The Cincinnati Bengals have worked themselves into a playoff position (along with the rest of the AFC North) after winning four straight games. When they were 1-3 on the year and practically left for dead, the one promising factor was that they'd own an early pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
That's not the case anymore but you won't hear Bengals fans complaining much. This team had Super Bowl aspirations entering the season and there aren't many teams that look better than them right now (and unfortunately, one of the few teams that does is in their division... grrr). That means that right now, Bengals fans don't care too much about where the team will pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
That being said, let's take a look at the draft order anyway! Here's the draft order, per Pro Football Network.
Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order after Week 10
Pick | Team |
|---|---|
1 | Arizona Cardinals (1-8) |
2 | Chicago Bears (2-7) (Acquired from Panthers) |
3 | Chicago Bears (2-7 |
4 | New York Giants (2-7) |
5 | New England Patriots (2-7) |
6 | Los Angeles Rams (3-6) |
7 | Green Bay Packers (3-5) |
8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) |
9 | Denver Broncos (3-5) |
10 | Tennessee Titans (3-5) |
11 | Atlanta Falcons (4-5) |
12 | Washington Commanders (4-5) |
13 | Indianapolis Colts (4-5) |
14 | Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) |
15 | Arizona Cardinals (1-8) (Acquired from Texans) |
16 | New York Jets (4-4) |
17 | Los Angeles Chargers (4-4) |
18 | Buffalo Bills (5-4) |
19 | New Orleans Saints (5-4) |
20 | Minnesota Vikings (5-4) |
21 | Dallas Cowboys (5-3) |
22 | Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) |
23 | Houston Texans (4-4) (Acquired from Browns) |
24 | Cincinnati Bengals (5-3) |
25 | Seattle Seahawks (5-3) |
26 | San Francisco 49ers (5-3) |
27 | Miami Dolphins (6-3) |
28 | Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) |
29 | Detroit Lions (6-2) |
30 | Baltimore Ravens (7-2) |
31 | Kansas City Chiefs (7-2) |
32 | Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) |
The Bengals' draft spot is a lot trickier to pinpoint since they're currently in the playoff picture. If they do indeed make the playoffs, the lowest they'd be picking in the first round would be 19th overall. Once the playoffs begin, draft spots are determined based on when teams are eliminated from the postseason.
For instance, if the Bengals lose on Wild Card weekend, they could pick anywhere from 19th to 24th (where they're at currently). If they lose during the divisional round, they'll pick between 25 and 28. If their season ends in the AFC title game, as it did earlier this year, they'll be drafting 29th or 30th. And then, of course, there's the Super Bowl where the loser picks second-to-last and the winner picks last.
It would have been strange to see the Cincinnati Bengals picking at the top of the draft this year after two years of being near the end of the first round but it's looking like we'll see them picking later on now that they're one of the hottest teams in the NFL.