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Updated 2026 Nfl Draft Order Giants Raiders On Pace To Claim Top

Bonisiwe Shabane
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updated 2026 nfl draft order giants raiders on pace to claim top

The race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft has tightened dramatically after the conclusion of Week 16, with the spotlight now falling directly on an unexpected — and crucial —Week 17 matchup. The New York Giants (2-13) and the Las Vegas Raiders (2-13) currently hold the top two spots in the draft order, separated only by the slimmest of margins in strength of schedule. This sets the stage for a bizarre, high-stakes contest this coming Sunday when the two teams meet: the loser of the Giants vs. Raiders game will gain a massive advantage in securing the first overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. The quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders have the most direct motivation to lose and claim the No.

1 spot, where they would have their choice of any quarterback prospect, including Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. With the Giants, Raiders, Titans, Browns, Jets, and Cardinals all sitting at three or fewer wins after Week 16, the battle for the top five picks has never been tighter. This makes the "Battle for the Basement" between New York and Las Vegas the most pivotal game of the week for teams focused on the 2026 Draft. The outcome will likely determine which team owns the coveted No. 1 selection. Here is a look at the updated 2026 NFL Draft order as the season moves one step closer to the finish

With only three more games left to play in this NFL season, only four spots remain to be finalized in the 2026 NFL Draft order. The first 28 picks are set after the conclusion of the NFL playoffs' divisional round. Four more spots got locked into place last weekend as the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans were locked into spots 25-28, respectively, after their losses in the divisional round. No teams have traded any first-round picks since the end of the regular season, so the top of the draft order looks the same as it did after Week 18. Here's a closer look at the 2026 NFL Draft order, including which team owns the top pick, which player is projected to go No. 1 overall and more:

The Las Vegas Raiders own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It's the first time the Raiders have had the top pick since their move to Las Vegas before the 2020 season. The last time the team had the No. 1 overall pick was in the 2007 NFL Draft, when the Raiders drafted quarterback JaMarcus Russell out of LSU. This is a look at the first-round order for the 2026 NFL Draft through the Divisional Round.

The order is determined by record, using strength of schedule as the first tiebreaker (click here to see a full list of the draft-order tiebreakers). Keep in mind -- teams that are still alive in the playoffs are marked as PL (short for playoffs) in the order below. The draft order for playoff teams is determined by the results of postseason play. While there’s a long way to go between now and draft day, it certainly feels like a fait accompli that the Raiders will pick a quarterback in the first round for the first time... The Jets tore things down to the studs at the trade deadline and now have a pile of draft assets to help them reset, including four of the top 50 picks. It looks messy in Arizona after the team’s collapse following a 2-0 start to the season.

The first priority has to be charting a path forward at the quarterback position, with Kyler Murray’s future murky. GM Mike Borgonzi has his work cut out for him. In addition to strengthening Cam Ward’s supporting cast on offense -- a must to set a foundation for the 2025 No. 1 overall pick -- he’ll need to tighten up one of the league’s worst defenses. The Raiders have lost 10 straight games, including in Week 17 game against the Giants. Steve Marcus / Getty Images

Whether or not it was an official attempt to “tank,” the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t put up much of a fight in a 34-10 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. That result puts the Raiders firmly in line to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. With one week remaining in the regular season, we actually know the top seven teams in the draft order, although there still could be some shuffling among that group. The order for picks 19-32 will be decided by playoff results — teams eliminated in the wild-card round will be placed into slots 19-24; divisional-round losers will hold picks 25-28, and so on. (Current playoff teams are designated by asterisks below.) The first tiebreaker for draft positioning is strength of schedule, with the team that’s faced an easier schedule receiving the higher pick.

