On the night of May 8, 2014, the Pittsburgh Steelers will pick 15th, behind the Chicago Bears, but ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins.
May 8, 2014 is the first day of the 2014 NFL Draft.
The NFL has released what it calls its Tentative 2014 Draft Order, but for the Steelers and the other teams that didn't make the playoffs, there's nothing tentative about it. The Houston Texans will have the first overall pick, and the Arizona Cardinals will have the 20th pick, which is the last one for the non-playoff qualifiers.
In between the Texans and the Cardinals will be, in order: the Redskins, Jaguars, Browns, Raiders, Falcons, Buccaneers, Vikings, Bills, Lions, Titans, Giants, Rams, Bears, Steelers, Ravens or Cowboys, Jets, and Dolphins.
There were six teams, including the Steelers, that finished with 8-8 records in 2013, and for the purposes of the draft, teams pick in reverse order of their strength of schedule.
The Bears finished 8-8, but because they got to that record vs. opponents that were a combined 117-135-4 (.465), they will be the first of the .500 teams to pick in the first round of the 2014 draft. The Steelers will be next, based on their .469 strength of schedule (119-135-2).
The Ravens and Cowboys will take part in a coin flip to see who picks 16th and who picks 17th, because both of them had identical strength of schedules of .484. Then come the Jets at No. 18 with a .488, followed by the Dolphins at No. 19 with a .523.
Teams drafting between No. 21 and No. 32 will be determined by the outcome of the playoffs. The winner of the Super Bowl will pick 32nd, and the loser of the Super Bowl will pick 31st.
The following chart depicts the NFL's Tentative 2014 Draft Order:
| Round | Pick | 2013 Record | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2-14 | Houston Texans |
| 1 | 2 | 3-13 | Washington Redskins |
| 1 | 3 | 4-12 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 1 | 4 | 4-12 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1 | 5 | 4-12 | Oakland Raiders |
| 1 | 6 | 4-12 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1 | 7 | 4-12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1 | 8 | 5-10-1 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1 | 9 | 6-10 | Buffalo Bills |
| 1 | 10 | 7-9 | Detroit Lions |
| 1 | 11 | 7-9 | Tennessee Titans |
| 1 | 12 | 7-9 | New York Giants |
| 1 | 13 | 7-9 | St. Louis Rams |
| 1 | 14 | 8-8 | Chicago Bears |
| 1 | 15 | 8-8 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1 | 16 | 8-8 | Baltimore Ravens# |
| 1 | 8-8 | Dallas Cowboys# | |
| 1 | 18 | 8-8 | New York Jets |
| 1 | 19 | 8-8 | Miami Dolphins |
| 1 | 20 | 10-6 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 1 | 21 | 8-7-1 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1 | 22 | 9-7 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1 | 23 | 10-6 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1 | 24 | 11-5 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 1 | 25 | 11-5 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 1 | 26 | 11-5 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 1 | 27 | 11-5 | New Orleans Saints |
| 1 | 28 | 12-4 | New England Patriots |
| 1 | 29 | 12-4 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1 | 30 | 12-4 | Carolina Panthers |
| 1 | 31 | 13-3 | Denver Broncos |
| 1 | 32 | 13-3 | Seattle Seahawks |
*Subject to Playoffs
