When you say, "devs just pick the next one off the top", that sounds very much like Kanban instead of Scrum. Kanban is radically different but considered "agile". When Scrum degenerates into mgmt screaming, "you missed all your deadlines - again!", Kanban is often a great source of relief, because the only deadlines that count anymore are the "real" ones. It also allows much more flexibility with shifting priorities, which stakeholders love. Absolutely worth a try when Scrum has become a tool of oppression & misery.