With the 2025 NFL season winding down, the playoff picture is becoming clearer by the day. However, not all teams have officially solidified their spot in the postseason race. Simultaneously, that hasn’t allowed the draft order to be solidified either, with rampant movement all across the league.
With teams already eliminated from the playoff race getting a golden opportunity to play the role of the Grinch who stole Christmas, Week 16 saw some shocking results across the entire schedule, leading to a dramatic change in the draft order for the 2026 NFL Draft.
What’s the Current Order in the 2026 NFL Draft?
Here’s what the current draft order looks like after Week 16:
1) New York Giants, 2-13
2) Las Vegas Raiders, 2-13
3) Cleveland Browns, 3-12
4) New York Jets, 3-12
5) Arizona Cardinals, 3-12
6) Tennessee Titans, 3-12
7) Washington Commanders, 4-11
8) New Orleans Saints, 5-10
9) Cincinnati Bengals, 5-10
10) Miami Dolphins, 6-9
11) Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons, 6-9)
12) Kansas City Chiefs, 6-9
13) Dallas Cowboys, 6-8-1
14) Baltimore Ravens, 7-8
15) Minnesota Vikings, 7-8
16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7-8
17) Detroit Lions, 8-7
18) New York Jets (via Colts, 8-6)
19) Dallas Cowboys (via Packers, 9-5-1)
20) Houston Texans, 10-5
21) San Francisco 49ers, 10-4
22) Los Angeles Chargers, 11-4
23) Buffalo Bills, 11-4
24) Los Angeles Rams, 11-4
25) Carolina Panthers, 8-7
26) Pittsburgh Steelers, 9-6
27) Philadelphia Eagles, 10-5
28) Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars, 11-4)
29) Chicago Bears, 11-4
30) New England Patriots, 12-3
31) Denver Broncos, 12-3
32) Seattle Seahawks, 12-3
Top Odds to Land the No. 1 Overall Pick
The Week 16 slate, as previously mentioned, was among the most shocking weekends the calendar has seen the whole year. At no point would anyone have believed that the woeful Tennessee Titans could blast the Kansas City Chiefs.
But with no Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew going down with an injury during the game, the reigning AFC Champions stood no chance of offering a fight, getting demolished 26-9. However, multiple other matches also directly affected the draft standing of various teams.
MORE: 3-Round 2026 NFL Mock Draft
The Cleveland Browns lost to the Buffalo Bills, but not without putting up a great fight that saw them limit Josh Allen and Co. to just three points in the second half, as the reigning MVP was limited to less than 150 yards of offense.
Two teams near the top of the draft order at various points over the year, the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints, faced off in a game with major implications for the draft order. However, the mini-renaissance from the Saints continued.
Winning their third-straight game with rookie Tyler Shough as the starting quarterback, they got another excellent outing from their second-round pick, who threw for 308 passing yards and a touchdown to help guide his team to a 29-6 blowout.
While it ended the Saints’ hopes of falling to the first overall pick, their needs might have already changed with the way Shough has been playing. Rather than investing in a quarterback, they might have already found their man and could focus on other areas of the roster instead.
After all was said and done, PFSN’s Playoff Predictor, which does an excellent job of incorporating a team’s overall quality and strength of schedule to figure out its odds, broke down the odds for the first overall pick among the teams still alive in the race.
The updated odds are as follows:
1) New York Giants – 50.00%
2) Las Vegas Raiders – 33.0%
3) Cleveland Browns – 15.0%
4) New York Jets – 2.1%
(No other team has a greater than 1% chance)
