Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

Week 18 is in the books, meaning the top 18 draft slots are locked in going into the offseason. The Commanders, Patriots, Cardinals and Chargers all lost. Only the Bolts changed positions, by virtue of the Giants’ win over the Eagles. The Giants, however, only dropped one spot through their home win.

The Falcons and Saints’ efforts to upend the Buccaneers in the NFC South did not pan out, with Tampa Bay beating two-win Carolina in its regular-season finale. This will keep Atlanta and New Orleans in much better draft positions. Despite finishing 8-9, Tampa Bay now cannot move past No. 19 without a trade.

While the Bears’ seminal decision — Justin Fields or Caleb Williams, seemingly, with all the trade and contract factors that go along with this forthcoming choice — will headline the leadup to this draft, the Commanders have secured the No. 2 selection and will have their own call to make. New owner Josh Harris showed he will help drive his front office to moves that will load up draft capital, as the Montez Sweat and Chase Young trades showed, and he is all but certain to hire a new regime in the coming weeks.

The draft’s second-best quarterback will be available to Washington, which saw its Sam Howell wire-to-wire season fail to solidify him as the team’s surefire long-term QB. Will Washington become closely connected to Howell’s North Carolina successor (Drake Maye)? The Commanders’ call will help shape how the Patriots proceed, unless New England — which is also all but certain to move on from Bill Belichick and start anew — completes a trade-up effort.

As the postseason determines the bottom 14 draft slots, here is how the top 18 look after the regular season:

1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
2. Washington Commanders: 4-13
3. New England Patriots: 4-13
4. Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
5. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-12
6. New York Giants: 6-11
7. Tennessee Titans: 6-11
8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
9. Chicago Bears: 7-10
10. New York Jets: 7-10
11. Minnesota Vikings: 7-10
12. Denver Broncos: 8-9
13. Las Vegas Raiders: 8-9
14. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
15. Indianapolis Colts: 9-8
16. Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
18. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
19. Green Bay Packers: 9-8
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-8
21. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
22. Los Angeles Rams: 10-7
23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7
24. Miami Dolphins: 11-6
25. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6
26. Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6
27. Houston Texans (via Browns)
28. Detroit Lions: 12-5
29. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
30. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
31. San Francisco 49ers: 12-5
32. Baltimore Ravens: 13-4

It took the Bears until Week 18 for the No. 1 draft slot to become a reality; the Panthers did not make them wait that long this year. Carolina’s struggles will give Chicago the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight year. How the Bears will proceed with that pick will become one of the NFL’s defining 2024 storylines.

The Cardinals’ unexpected conquest in Philadelphia knocked them down two slots in the 2024 draft order. As a result, the Commanders — who resided in the fourth position before the Patriots’ Christmas Eve upset ended the Russell Wilson era in Denver — hold the No. 2 pick going into the regular season’s final Sunday.

The Commanders benched Sam Howell in back-to-back weeks and were set to, prior to a midweek Jacoby Brissett setback, shelve him for Week 17 as well. The Ron Rivera era is in its final days, with front office changes likely as well. A Commanders-Caleb Williams connection has emerged, which would make Washington quite interested in what Chicago does at No. 1 overall — or key another round of Bears talks about dropping from 1 to 2, which took place with the Texans this offseason. With the Bears likely considering another Justin Fields season and the Cardinals having Kyler Murray tied to a $46.1MM-per-year contract, the Commanders are suddenly a team to watch regarding a QB investment.

Bill Belichick is also perched as a key 2024 domino, but with the legendary HC not eager to leave New England, one of the most important decisions in franchise history awaits Robert Kraft. Belichick or his replacement could hold a top-three pick in 2024, though another Pats win — they have the Jets in Week 18 — would complicate an effort to land a top-tier QB prospect.

Entering Week 18, here is how the 2024 draft order looks:

1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
2. Washington Commanders: 4-12
3. New England Patriots: 4-12
4. Arizona Cardinals: 4-12
5. New York Giants: 5-11
6. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-11
7. Tennessee Titans: 5-11
8. New York Jets: 6-10
9. Atlanta Falcons: 7-9
10. Chicago Bears: 7-9
11. Las Vegas Raiders: 7-9
12. Minnesota Vikings: 7-9
13. New Orleans Saints: 8-8
14. Denver Broncos: 8-8
15. Seattle Seahawks: 8-8
16. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-8
17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7
19. Green Bay Packers: 8-8
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8
21. Indianapolis Colts: 9-7
22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-7
23. Los Angeles Rams: 9-7
24. Buffalo Bills: 10-6
25. Kansas City Chiefs: 10-6
26. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-5
27. Detroit Lions: 11-5
28. Houston Texans (via Browns)
29. Miami Dolphins: 11-5
30. Dallas Cowboys: 11-5
31. San Francisco 49ers: 12-4
32. Baltimore Ravens: 13-3

While the Panthers, Cardinals and Commanders continued their losing ways in Week 16, the Patriots’ effort in Denver shook up the top of the 2024 draft. New England has dropped from second to fourth in the ’24 order.

In a strange spot in which Broncos fans and and undoubtedly many Pats supporters wanted the Russell Wilson-driven comeback to succeed, Chad Ryland‘s 56-yard game-winning field goal dropped New England out of the No. 2 spot, injecting doubt about the team’s ability to nab a top-flight QB prospect without trading up next year.

The Bears (via the Panthers) remain atop the table, holding a one-game lead on the Cardinals. Carolina closes its season with two games against eight-win teams — the Jaguars and Buccaneers. Arizona will face Philadelphia and Seattle, and with Carolina’s strength of schedule at .522 and Arizona’s at .561, the draft-order tiebreaker reaffirms the Bears’ placement on the doorstep of entering a second straight offseason holding a No. 1 overall pick. The Justin Fields matter remains an important big-picture NFL topic, but GM Ryan Poles is close to having his pick of the 2024 QB prospects.

It is not clear if the Commanders will be interested in a quarterback in the first round, but they will have a new regime running the show. The last time Washington held a top-three pick (2020), it passed on Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert due to having drafted Dwayne Haskins in the 2019 first round. With Sam Howell struggling as of late, Josh Harris‘ next set of decision-makers may want to bring in their own prospect. The Cardinals could stand in the Commanders’ way, via another trade in the top three, but suddenly Washington could be a player for a 2024 first-round QB.

Ahead of Week 17, here is how the 2024 draft order looks:

1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
2. Arizona Cardinals: 3-12
3. Washington Commanders: 4-11
4. New England Patriots: 4-11
5. New York Giants: 5-10
6. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-10
7. Tennessee Titans: 5-10
8. Chicago Bears: 6-9
9. New York Jets: 6-9
10. Atlanta Falcons: 7-8
11. New Orleans Saints: 7-8
12. Green Bay Packers: 7-8
13. Las Vegas Raiders: 7-8
14. Denver Broncos: 7-8
15. Minnesota Vikings: 7-8
16. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-7
18. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-7
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-7
20. Indianapolis Colts: 8-7
21. Seattle Seahawks: 8-7
22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-7
23. Los Angeles Rams: 8-7
24. Buffalo Bills: 9-6
25. Kansas City Chiefs: 9-6
26. Dallas Cowboys: 10-5
27. Houston Texans (via Browns)
28. Detroit Lions: 11-4
29. Miami Dolphins: 11-4
30. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-4
31. San Francisco 49ers: 11-4
32. Baltimore Ravens: 12-3