A cladistic analysis in 2016 determined that Dracoraptor was a basal member, positioned low in the evolutionary tree, of the Neotheropoda.
It was the basalmost coelophysoid.

The precise affinities of Dracoraptor are indicated by its various traits.
The build of the pelvis shows it was a saurischian dinosaur.
Among dinosaurs, the dagger-shaped transversely flattened teeth are only found with Theropoda.
A membership of the clade Neotheropoda is proven by the shallow depression around the antorbital fenestra, the forward position of a pleurcoel on the neck vertebrae and the presence of an obturator notch in the ischium.
The position in the Coelophysoidea is more uncertain.
Dracoraptor does not clearly share many of the synapomorphies of the group, such as a rounded jugal branch towards the lacrimal.
This accounts for its basal position in the analysis.
Further preparation of the fossils might provide additional information about its phylogeny.
A cladistic analysis in 2016 determined that Dracoraptor was a basal member, positioned low in the evolutionary tree, of the Neotheropoda. It was the basalmost coelophysoid.
The precise affinities of Dracoraptor are indicated by its various traits. The build of the pelvis shows it was a saurischian dinosaur. Among dinosaurs, the dagger-shaped transversely flattened teeth are only found with Theropoda. A membership of the clade Neotheropoda is proven by the shallow depression around the antorbital fenestra, the forward position of a pleurcoel on the neck vertebrae and the presence of an obturator notch in the ischium. The position in the Coelophysoidea is more uncertain. Dracoraptor does not clearly share many of the synapomorphies of the group, such as a rounded jugal branch towards the lacrimal. This accounts for its basal position in the analysis. Further preparation of the fossils might provide additional information about its phylogeny.
Dracoraptor