What is the 2023 NFL draft order? Exploring how the first pick is decided

With the 2022 NFL season done and dusted, football fans are looking forward to the next key phase of the offseason, the NFL draft. The grand event will be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, 2023.

Top college football stars will get a chance to realize their lifelong dreams in a bid to finally get a call from the NFL. Here's a look at the first-round draft order:

1. Chicago Bears
2. Houston Texans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Seattle Seahawks (via DEN)
6. Detroit Lions (via LAR)
7. Las Vegas Raiders
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Carolina Panthers
10. Philadelphia Eagles (via NO)
11. Tennessee Titans
12. Houston Texans (via CLE)
13. New York Jets
14. New England Patriots
15. Green Bay Packers
16. Washington Commanders
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Detroit Lions
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Seattle Seahawks
21. Los Angeles Chargers
22. Baltimore Ravens
23. Minnesota Vikings
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. New York Giants
26. Dallas Cowboys
27. Buffalo Bills
28. Cincinnati Bengals
29. New Orleans Saints (via SF via MIA via DEN)
30. Philadelphia Eagles
31. Kansas City Chiefs

The order of selection is determined by the reverse order of how teams finished in the previous season. To put it simply, teams with worse records pick players before teams with better records from last season.

As the Chicago Bears had the worst record among all teams, they will have the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The reigning Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, will have the final pick.

That said, teams can and do send picks in trades to other franchises, and as such, the draft order is never as simple as the reverse order of records. Two prime examples this year are the Seahawks and Lions having early picks from QB trades over the last two offseasons (as a result they have two selections each in the first round).

The Miami Dolphins are the only team that will not have a first-round pick after the franchise was found to be tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton (and after sending a first-round pick to Denver for Bradley Chubb).

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Where to watch the 2023 NFL draft? Full schedule for the big event

Alabama Crimson Tide QB Bryce Young

The NFL draft will be broadcast live on the NFL Network, ESPN, and ABC. Fans can also stream the event live on FuboTV.

Here's the draft schedule for each of the three days:

• Thursday, April 27 at 8 p.m. ET
• Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET
• Saturday, April 29 at 12 p.m. ET