2016 NFL Draft Order: Cowboys Currently With A Top 10 Pick, Good Chance To Move Into Top 5

The Cowboys enter Week 8 with a 2-5 record, which means they have only one more win than the two worst teams in the league, the 1-7 Lions and the 1-6 Titans. If the draft were held today, the Cowboys would have a pick fairly early in the first round, just not the third overall pick.

The draft order is based on a team's regular season record and then overall strength of schedule. If those are the same, conference record then division record are used. If none of those results in a tie-breaker, a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine in February determines the final draft order.

In addition to the Cowboys, there are six other teams with just two wins to their name so far this season. And as we saw last week, the Cowboys have the toughest 2015 strength of schedule. And that means that they would draft behind all the other-two win teams from the ninth overall spot if the draft were to be held today.

Here's the current 2016 NFL Draft order per Dan Kadar of SB Nation:

1. Detroit Lions: 1-7 (.551 strength of schedule)
2. Tennessee Titans: 1-6 (.475 SOS)
3. Baltimore Ravens: 2-6 (.521 SOS - 1-2 division record)
4. Cleveland Browns: 2-6 (521 SOS - 1-0 division record)
5. San Diego Chargers: 2-6 (.525 SOS)
6. San Francisco 49ers: 2-6 (.549 SOS)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-5 (.437 SOS)
8. Chicago Bears: 2-5 (.521 SOS)
9. Dallas Cowboys: 2-5 (.542 SOS)
10. Houston Texans: 3-5 (.483 SOS)
11. Kansas City Chiefs: 3-5 ( (.513 SOS)
12. Miami Dolphins: 3-4 (.457 SOS)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3-4 (.458 SOS)
14. Philadelphia Eagles: 3-4 (.496 SOS - 2-4 conference record)
15. Washington: 3-4 (.496 SOS - 3-2 conference record)
16. Buffalo Bills: 3-4 (.513 SOS)
17. New Orleans Saints: 4-4 (.450 SOS)
18. Seattle Seahawks: 4-4 (.488 SOS)
19. Pittsburgh Steelers: 4-4 (.529 SOS)
20. St. Louis Rams: 4-3 (.484 SOS)

Projected to make the playoffs:

21. Indianapolis Colts: 3-4 (.483 SOS)
22. New York Giants: 4-4 (.491 SOS)
23. New York Jets: 4-3 (.461 SOS)
24. Oakland Raiders: 4-3 (.483 SOS)
25. Minnesota Vikings: 5-2 (.496 SOS)
26. Atlanta Falcons: 6-2 (.420 SOS)
27. Arizona Cardinals: 6-2 (.463 SOS)
28. Green Bay Packers: 6-1 (.450 SOS)
29. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-0 (.435 SOS)
30. New England Patriots: 7-0 (.452 SOS)
31. Carolina Panthers: 6-0 (.479 SOS)
32. Denver Broncos: 7-0 (.475 SOS)

The bad news here is that due to the Cowboys' high strength of schedule value, they will almost certainly rank below every other team with the same record by the end of the season. In a situation like the one above, where seven teams share the same number of wins, that could mean a seven-spot difference in draft picks.

The good news is that the Cowboys have a good chance of moving into a Top 5 spot with the way they are currently playing. They have two more games before Tony Romo's earliest possible return (notice the carefully circumspect wording here) that could see them drop to 2-7. After that, it's anybody's guess how far can move down, and possibly even out of top ten consideration.

The NFC East overall is not in great shape. As it currently stands, the Eagles and Redskins are also drafting in the top 15, and even the Giants have the second-worst record of all eight division leaders. Small consolation.