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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have the first overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft after losing to the New Orleans Saints in their final game of the season. At 2-14, the Bucs have closed one of their worst seasons ever and will hold the top pick for the fifth time in franchise history.
While the Tennessee Titans will also finish the season with a 2-14 record, the Bucs 'win' the first pick by virtue of their weaker schedule.
Tampa Bay is likely to pick a quarterback with their first pick, and Marcus Mariota of Oregon appears to be the most likely candidate, there. This year's Heisman trophy winner has been dominant this year, leading Oregon to the college football playoffs, where they'll face Jameis Winston's Florida State. Winston is the other quarterback whom the Bucs could select with their first pick, but his string of off-field issues make that a less likely option at this point. Another option would be USC defensive end Leonard Williams and Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory.
The Bucs previously held the first overall pick in 1976 (Lee Roy Selmon), 1977 (Ricky Bell), 1983 (Bo Jackson) and 1987 (Vinny Testaverde). Aside from Selmon, none of those players turned out to be successful for the Bucs, with Jackson notoriously spurning them after a pre-draft visit robbed him of the opportunity to play college baseball.
General manager Jason Licht and head coach Lovie Smith will desperately want to avoid a failure, especially if they take a quarterback. But they also know they need an infusion of talent if they want to be competitive next year.
Here's the full draft order, with only the Bengals vs. Steelers game yet to play -- but that game won't affect the draft order, beyond its effects on the playoff seeds. Picks 21 through 32 are projected by playoff seed, as they'll be determined by playoff results.
Pick | Team | Record | Strength of Schedule | |
1 | TB | 2 - 14 | 123 - 130 - 3 | 0.4863 |
2 | TEN | 2 - 14 | 129 - 126 - 1 | 0.5059 |
3 | JAX | 3 - 13 | 131 - 124 - 1 | 0.5137 |
4 | OAK | 3 - 13 | 146 - 110 | 0.5703 |
5 | WAS | 4 - 12 | 127 - 129 | 0.4961 |
6 | NYJ | 4 - 12 | 139 - 117 | 0.543 |
7 | CHI | 5 - 11 | 135 - 120 - 1 | 0.5293 |
8 | ATL | 6 - 10 | 122 - 131 - 3 | 0.4824 |
9 | NYG | 6 - 10 | 131 - 125 | 0.5117 |
10 | STL | 6 - 10 | 136 - 120 | 0.5312 |
11 | MIN | 7 - 9 | 121 - 134 - 1 | 0.4746 |
12 | CLE | 7 - 9 | 121 - 132 - 3 | 0.4785 |
13 | NO | 7 - 9 | 123 - 130 - 3 | 0.4863 |
14 | MIA | 8 - 8 | 131 - 125 | 0.5117 |
15 | SF | 8 - 8 | 135 - 121 | 0.5273 |
16 | HOU | 9 - 7 | 114 - 141 - 1 | 0.4473 |
17 | KC | 9 - 7 | 131 - 125 | 0.5117 |
18 | SD | 9 - 7 | 131 - 125 | 0.5117 |
19 | CLE via BUF | 9 - 7 | 132 - 124 | 0.5156 |
20 | PHI | 10 - 6 | 125 - 130 - 1 | 0.4902 |
21 | BAL | 10 - 6 | 120 - 133 - 3 | 0.4746 |
22 | DET | 11 - 5 | 120 - 135 - 1 | 0.4707 |
23 | CIN | 10 - 5 - 1 | 127 - 128 - 1 | 0.498 |
24 | ARI | 11 - 5 | 134 - 122 | 0.5234 |
25 | CAR | 7 - 8 - 1 | 125 - 130 - 1 | 0.4902 |
26 | IND | 11 - 5 | 122 - 133 - 1 | 0.4785 |
27 | PIT | 11 - 5 | 114 - 139 - 3 | 0.4512 |
28 | DAL | 12 - 4 | 114 - 142 | 0.4453 |
29 | GB | 12 - 4 | 123 - 132 - 1 | 0.4824 |
30 | DEN | 12 - 4 | 133 - 122 - 1 | 0.5215 |
31 | NE | 12 - 4 | 131 - 124 - 1 | 0.5137 |
32 | SEA | 12 - 4 | 134 - 121 - 1 | 0.5254 |