A lot just happened at the end of the 1 p.m. window of games in the NFL’s Week 16 slate. The bottom four teams in the league — Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, and Miami Dolphins — all went to overtime, and the Giants and Dolphins came out on top, with both the Redskins and Bengals suffering yet another loss.
Okay, so what does this all mean? It’s irrelevant as far as the 2019 season goes, but it holds major ramifications for the 2020 NFL Draft. Let’s break down what we know:
- With the loss, the Bengals (1-14) secured the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, where they will likely select Heisman-winning QB Joe Burrow out of LSU.
- The Redskins (3-12) vaulted up to the No. 2 spot in the NFL Draft after losing to the Giants in OT. They haven’t secured that No. 2 spot, but if they lost next week against the Dallas Cowboys, it will be a sure thing.
- With the Giants (4-11) and Dolphins (4-11) both winning, the Detroit Lions (3-10) currently have jumped into the No. 3 spot for the time being.
As a whole, this shake-up doesn’t mean much to anyone outside of the bottom five teams. As for the Redskins, it is extremely important, as it will greatly bolster their roster going forward. With the No. 2 pick, they will likely have the chance to draft DE Chase Young out of Ohio State, who appears to be a generational talent at the position. There are other highly attractive players that could be taken at the position, like WR Jerry Jeudy, LT Andrew Thomas, and LB Isaiah Simmons.
Washington may have lost the day, but they won the future on Sunday. For once, their failures did something right.
