By Rich Tandler
If the season ended today—and it doesn’t—the Redskins would have the fourth pick in next April’s NFL draft.
This is according to the website nepatriotsdraft.com, which tracks the only tiebreaker there is in the process of breaking ties in the draft order—strength of schedule. If two teams have the same record at the end of the year, the team whose opponents had the lower combined winning percentage gets the higher pick. If the strength of schedule is even, the tie is broken with a coin flip.
Washington is one of six teams with a 4-8 record and they currently have the weakest schedule of those teams. That puts them behind only the 0-12 Colts and the Vikings and Rams, both 2-10.
The Redskins could get knocked back to fifth in the order on Monday night if the Jaguars lose to the Chargers. That would make Jacksonville the seventh 4-8 with the weakest schedule of the bunch.
A lot can happen between now and the end of the season but the Redskins appear to be destined to have a pick somewhere in the top 10.
This week, the Redskins got some major help in the strength of schedule courtesy of their fellow members of the NFC East. The Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants all lost. Each of those losses counts twice in strength of schedule since the Redskins, of course, play each of those teams twice.
So, if you needed any more reason to root for the Cowboys to lose, there you go. Not only is there the schadenfreude derived from the suffering of the Dallas fans, but the Redskins get a double benefit from the loss.
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