2013 NFL draft order: Winning ways pushing down first-round picks

Winning has it's advantages. Respect, enjoyable football games, and all that jazz. It also means the St. Louis Rams' pair of first-round picks in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft are slipping further down the order. Both the Rams' pick and the one acquired from Washington now reside outside the top 15 spots.

If the draft were held today, the Rams would have the 16th and the 20th picks. The 20th pick comes courtesy of Washington which has a bigger strength of schedule number. The complete first-round order, minus the current playoff seeds, can be found at Mocking the Draft.

Obviously, it's far better to have a winning team on the field. GM Les Snead and the personnel department have shown a knack for making solid picks. Lower picks also save money, not that the new rookie salary scale is a bank buster, but every little bit helps.

The playoff conversation matters here too. Both the Rams and the Redskins are in the hunt for a postseason bid. If either team makes it into January, that will push that first-round pick to the 21st spot or lower, depending on what happens in the playoffs.

As for what players might be available with those two picks, well, there are a host of offensive and defensive linemen with first-round grades in this year's draft class. Other names to watch include LSU S Eric Reid, Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert, Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson, West Virginia WR Tavon Austin and so many more.