The Week 6 slate featured a huge matchup for anyone who is a fan of a team that already has them looking toward the 2024 NFL Draft, specifically in the Top 10 of the draft order entering the week.
Perhaps the most crucial game for that was a battle between NFC North foes, the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Given that both teams came into the game with one loss, you might've expected a potential shootout between two talented offenses and two bad defenses. Instead, it was just all ugly. Kirk Cousins looked lost overall without Justin Jefferson while the Bears lost Justin Fields in the second half due to injury. That led to a 19-13 Vikings win, one that was hairier than it probably should've been.
Elsewhere, the Carolina Panthers, who owe their 2024 first-round pick to the Bears, lost again to remain the league's only winless team, getting blown out by the Dolphins. The Houston Texans, however, pulled off another quality win, topping the up-and-down Saints.
So where does this all leave the 2024 NFL Draft order after Week 6? Let's take a look at the full first-round order for picks No. 1-32.
Updated 2024 NFL Draft order after Week 6 games
- Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
- Chicago Bears
- Denver Broncos
- Arizona Cardinals
- New England Patriots
- New York Giants
- Minnesota Vikings
- Tennessee Titans
- Green Bay Packers
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Los Angeles Rams
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
- Indianapolis Colts
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Washington Commanders
- Houston Texans (via Browns)
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Dallas Cowboys
- Buffalo Bills
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Detroit Lions
- Miami Dolphins
- San Francisco 49ers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Philadelphia Eagles
The San Francisco 49ers also suffered their first loss of the season with a missed field goal in the final seconds against the Cleveland Browns. That doesn't move them too much as they sit at the No. 30 pick, but it does actually affect the Texans, who have Cleveland's pick from the Deshaun Watson trade. That pick now has dropped all the way to No. 20.
It's fitting, though, that a loaded QB class in the 2024 NFL Draft currently has so many quarterback-needy (or potentially so) teams in the Top 10. The Bears could move on from Fields, the same of which is true for the Broncos with Russell Wilson. Meanwhile, the Patriots, Vikings, Titans and Raiders could also be in that mix as well.
A lot of football is still left to play this season, which will shake up the draft order further. But this is where things stand now.