<P> This is a list of first overall National Football League draft picks . The National Football League draft is an annual sports draft in which NFL teams select newly eligible players for their rosters . To be eligible , a player must be out of high school at least three years . Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL draft . The draft rules were last updated in 2009 . The team with the worst record the previous year picks first , the next - worst team second , and so on . Teams also have the option to trade with another team to move up to a better draft position . Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular - season record , with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule . Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams , based on their round of elimination ( wild card , division , conference , and Super Bowl ) . </P>
who has the first overall pick in the nfl draft
The team with the worst record the previous year