team, the Arizona Cardinals (both wins versus San Francisco), the 49ers should wind up being in a good spot for tie-breakers in determining the top-five order.

If the draft were to start before Week 11, the top-five would be as follows:

1. Oakland Raiders (1-8)
2. San Francisco 49ers (2-8)
3. New York Giants (2-7)
4. Arizona Cardinals (2-7)
5. New York Jets (3-7)

The 49ers won’t lose in Week 11 (bye weeks are hard to lose, last we checked). But that doesn’t mean other games on the NFL calendar won’t be of interest.

Here are those worth watching.

Buccaneers @ Giants

With a 3-6 record, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another one of those teams vying for a top-five pick in April’s draft. Their strength of schedule has been a bit tougher than that of the Giants, though, and playing in the NFC East would tend to do that.

But if the Giants are able to continue their relative “hot streak” at home versus the Bucs, it would put even more space between New York and another No. 2 overall pick after using such on running back Saquon Barkley next year.

Steelers @ Jaguars

Boy, haven’t the 3-6 Jacksonville Jaguars fallen from grace. After being labeled a possible Super Bowl contender this year, the Jags have been beset by both injuries and lackluster quarterback play. They won’t turn their season around. And with obvious quarterbacking needs and a lack of quality signal-callers in this year’s NFL Draft, losing more games might actually be in Jacksonville’s benefit.

Losing to the suddenly surging Pittsburgh Steelers would be ideal and could challenge the 49ers in the draft order by season’s end. But if the Jaguars want a quarterback first, that could be beneficial to the plausibility of San Francisco trading down if it winds up selecting higher.

Broncos @ Chargers

While not as bad as the Jaguars’ situation under center, the Denver Broncos (3-6) could also be in the market for a new quarterback. Their veteran, Case Keenum, hasn’t replicated the same kind of magic he enjoyed with the Minnesota Vikings last year.

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Defensively, Denver remains a good enough squad. The Broncos need a quarterback too, meaning their situation when paired with the Jaguars, could equally be beneficial to the 49ers’ trade-down efforts.

Raiders @ Cardinals

A one-win Raiders squad against a two-win Cardinals squad. Arizona would have a weaker strength of schedule than Oakland, especially looking at the top two teams in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, and their records so far. So a loss to the Raiders, paired with no need to draft a quarterback, could jeopardize the 49ers’ chances to land a top-tier defender in Round 1.

But if the Raiders win, the Niners may wind up with a much better shot for the No. 1 overall pick.

Either way, the order won’t be determined in Week 11, of course. Yet it’s still worth evaluating and should put some modest interest for San Francisco fans watching some of the bad teams this weekend.