The Baltimore Ravens finished the 2021 season at 8-9 after losing their final six games of the regular season. They missed out on the playoffs entirely, which is the first time that has happened to the organization since 2017.
Due to their record and missing the playoffs, Baltimore will pick 14th in the NFL draft for the first time in franchise history. They have an opportunity to get a very high-quality player who can help them for years to come. However, they will pick behind the Cleveland Browns, who own the 13th overall pick despite finishing third in the AFC North, while the Ravens finished fourth. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic explained the reasoning behind why Cleveland picks ahead of Baltimore.
No, it’s two different criteria to determine division finish and draft order. Ties in draft order are broken by strength of schedule. The Browns have easier strength of schedule than Ravens, so they draft one spot before them in 1st round.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 11, 2022
In 2021, the Ravens had a .563 strength of schedule, which was 2nd in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Browns had a .518 strength of schedule, which put them 9th league-wide. Since the tiebreaker used for draft positioning is strength of schedule instead of division placement, that means that Cleveland will pick ahead of Baltimore in 2022.