Teams with lesser records get higher picks because the NFL wants them to have a better chance of getting value from the draft. It’s how they try to even things out a little bit. And if trades weren’t a thing in the draft, which teams had the most to work with would always just be the draft order. But they are, so that changes things a bit.
The Raiders, for instance, make their first pick at 12 overall. But their overall draft value is much higher. Currently, they are ranked as the sixth highest draft value as compiled by Tankathon.com.
In other words, they should be able to come out with a better draft class than 26 other NFL teams as well as have more ammunition to move around in the draft.
This valuation is made by using the classic Jimmy Johnson draft pick value chart which assigns a point value to each draft position. This is most often a rough way of figuring out what a team would have to offer in order to acquire a given pick in the draft.
With two picks in the first round (12, 19), none in the second, three in the third (80, 81, 91), one in the 4th and 7th rounds, the Raiders point value according to the JJ draft value chart is currently put at 2667.8. This value will change slightly once the compensatory picks are released, but not much. Only the last two picks will change. They will be lower, but so will everyone else’s.
Top five are:
- Dolphins (4502.9)
- Bengals (4041.2)
- Lions (3205.6)
- Jaguars (3038)
- Washington (3032.4)
Bottom five are:
32. Texans (512)
31. Steelers (550.2)
30. Rams (667)
29. 49ers (695)
28. Bears (984.6)
Keep in mind, this is just where each team’s value should be. A baseline. Which is to say, if the Raiders’ class ends up ranked 7th or lower, then they didn’t reach the draft class value. If it’s in the top five, then they outperformed the class’s projected value.
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