The San Francisco 49ers’ playoff chances aren’t completely erased, but they’re low enough that looking toward next year’s offseason and NFL draft aren’t unreasonable.
If the 49ers win a couple of games down the stretch and put themselves squarely back in the playoff picture, we can start looking at that group again. For now we’ll look at where things stand with next year’s draft, where the 49ers are inching toward a top-10 pick after three consecutive losses put them at 5-7 for the season.
San Francisco is one of four seven-loss teams, and they’re just behind a trio of eight-loss clubs. There was a chance for a fourth eight-loss team, but the Cleveland Browns couldn’t hold on vs. the Denver Broncos on Monday night and fell to 3-9.
Here is what the draft order looks like for the non-playoff teams after 13 weeks according to Tankathon:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10)
2. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
3. New York Giants (2-10)
4. New England Patriots (3-10)
5. Carolina Panthers (3-9)
6. New York Jets (3-9)
7. Tennessee Titans (3-9)
8. Cleveland Browns (3-9)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
10. New Orleans Saints (4-8)
11. Chicago Bears (4-8)
12. Miami Dolphins (5-7)
13. Dallas Cowboys (5-7)
14. San Francisco 49ers (5-7)
15. Indianapolis Colts (6-7)
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6)
17. Los Angeles Rams (6-6)
18. Arizona Cardinals (6-6)
The first tiebreaker is strength of schedule, which is the combined winning percentage of a team’s opponents. The team with the worst strength of schedule gets the earlier pick.
San Francisco has the highest strength of schedule and gets the lowest pick of the trio of 5-7 teams.
Sunday’s game against the Bears could be a big one for the 49ers in terms of their draft position. The 49ers will certainly be trying to win every game, especially while they’re technically not eliminated from the playoffs. However, the further their season spirals, the closer they’ll get to securing a top 10 pick that can help them retool for the 2025 season.
