Steelers 2014 Draft Position Is Set

The 2014 NFL Draft order for the non-playoff teams is locked in. The Pittsburgh Steelers will select with the 15th pick in the first round. The last time the Steelers had a pick as low as 15 was in 2007, when they selected ILB Lawrence Timmons. Here is the 2014 draft order for the teams who did not make the playoffs:

1.  Houston Texans – 2-14
2.  St. Louis Rams (via Washington Redskins) – 3-13
3.  Jacksonville Jaguars – 4-12
4.  Cleveland Browns – 4-12
5.  Oakland Raiders – 4-12
6.  Atlanta Falcons – 4-12
7.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 4-12
8.  Minnesota Vikings – 5-10-1
9.  Buffalo Bills – 6-10
10. Detroit Lions – 7-9
11.  Tennessee Titans – 7-9
12.  New York Giants – 7-9
13.  St. Louis Rams – 7-9
14.  Chicago Bears – 8-8
15.  Pittsburgh Steelers – 8-8
16 or 17. Baltimore Ravens – 8-8
16 or 17. Dallas Cowboys – 8-8
18.  New York Jets – 8-8
19.  Miami Dolphins – 8-8
20.  Arizona Cardinals – 10-5

As you can see, even though there are 6 teams who finished 8-8, the Steelers pick 15th due to tie breaking procedures. The tie breakers are as follows:

1. Strength of schedule, which is the combined win-loss record for all 16 of the team’s opponents in the previous season. The team with the lower strength of schedule (i.e. their opponents compiled fewer wins) is granted the earlier pick in round one.

2. Division tiebreakers (if the teams are in the same division).

3. Conference tiebreakers (if the teams are in the same conference).

4. Coin toss which occurs at the NFL Combine. The Ravens and Cowboys will flip to decide who will pick 16th or 17th.

I’ll be posting pretty regularly about the Steelers 2014 draft prospects and draft related news during the off-season, so stayed tuned.