The 2020 NFL Draft does not kick off until April, but the order for the first 20 picks is now set. The league uses the reverse standings for the non-playoff teams to set the order for the selection process, with the team with the worst Record getting the first pick, second-worst the second pick, and so on. The other 12 picks are determined by when a team ends their playoff run, with the four teams that lose in Wildcard weekend making picks 21-24, again using their regular season records to determine the order between them.

Ultimately, the Super Bowl champion will have the 32nd pick.

Teams with the same record are set primarily using strength of schedule as the tie break. The teams then rotate picks through each round (i.e., all teams tied with 8-8 records would be placed in the first round by strength of schedule, then whichever team picks first among that group would pick last among the group in the second round, and all the other teams would move up one pick position).

The order for the first 20 picks is:

1 - Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)

2 - Washington Redskins (3-13)

3 - Detroit Lions (3-12-1)

4 - New York Giants (4-12)

5 - Miami Dolphins (5-11, .484)

6 - Los Angeles Chargers (5-11, .514)

7 - Carolina Panthers (5-11, .549)

8 - Arizona Cardinals (5-10-1)

9 - Jacksonville Jaguars (6-10, .484)

10 - Cleveland Browns (6-10, .533)

11 - New York Jets (7-9, .473)

12 - Oakland Raiders (7-9, .482)

13 - Indianapolis Colts (7-9, .492)

14 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9, .500)

15 - Denver Broncos (7-9, .510)

16 - Atlanta Falcons (7-9, .545)

17 - Dallas Cowboys (8-8, .479)

18 - Miami Dolphins (via Pittsburgh Steelers, 8-8, .502)

19 - Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears, 8-8, .508)

20 - Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams, 9-7)

So the team that was “irresponsible with peoples’ health” (Steve Young) and is “kind of sad” because it doesn’t care about “guys in the locker room who want to compete every Sunday” (Randy Moss) and is “disgraceful” and needs someone to “do something” (Mike Greenberg) and is “unethical” and “morally reprehensible” (Dominique Foxworth) and has “given up” in September (Rich Eisen) and was widely being called the worst team ever, finished with the fifth overall pick. I wonder what adjectives should be used to describe the teams with the first four picks.

The picks based on the playoff teams, in order playoff seeding and records are:

21 - Philadelphia Eagles (9-7, .455)

22 - Tennessee Titans (9-7, .488)

23 - Buffalo Bills (10-6, .461)

24 - Minnesota Vikings (10-6, .477)

25 - Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans, 10-6, .520)

26 - Seattle Seahawks (11-5)

27 - New England Patriots (12-4)

28 - Green Bay Packers (13-3)

29 - Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)

30 - New Orleans Saints (13-3)

31 - San Francisco 49ers (13-3)

32 - Baltimore Ravens (14-2)