2024 NFL Draft: Bears' picks remain at top following Week 5
2024 NFL Draft: Bears' picks remain at top following Week 5 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Bears won for the first time this season on Thursday against the Washington Commanders, but even with that victory, they’re still in prime position to score two high picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bears’ win puts them at 1-4 on the season, making them one of six teams to have lost four of their first five games. Their strength of schedule, calculated by the combined winning percentage of their opponents, is .451. That tiebreaker vaults them all the way to the top of the heap.
As a result, if the season ended today, the Bears would own the No. 2 pick in the draft next spring.
The Carolina Panthers are now the only team in the NFL without a win this season after dropping a game to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. They would own the top pick in the draft, but that selection will go to the Bears as a result of the trade that sent the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft to Carolina in exchange for multiple first-round picks and wide receiver DJ Moore.
The Denver Broncos would own the No. 3 pick in the current order, with the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots rounding out the top five. The New York Giants are at No. 6 after their latest defeat, and the Arizona Cardinals would be at No. 7. The Cardinals would also own the 10th pick thanks to a spring trade with the Houston Texans.
The Bears will play one of the teams that’s tied with them in the standings on Sunday when they face the Vikings at Soldier Field. The Vikings will be without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
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