Raiders 2019 NFL draft order after week 15, rooting guide for week 16: Guaranteed top ten pick with just Cardinals in the way of number one overall

A win in week 14 didn’t hurt the Raiders draft much. Mainly because the 49ers also won, so the Raiders only fell one spot. And with a loss to the Bengals last week, the Raiders are right back where they were a few weeks ago — in line for the second overall pick. Except this time, it’s the Cardinals who stand in the way.

Like the 49ers, should the Cardinals have the top pick, they aren’t going with a quarterback. That puts them as most likely to take Nick Bosa, the draft’s top pass rusher. He would likely be the Raiders selection as well should he be on the board.

If they have any hopes of getting that top pick, the Cardinals would need to win a game. The odds of that win coming this week is slim to none. They face the Rams who are arguably the best team in football.

Looking at it another way, you could think about how far the Raiders could fall should they themselves win. Should the Raiders win Monday over the Broncos, they would still be in line for a top five pick. And even if the Raiders win out, they can do no worse than the 10th overall pick.

As for their other two first round picks, they are currently in the mid 20s. The Bears have clinched a playoff spot guaranteeing the pick the Raiders got from them will be no lower than 21 overall.

Here are the Raiders picks look like now according to tankathon.com.

Round 1, pick 2

Round 1, pick 25 (from DAL)

Round 1, pick 27 (from CHI)

Round 2, pick 33

Round 3, pick 66

Picks in rounds 4-7 will change drastically following announcement of compensatory picks.

For this week’s rooting guide, we’ll be focusing on all the teams in the top five. The hope being even if the Raiders beat a very beatable Broncos team, those other teams winning as well will mean the Raiders may not fall far or perhaps not at all.

Broncos fans apparently are hoping they lose for draft implications.

Even with the Bears clinching a playoff spot, a win would potentially clinch them a first round bye and guarantee an even lower draft position. So, losses are still important.

Key draft order games this week:

Team to the left is whose win would help Raiders draft position

Arizona Cardinals (1) at Los Angeles Rams

Jacksonville Jaguars (5) at Miami Dolphins

New York Jets (3) vs Green Bay Packers

San Francisco 49ers (4) vs Chicago Bears (27)

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (2)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys (25)