2016 NFL Draft order for first round finalized

The NFL's 2015 season is officially complete with the conclusion of Super Bowl 50 on Sunday. The game, while crowning the Denver Broncos as the league championship, also finalized the first-round selection order for the 2016 NFL Draft. The league uses the regular season records to set the first 20 picks in the draft each year, then the results from the Playoffs finalize the last 12 picks.

Heading into Sunday, the first 29 picks, plus one forfeited pick was already known, with the Broncos and the Carolina Panthers left to decide who picked last. The Broncos' win gives them the final pick in the round while the Panthers will have the penultimate selection. The New England Patriots, who would have the 29th pick after losing in the AFC Championship game, lost their pick as part of the punishment from the deflated football investigation after the AFC Championship game from last year.

The Tennessee Titans will pick first, excluding a trade, followed by the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Miami Dolphins will pick eighth.

The league rotates picks among teams that finish with the same record when the second and subsequent rounds are held. As an example, the Titans and Browns both finished with 3-13 records, with the Titans holding the first overall pick based on the strength of schedule. In the second round, the Browns will pick first, based on the rotation. With three or more teams, the team that picks first from the group will then pick last among those teams in the next round, and each of the other teams will move up one position (which will happen for Miami, who will pick 8th in the first round, then 11th in the second round as the fall to be back of the group that includes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears),

The full draft order for the first round is:

1. Tennessee Titans: 3-13 (.492 strength of schedule) 
2. Cleveland Browns: 3-13 (.531 SOS) 
3. San Diego Chargers: 4-12 (.528 SOS) 
4. Dallas Cowboys: 4-12 (.533 SOS) 
5. Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-11 (.473 SOS) 
6. Baltimore Ravens: 5-11 (.508 SOS) 
7. San Francisco 49ers: 5-11 (.539 SOS) 
8. Miami Dolphins: 6-10 (.469 SOS) 
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-10 (.484 SOS) 
10. New York Giants: 6-10 (.498 SOS) 
11. Chicago Bears: 6-10 (.548 SOS) 
12. New Orleans Saints: 7-9 (.504 SOS) 
13. Philadelphia Eagles: 7-9 (.508 SOS) 
14. Oakland Raiders: 7-9 (.512 SOS) 
15. St. Louis Rams: 7-9 (.528 SOS) 
16. Detroit Lions: 7-9 (.536 SOS) 
17. Atlanta Falcons: 8-8 (.478 SOS) 
18. Indianapolis Colts: 8-8 (.500 SOS) 
19. Buffalo Bills: 8-8 (.508 SOS) 
20. New York Jets: 10-6 (.441 SOS) 
21. Washington Redskins: 9-7 (.465 SOS) 
22. Houston Texans: 9-7 (.496 SOS) 
23. Minnesota Vikings: 11-5 (.504 SOS) 
24. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-4 (.477 SOS) 
25. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-6 (.504 SOS) 
26. Seattle Seahawks: 10-6 (.520 SOS) 
27. Green Bay Packers: 10-6 (.531 SOS) 
28. Kansas City Chiefs: 11-5 (.496 SOS)
-- New England Patriots: 12-4 (.473 SOS) - Pick forfeited
29. Arizona Cardinals: 13-3 (.477 SOS)
30. Carolina Panthers: 15-1 (.441 SOS)
31. Denver Broncos: 12-4 (.500 SOS)