The Dallas Cowboys still have two games remaining in their 2025 season, starting on Christmas Day. This will be the club’s fourth Thursday kickoff of the season, which has to be some sort of record. They started the season in Week 1 in Philly, played their annual Thanksgiving contest and now-annual week-after-Thanksgiving TNF game. And now, they travel to Washington to take on the also-out-of-the-playoffs Commanders.

When the league setup this game, they probably envisioned this to be a competitive NFC East battle for postseason positioning, but instead they get a matchup of teams accidentally jockeying for better draft slots.

Advertisement

Entering the contest, Dallas sits with the No. 13 overall pick. They also own the Green Bay Packers‘ first round pick, by virtue of their trade of five-for-five Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons. The Packers, like the Cowboys, are on a losing streak and currently sit with the No. 21 overall selection.

Green Bay is still a heavy favorite to make the postseason, so their place in the draft order won’t be solidified until their run is over, but Dallas’ spot will be known in 11 days.

The Cowboys, currently at 6-8-1, can finish anywhere between the No. 8 slot and the No. 18 slot. By virtue of their tie (against the Packers), they will draft last among all teams they finish with the same number of wins.

If Dallas beats the Commanders and Giants over the final two weeks, they’ll end up super-.500, at 8-8-1 and draft after every team that finishes below .500. If they somehow lose out and finish 6-10-1, they’d draft after all six-win clubs.

Advertisement

There are seven teams which cannot win seven games, therefore the “highest” Dallas can draft is eighth. If they finish 8-8-1, they can end up with the best record of the non-playoff teams, slotting them 18th. That’s their range; between 8th and 18th.

As for the Packers, they will clinch a playoff spot with any win or Detroit loss over the final two weeks of the season. They are currently the No. 7 seed, and will need to win out plus have at least one of three teams lose out in order to climb higher. At 9-5-1, they can catch any of the 11-4 teams and end up with a better winning percentage.

The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers can be caught in the wild-card race, and the Chicago Bears can be caught for the NFC North title. A single win by each relegates the Packers to No. 7, unless they collapse and are caught by the Lions.

So the range for the Packers sits as “low” as the No. 18 selection, and all the way to the No. 32 pick if they win the whole thing.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Draft Order: Where Cowboys will pick based on Packers, final games