With only three more games left to play in this NFL season, only four spots remain to be finalized in the 2026 NFL Draft order. The first 28 picks are set after the conclusion of the NFL playoffs' divisional round. Four more spots got locked into place last weekend as the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans were locked into spots 25-28, respectively, after their losses in the divisional round. No teams have traded any first-round picks since the end of the regular season, so the top of the draft order looks the same as it did after Week 18. Here's a closer look at the 2026 NFL Draft order, including which team owns the top pick, which player is projected to go No. 1 overall and more:

The Las Vegas Raiders own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It's the first time the Raiders have had the top pick since their move to Las Vegas before the 2020 season. The last time the team had the No. 1 overall pick was in the 2007 NFL Draft, when the Raiders drafted quarterback JaMarcus Russell out of LSU. This is a look at the first-round order for the 2026 NFL Draft through the Divisional Round.

The order is determined by record, using strength of schedule as the first tiebreaker (click here to see a full list of the draft-order tiebreakers). Keep in mind -- teams that are still alive in the playoffs are marked as PL (short for playoffs) in the order below. The draft order for playoff teams is determined by the results of postseason play. While there’s a long way to go between now and draft day, it certainly feels like a fait accompli that the Raiders will pick a quarterback in the first round for the first time... The Jets tore things down to the studs at the trade deadline and now have a pile of draft assets to help them reset, including four of the top 50 picks. It looks messy in Arizona after the team’s collapse following a 2-0 start to the season.

The first priority has to be charting a path forward at the quarterback position, with Kyler Murray’s future murky. GM Mike Borgonzi has his work cut out for him. In addition to strengthening Cam Ward’s supporting cast on offense -- a must to set a foundation for the 2025 No. 1 overall pick -- he’ll need to tighten up one of the league’s worst defenses. Week 18 outcomes locked the 2026 NFL Draft Top 10, with Las Vegas first and the Jets moving up to No. 2 thanks to the Giants' win over the Cowboys.

With nearly the entire 2025 NFL regular season in the books, the Top 10 in the 2026 NFL Draft is set. The Las Vegas Raiders clinched the top pick Sunday when the New York Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18, even though the Raiders beat the Chiefs. The New York Jets moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 thanks to their loss to the Buffalo Bills coupled with the Giants' win. The only other time the Raiders had the No.

The first 24 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft order are set. As the postseason continues, more spots will be filled until the order is finalized after the Super Bowl. Here's where each team sits heading into divisional weekend: Note: The Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts will not make first-round selections due to prior trades. The 2026 NFL Draft will take place from Thursday, April 23, through Saturday, April 25, 2026, with the following schedule: The 2026 NFL draft is set to be held in Pittsburgh, PA.

It will take place around Point State Park as well as Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The selection order is dictated by the reverse order of finish in the previous season. Each round starts with the team that finished with the worst record and ends with the Super Bowl champions, unless any trades have occurred. Teams that didn't make the playoffs are given draft slots 1-20. Updated 2026 NFL Draft order: Giants, Raiders on pace to claim top selections after Week 16 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft has tightened dramatically after the conclusion of Week 16, with the spotlight now falling directly on an unexpected — and crucial —Week 17 matchup. The New York Giants (2-13) and the Las Vegas Raiders (2-13) currently hold the top two spots in the draft order, separated only by the slimmest of margins in strength of schedule. This sets the stage for a bizarre, high-stakes contest this coming Sunday when the two teams meet: the loser of the Giants vs. Raiders game will gain a massive advantage in securing the first overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. The quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders have the most direct motivation to lose and claim the No.

1 spot, where they would have their choice of any quarterback prospect, including Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. With the Giants, Raiders, Titans, Browns, Jets, and Cardinals all sitting at three or fewer wins after Week 16, the battle for the top five picks has never been tighter. This makes the "Battle for the Basement" between New York and Las Vegas the most pivotal game of the week for teams focused on the 2026 Draft. The outcome will likely determine which team owns the coveted No. 1 selection. For much of the season, it looked like the race for the No.

1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft might come down to the Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints. Instead, both teams are finishing the season strong, and the Saints might not be in the market for a quarterback come April after all, thanks to the emergence of rookie Tyler Shough. Taking their place atop the draft order is a group headed by the New York Giants, who haven't won since early October and are preparing to launch a coaching search in January. The stoppable force that is the Giants met the very movable force that is the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday in a battle of two-win teams and New York came out on top. The loser, Las Vegas, will enter Week 18 in prime position for the No. 1 overall pick.

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