The Buffalo Bills are in position for a rare "reward" when the NFL Draft comes in April.

The team is in line for a top 10 pick, something that has come along just twice in the past

10 years, despite the team failing to reach the postseason in the same time frame.

There are three other teams — the Bears, Seahawks and Raiders — tied with the

Bills at 5-9, which is the seventh-worst record in the league.

The tiebreaker for deciding draft order is strength of schedule. Teams with easier schedules

pick sooner.

That's bad news for the Bills, who have the 14-0 Colts left to play. Here's the current

strength of schedule for the teams at 5-9: Seahawks .469, Bears .487, Bills .513, Raiders

.517.

That means the current draft order would have the Bills picking ninth. Those numbers

include the records of the final two opponents yet to be played for each team. However, the

numbers could change, since the records of all the teams in the league will change the final

two weeks.

Here are the remaining opponents for the teams jockeying with the Bills for draft position:

Redskins (Cowboys, at San Diego) Raiders (at Cleveland, Baltimore), Bears (Minnesota, at

Detroit) and Seahawks (at Green Bay, Tennessee). Oakland's upset Sunday over the Broncos

helped the Bills leapfrog the Raiders, who dropped to 10th.

There are currently six teams with records worse than the Bills. They are: St. Louis (1-13),

Tampa Bay and Detroit (2-12), Kansas City and Cleveland (3-11) and Washington (4-10).

The two times the Bills have picked in the top 10 this decade have not yielded the desired

results. The selection of left tackle Mike Williams fourth overall in 2000 will go down as an

all-time bust and one of former General Manager Tom Donahoe's biggest blunders. The selection

of safety Donte Whitner eighth overall in 2006, while nowhere near the level of Williams, has

also been a disappointment.

While fans have turned their attention toward mock drafts, the Bills are left to deal with

the disappointment of again missing out on the playoffs.

"To come up short like we did — I really don't know," said cornerback Terrence McGee,

himself dealing with the frustration of a shoulder injury that will cost him the final two

games. "It's very disappointing. We just have to try and go out and win these next two games

to build for next year."

. . .

McGee was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. The team signed quarterback Gibran Hamdan to

take his place on the 53-man roster. Hamdan's signing was necessary because backup Trent

Edwards will miss the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain.

Hamdan, who was with the Bills for the past two seasons before being released Nov. 19, has

more knowledge of the offensive system than Brian Brohm, who replaced him.

The status of starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who also hurt his ankle against the Patriots, will

be updated today by interim coach Perry Fewell.

In three seasons with the Bills, Hamdan has never appeared in a regular-season game.

Current order for NFL draft

Pick with each team's strength of schedule (based on combined records of a team's

opponents through Week 15)

Pick Team Opp. Pct.

1St. Louis.531

2Detroit.513

3Tampa Bay.557

4Cleveland.509

5Kansas City.526

6Washington.500

7Seattle.469

8Chicago.487

9Buffalo.513

10Oakland.517

First-round selections

Bills first-round picks the last 10 years including the years they had two picks in the

first round (2004, 2006 and 2009):

Year Player Overall

2000 Erik Flowers26th

2001 Nate Clements21st

2002 Mike Williams4th

2003 Willis McGahee23rd

2004 Lee Evans 13th

2004J.P. Losman 22nd

2005 None

2006 Donte Whitner8th

2006John McCargo26th

2007 Marshawn Lynch12th

2008 Leodis McKelvin11th

2009 Aaron Maybin11th

2009Eric Wood28th