The regular season is officially in the rearview mirror, and for 18 fanbases, the "wait until next year" mantra has transitioned into a full-blown obsession with mock drafts. Honestly, seeing the up to date nfl draft order after the dust settled on the final week of the 2025 season is a bit surreal. We’ve got perennial contenders picking in the top ten and teams that were supposed to be rebuilding suddenly staring down the barrel of a playoff run.
The Las Vegas Raiders have officially clinched the No. 1 overall pick. It wasn't pretty. A 3-14 record rarely is. But in a draft class that is increasingly looking like it might be headlined by a transformative quarterback like Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or a defensive titan like Clemson’s Peter Woods, being the worst has its perks.
The Current State of the 2026 NFL Draft Order
Right now, the top 24 picks are mostly set in stone following Wild Card weekend. If you’re a fan of the Jets, Cardinals, or Titans, you’ve known your spot for a few days now. It’s the teams still playing—or the ones that just got bounced—where things get interesting.
The New York Jets are sitting pretty. Or at least, as pretty as a 3-14 team can sit. They hold the No. 2 overall pick, but thanks to some savvy (or desperate, depending on who you ask) mid-season trading, they also own the Indianapolis Colts' pick at No. 16. That’s two picks in the top 20 for a team that desperately needs a cultural reset and potentially a new signal-caller if they decide the current experiment has failed.
Here is how the top of the board looks as we head into the Divisional Round:
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- Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)
- New York Jets (3-14)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
- Tennessee Titans (3-14)
- New York Giants (4-13)
- Cleveland Browns (5-12)
- Washington Commanders (5-12)
- New Orleans Saints (6-11)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-11)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)
Wait. Did you see that? The Kansas City Chiefs at No. 9.
It’s not a typo. Patrick Mahomes and company had a nightmare 2025 campaign, finishing 6-11. Seeing them pick in the top ten feels like a glitch in the simulation. They’re sitting right in the range where they could snag a premier weapon like Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. If the rest of the league was tired of the Chiefs' dominance before, imagine them adding a blue-chip top-ten talent to that roster.
Why Strength of Schedule Changed Everything
You’ve probably noticed that the Raiders, Jets, Cardinals, and Titans all finished with the exact same 3-14 record. So why do the Raiders pick first?
It’s all about the tiebreakers. In the NFL, draft order for non-playoff teams is determined by the Strength of Schedule (SOS). Basically, the team that played the "easier" schedule gets the higher pick because their 3-14 record is theoretically more "impressive" in its badness.
The Raiders' SOS sat at .538. The Titans, meanwhile, played a much tougher slate at .574, which is why they find themselves sliding down to the No. 4 spot despite having the same win-loss total. It’s a bitter pill for Titans fans who probably wanted that top choice, but that’s the math.
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The Trade Market is Already Heating Up
We can't talk about the up to date nfl draft order without talking about the picks that have already changed hands. This year’s board is a chaotic map of "what ifs."
The Los Angeles Rams are the big winners here. Even as they prepare for a deep playoff run, they own the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick (No. 13). They also have their own pick, which currently projects in the late 20s or early 30s. Being a Super Bowl contender with two first-round picks is a luxury most GMs would sell their soul for.
Then you have the Dallas Cowboys. They’ve been aggressive. They shipped off Micah Parsons to Green Bay in a move that shocked the league, but in return, they’ve armed themselves with the Packers' first-round pick (No. 20). Combined with their own pick at No. 12, the Cowboys have the capital to completely overhaul a defense that looked porous down the stretch.
Team Needs: Who is Looking for What?
When you look at the top five, it’s a quarterback's world.
The Raiders and Jets are almost certainly going to be linked to Mendoza or whatever QB emerges as the "guy" during the combine. Arizona is a bit of a wild card. Kyler Murray’s future is the loudest conversation in the desert right now. If they keep him, they likely look at a tackle like Oregon’s Isaiah World to finally protect him. If they move on, No. 3 is a prime spot for a replacement.
The New York Giants at No. 5 are in a "best player available" situation, but their offensive line outside of Andrew Thomas has been... let's call it "challenging." PFF grades for their right tackle spot were among the lowest in the league this year. Don't be surprised if they look at someone like Spencer Fano out of Utah to solidify the trenches.
The Playoff Impact
For the teams still alive, the draft order is a moving target. The winners of the Divisional Round will see their picks move to 29-32. The losers will slot into 25-28.
Seattle and Denver are currently the "top" seeds based on their 14-3 regular-season records. If one of them wins the Super Bowl, they’ll pick 32nd. If they get upset this weekend? They could jump up as high as 25 depending on how the other games shake out. It’s the only time fans are actually annoyed that their team keeps winning—well, almost the only time.
Looking Ahead to Pittsburgh
The draft will be held in Pittsburgh from April 23-25. Between now and then, these spots will fluctuate as trades are announced and the playoffs conclude.
If you’re tracking your team’s future, keep a close eye on the compensatory picks. The NFL usually announces those in March, and they can add some serious bulk to the mid-rounds for teams like the 49ers and Ravens who historically play the compensatory game better than anyone.
For now, the Raiders are on the clock. The rest of the league is just trying to figure out how to catch up.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, start digging into the tape on the defensive line class. While everyone is talking about the quarterbacks, the real value in the 2026 class might be in the interior defenders. Peter Woods and Keldric Faulk are the types of players who change a franchise’s identity from day one.
The best way to utilize this information is to look at the gap between a team's current draft position and their biggest roster holes. For example, the Saints picking at No. 8 need a total defensive overhaul. If the top three QBs go early, a "slide" for a generational pass rusher could be the best thing to happen to New Orleans in a decade. Keep your eyes on the scouting combine in February; that's where these "locked-in" picks usually start to get traded for a king's ransom.