NEW YORK -- The Cincinnati Bengals will have the first and seventh selections in the National Football League's annual college player draft to be held next May 1-2 at New York.
According to the official drafting order released Thursday by the NFL, the Bengals own Tampa Bay's first-round pick after trading quarterback Jack Thompson to the Bucs.
Tampa Bay was awarded the first pick in the draft after going 2-14 against a weaker schedule than Houston, which also finished 2-14.
Two other clubs, Baltimore and New England, also have two first round picks. Baltimore has its pick in the No. 8 slot and also gets Denver's pick as part of last spring's trade for quarterback John Elway.
New England has its pick in the 16th position and also owns the Los Angeles Raiders' first round choice.
The order is set for the first 18 teams but it could change for the remaining 10. The Super Bowl teams will be dropped to last in the selection process, with the loser selecting in the No. 27 slot and the NFL champion closing out the first round in the 28th position.
Houston, the New York Giants, Philadelphia, Kansas City and San Diego follow Cincinnati's opening choice. After the Bengals' second selection, they are scheduled to be followed by Baltimore, Atlanta, the New York Jets, Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Buffalo, New Orleans, New England, St. Louis and Cleveland.
The playoff clubs, whose order may change, are next, with Detroit drafting in the No. 19 slot, followed by Baltimore (from Denver), the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Miami, Dallas, New England (from the Raiders) and Washington.
