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2024 NFL Draft order if season ended today: 49ers division rival would have top pick

The 2023 season doesn't end today. But if it did, the Niners may have to face a top collegiate prospect twice a year for the foreseeable future.

By Peter Panacy

Tim Warner/GettyImages
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Halfway through the season, the 49ers are still looking at a late first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but one of their NFC West rivals is slated to pick first.

The San Francisco 49ers are idle at the halfway point of the 2023 season, which is probably a good thing in the wake of their three-game losing streak.

That streak plummeted the Niners not only from the top spot in the NFC playoff picture but also out of the No. 1 spot in the NFC West, which is now occupied by the Seattle Seahawks by half a game.

Both San Francisco and Seattle figure to be the top contenders for the divisional crown, and it now seems very much up in the air as far as who wins the division.

At the other end of the division, the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals are probably looking closer at positioning for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Neither the playoffs nor the 2024 draft order will be determined today. But, if the season was to end right now, here's what next year's draft order would look like.

2024 NFL Draft order (if the season ended after Week 8)

  1. Arizona Cardinals (1-7)
  2. Chicago Bears (2-6, from Carolina Panthers, 1-6)
  3. Chicago Bears (2-6)
  4. New York Giants (2-6)
  5. New England Patriots (2-6)
  6. Green Bay Packers (2-5)
  7. Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
  8. Las Vegas Raiders (3-5)
  9. Denver Broncos (3-5)
  10. Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
  11. Washington Commanders (3-5)
  12. Arizona Cardinals (from Houston Texans, 3-4)
  13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)
  14. Los Angeles Chargers (3-4)
  15. Tennessee Titans (3-4)
  16. New Orleans Saints (4-4)
  17. New York Jets (4-3)
  18. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)

Pick Nos. 19 through 32 aren't possibly determined yet, since those are based on which teams win and lose in the playoffs.

If we base the remaining 14 teams off FanSided's pre-Week 9 NFL power rankings, the remaining order would look like this (not accounting for conference matchups, i.e. three AFC teams in the final four):

19. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)
20. Minnesota Vikings (4-4)
21. Atlanta Falcons (4-4)
22. San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
23. Buffalo Bills (5-3)
24. Detroit Lions (5-2)
25. Houston Texans (3-4, from Cleveland Browns, 4-3)
26. Seattle Seahawks (5-2)
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
28. Dallas Cowboys (5-2)
29. Miami Dolphins (6-2)
30. Baltimore Ravens (6-2)
31. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
32. Philadelphia Eagles (7-1)

Related story: Drafting Trey Lance meant 49ers missed on this top NFL superstars

Going back to the first 18 picks, though, the Cardinals are still in line to receive the No. 1 overall pick, which is widely believed to be USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who'd replace Arizona's embattled starter, Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 draft.

San Francisco probably doesn't want to think too much about facing a player of Williams' potential twice a year.

For now, though, that's all Williams has at the NFL level. And determining the final 2024 NFL Draft order is still very much a long, long way away.

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