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Browns Shake Up 2026 Draft Order With Crucial Win Over Steelers

Bonisiwe Shabane
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browns shake up 2026 draft order with crucial win over steelers

The Cleveland Browns had the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft right in their grasp until they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in their NFL Week 17 matchup. With just two games left, the Browns were guaranteed to land a top-two pick at minimum, and put them in reach of landing one of Indiana's Fernando Mendoza or Oregon's Dante Moore. Now, just how far have the Browns fallen down the draft board after winning their fourth game of the season? As it stands today, the Browns are now slated to pick sixth overall instead of second overall had they lost to the Steelers. With the pick they own from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Browns are also slated to select with the 28th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. There is some wiggle room as teams like the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills could rest starters against the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets, respectively.

Eliminated from the playoffs, there is a chance the Dallas Cowboys could lay an egg against the New York Giants, too. However, it now takes quite a bit of creativity to even get the Browns back inside the top-five of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns had an AFC North altering win on Sunday, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-6. Now, with one week left in the regular season, the Steeelrs will play the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 for the division crown. The Browns, on the other hand, will finish their season with a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals. While Cleveland isn't playing for a playoff spot, the team's results do affect another important position.

That position is draft position in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Browns entered Sunday with a chance to move into the top two, and could've possibly ended the season with the No. 1 overall pick. However, the huge win over Pittsburgh on Sunday put that to bed, as Cleveland tumbled outside of the top five in the 2026 Draft. Cleveland entered Sunday slotted at the No. 3 pick in the draft, however, after picking up the team's fourth win, the franchise is now sitting at pick No.

6. With a few more results left to unfold in Week 17, and all of Week 18, that could change, but the Browns won't finish the year with a top-two pick. With the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders playing on Sunday, the Giants picked up their third win ahead of Week 18. That will lead to a chaotic final week where the top 10 could be completely rearranged based on season-finale results. The Browns, however, have removed themselves out the race for No. 1 with four wins.

When they take the field in Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals, they will either move down to No. 7, or a couple spots up. With a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Dec. 28, the Browns dropped from the third overall pick to No. 6 if the draft were to happen right now. Things shifted further after the Toilet Bowl on Sunday afternoon.

The what now, you say? Well, it was none other than the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, the holders of the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the draft coming into the week. A win by the puts the Raiders in the No. 1 spot but they don't have the pick locked down quite yet. We'll update order after each slate of games today to give a clearer picture of the draft order so check back this evening.

Here are the top 18 picks in the 2026 NFL draft. Picks 19-32 are determined by order of elimination in the playoffs: The Cleveland Browns finally gave their fans something to enjoy on Sunday with a hard-fought 13-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a season filled with frustration, injuries, and constant debate, beating a division rival at home still matters. But as is often the case with lost seasons, every win comes with a ripple effect. This time, that ripple showed up in the 2026 NFL Draft order.

Following Sunday’s victory, the Browns slid back to No.6 overall, after previously holding the No.3 overall pick. A look at the current 2026 NFL Draft order after the Browns win. They also own the Jaguars 1st round pick. pic.twitter.com/tclfSdr9pf The Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s regular-season finale, impacting their position in the 2026 NFL Draft. Cleveland entered Week 18 at 4-12 after last week’s 13-6 upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a result that dropped the Browns from No.

3 to No. 6 in the current draft order and eliminated any remaining chance at the No. 1 overall pick. The Browns beat the Bengals 20-18 on Sunday, which prevented them from moving up in the draft order. Cleveland moved back to No. 7 overall and finished the season with a 5-12 record.

This will be updated following Sunday’s results. Draft position matters for Cleveland because of the quarterback landscape at the top of the board. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Oregon’s Dante Moore, and Alabama’s Ty Simpson are widely viewed as the top quarterback prospects in the class, provided they declare. Ole Miss Trinidad Chambliss also helped his draft stock with a big performance in the Sugar Bowl. With the regular season finished, the Raiders hold the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Las Vegas locked in the top spot thanks to the Giants' win over the Cowboys and will almost certainly be in the market for a quarterback when it goes on the clock on April... The Giants, meanwhile, joined the Browns as teams that went from contending for the top pick to losing valuable draft position after closing the regular season with two straight wins. Behind the Raiders, the Jets, Cardinals, Titans and Giants round out the top five. As a reminder, there are four teams -- Atlanta, Green Bay, Indianapolis and Jacksonville -- without a first-round pick in 2026 as a result of draft-day trades and the Micah Parsons and Sauce Gardner... Here is the current 2026 NFL Draft order (via Tankathon): CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shedeur Sanders not only helped himself with a nice mix of passes and efficiency during Sunday’s 13-6 victory over the Steelers, he also made it more difficult for the Browns to...

The victory dropped the Browns from No. 3 to No. 6 in NFL Draft order, which could take them out of the mix for the one of the top three quarterbacks in the draft in Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty... As it is, the Browns were eliminated from landing the No. 1 pick with the win, which left them at 4-12 heading into Sunday’s season finale against the Bengals. If the Browns lose to the 6-10 Bengals in Cincinnati, they could climb all the way to No.

2 in draft order, but the chances of that are miniscule. The Browns would need the Giants, Jets, Titans and Cardinals all to win for that to happen. The good news for the Browns is that the worst they can do is No. 7, with No. 6 being the most likely landing spot. The Cleveland Browns knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season to continue their recent home dominance over their AFC North rival.

An ugly game with some rain and wind impacting the play, QB Aaron Rodgers did everything he could to keep DE Myles Garrett from getting the single-season sack record, succeeding in that goal but... For the Browns, their fourth victory coming over their division rival is huge but impacts their 2026 NFL draft order positioning. With a big game coming between the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland is now out of the running for the first overall pick. The Browns are certain to be selecting inside the Top 10 next year and currently sit with the sixth overall pick and will receive the Jacksonville Jaguars first-round selection, currently slotted 27th, but the... Los Angeles Rams (from the Atlanta Falcons) New York Jets (from the Indianapolis Colts)

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