2012 NFL Draft Order: Predicting Where Remaining Playoff Teams Will Pick

With four teams knocked out of the playoff race, the NFL draft order for 2012 is starting to take shape.

Picks Nos. 21 through 24 were decided this week, with the Cincinnati Bengals picking 21st, the Cleveland Browns picking at 22 (which would have been the Atlanta Falcons' first-round spot), the Detroit Lions picking 23rd and the Pittsburgh Steelers picking 24th.

Four games are scheduled for this week's divisional round, and, once they've concluded, four more teams will have their draft positioning locked down.

The New Orleans Saints take on the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday evening. The Saints have the highest-scoring offense in the league and are in the top 10 in both passing and rushing. San Francisco's defense, however, is the best in the NFC.

The Niners will need to hold the Saints to well under 30 points in order to win. San Francisco's managed to score 30 or more points of their own just twice, and they're just not known for putting up high-scoring performances this season.

Should San Francisco fall, their 13-3 record will give them the 28th overall pick in the NFL draft.

At No. 25, I project the 8-8 Denver Broncos. They travel to Foxboro on Saturday to take on the New England Patriots—a team that beat them handily in Denver in Week 15.

The Patriots are overwhelmingly favored to reach the Super Bowl as the AFC's representative, and they'll have to beat the surging Broncos to do so. It shouldn't be that hard; though the Patriots have the NFL's worst secondary and Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow put up a surprisingly dominant performance against the Steelers in the Wild Card Round, what New England brings to the table on offense is hard to stop.

At home and up against the most unlikely of playoff teams, the Patriots shouldn't lose. Thus, Denver will be picking 25th come April.

The No. 26 pick is likely to go to the Houston Texans, who face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon. The Ravens haven't yet lost at home, have the top defense in the league and have an effective offense behind quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice.

The Texans have a strong running game of their own, as well as a tough defense.

It should be an interesting and close game between these well-matched teams, but I see the Ravens coming out on top and advancing to the AFC championship game.

At No. 27, I project the New York Giants. Though they won convincingly over the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, the fact that the team must travel to Green Bay to face the venerable Packers doesn't bode well for their chances to reach the NFC championship game this season.

Green Bay has yet to lose at home and have been favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions all season long. While the Giants have playoff experience of their own, they've not reached the big game since the 2007 season.

While anything can happen in the playoffs, it just doesn't seem likely the Giants have what it takes to stop the Packers this week.

My projections have the Patriots falling to the Ravens in the AFC championship game and the Saints defeating the Packers, the two teams advancing to the Super Bowl. That gives the Patriots the 29th pick in the 2012 draft and the Packers the 30th.

The Ravens, for all their strength, I don't see being able to topple the Saints in the Super Bowl. Thus the Ravens will be drafting 31st this year, with the Patriots, who are owed the Saints' first-round pick, having the 32nd pick in the 2012 draft.

Projected 2012 NFL Draft Order (Picks Nos. 25-32 TBD)

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