NFL DRAFT 101
DRAFT ORDER
The NFL’s 2025 draft order was derived from the reverse order of 2024 regular season records, with the exception of the Super Bowl champion, the Super Bowl runner-up and the playoff teams. Teams that made the playoffs are ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated. For teams with identical records, the tiebreaker is strength of schedule; the team with the lowest strength of schedule drafts first. The final tiebreaker is a coin flip.
PASSING ON A SELECTION
If a team does not make a pick during its allotted time period, the team “passes” and the pick will defer to the next team. The initial team may then at any point make a pick, regardless of whether or not the subsequent team has made a pick.
ROUND-BY-ROUND ROTATION
The draft order of teams with identical records will rotate by round, with the exception of the Super Bowl champion and the Super Bowl runner-up, which will draft last and next-to-last in each round. In ties that involve three or more teams, the team at the bottom of the tied segment in a given round will move to the top of the segment for the next round, while all other teams in the segment move down one position. This rotation continues throughout the draft.
COMPENSATORY DRAFT CHOICES
A total of 35 compensatory choices in the 2025 NFL Draft have been awarded to 16 teams. The Patriots have been awarded a total of 48 compensatory selections in the 32 years since the system was adopted prior to the 1994 draft, the fifth-most in the NFL.
Numbers and Positioning: The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, with a maximum of four. The compensatory picks are positioned within the third through seventh rounds, based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.
Formula: Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Details can be found at www.nflcommunications.com.
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