The 51-29 loss to the Seattle Seahawks dropped the Detroit Lions’ record to 2-13-1 after Week 17. One of the few upshots from the blowout loss is the look ahead to the 2022 NFL draft.
Sunday’s loss ensures that the Lions will have one of the top two picks in April’s draft. The Lions cannot top a 3-13-1 record on the season, and every other team besides Detroit and Jacksonville already has at least four wins entering Week 18.
The Jaguars sunk their claws a little deeper into the top pick with an embarrassing 50-10 loss of their own to the New England Patriots. Jacksonville is now 2-14 and has one game remaining against the playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts. If the Colts beat the Jaguars, the Lions’ Week 18 outcome against the Green Bay Packers does not matter in the draft standings.
Detroit’s other 2022 first-round pick, the one acquired from the Los Angeles Rams, remains quite variable. The Rams are 12-4 and clinched a playoff berth. Their first-round pick is currently No. 30 but could wind up being anywhere from No. 23 through No. 32. Even if the Rams lose their final game against the 49ers and then also lose in the NFC’s wild card round, their pick can now be no higher than No. 23 based on the records of the other teams already in the postseason.
