The Buccaneers got a consolation prize after losing their fifth straight game on Sunday in a 22-19 defeat at the hands of the Panthers in Carolina. Tampa Bay entered that game holding the No. 7 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Although Chicago’s predictable victory over winless Cleveland was projected to move the Bucs up one spot on Sunday, San Francisco pulled off an upset with a home win over AFC South champion Jacksonville.

Wins by the Bears and 49ers, coupled with a loss by the Bucs, caused Tampa Bay to move up two spots to fifth in the current 2018 NFL Draft order.

Here is a list of the teams that have 5-10 records or worse heading into Week 17. The Bucs could finish picking anywhere between fourth and ninth depending on the outcomes of Sunday’s Week 17 games.

Current Top 9 Draft Picks

1. Cleveland – 0-15 (.517 SOS)
2. NY Giants – 2-13 (.533 SOS)
3. Indianapolis – 3-12 (.483 SOS)
4. Cleveland (from Houston) – 4-11 (.508 SOS)
5. Tampa Bay – 4-11 (.558 SOS)
6. Denver 5-10 – (.483 SOS)
7. NY Jets 5-10 – (.521 SOS)
8. San Francisco – 5-10 (.521 SOS)
9. Chicago – 5-10 (.558 SOS)

Here is the remaining schedule for the teams currently having a top 9 draft pick next April:

Week 17

Cleveland (0-15) at Pittsburgh
Washington at New York Giants (2-13)
Houston (4-11) at Indianapolis (3-12)
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (4-11)
Kansas City at Denver (5-10)
New York Jets (5-10) at New England
San Francisco (5-10) at Los Angeles Rams
Chicago (5-10) at Minnesota

Jason Licht, Jameis Winston and Lovie Smith – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Tampa Bay loses at home against New Orleans it will pick no later than fifth in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bucs can actually move up one spot to fourth if the Texans, whose first-round pick is owned by Cleveland due to a trade, beat the Colts on Sunday and improve to 5-11, while Tampa Bay loses at home to New Orleans and finishes 4-12. If those two things happen the Bucs will be the NFL’s lone 4-12 finisher in 2017 and will have the fourth pick in every round next April.

The Bucs could also be guaranteed to finish with the fifth overall pick if Tampa Bay beat New Orleans to end up with a 5-11 record, while Denver, the New York Jets, San Francisco and Chicago all improved to 6-10 with upset wins on Sunday, which is unlikely.

The Bucs could slide down further in the top 10 with a win coupled by losses by any of four teams that are currently 5-10 – the Broncos, the Jets, the 49ers or the Bears. Tampa Bay could fall anywhere from sixth to ninth in the first round in this scenario depending on the strength of schedule of the teams that finish 5-11.

Currently, the Bucs and Bears all have the same strength of schedule (.558). So what would happen if Chicago and Tampa Bay were tied with 5-11 records and finished with the same strength of schedule? Despite the fact that the Bucs beat the Bears in a head-to-head game earlier this year, any tie-breakers after records and strength of schedule are decided by a coin flip prior to the NFL Draft – not the outcome of head-to-head match-ups.

The last time the Bucs had a draft pick inside the top 10 was when Tampa Bay finished 6-10 and owned the ninth overall pick in 2016 and traded down to No. 11 with Chicago to take cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, while the Bears drafted pass rusher Leonard Floyd. The previous year, Tampa Bay finished 2-14 in the 2014 season and used the first overall selection to pick quarterback Jameis Winston.

The Bucs had the 19th overall selection this past April due to a 9-7 finish during the 2016 season and spent their first-round pick on tight end O.J. Howard.