University of Kwazulu-Natal

What Browns Victory Against Steelers Means For The 2026 Nfl Draft Orde

Bonisiwe Shabane
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what browns victory against steelers means for the 2026 nfl draft orde

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.

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) Browns may no longer be in contention for an elite QB in the first round Shedeur Sanders continues to make a case for his place as the Cleveland Browns' quarterback of the future. The rookie out of Colorado delivered his most commanding performance to date on Sunday, leading the Browns to a hard-fought 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sanders completed 17 of 23 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, despite throwing two interceptions. The win was Cleveland's fourth of the season, and while it does nothing for the franchise but give them some pride, it significantly shifts the outlook for the upcoming 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. 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.

The Cleveland Browns stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon from Huntington Bank Field, 13-6. Cleveland's upset win prevented the Steelers from capturing the AFC North title, setting up a Week 18 showdown from Acrisure Stadium between Pittsburgh (9-7) and the Baltimore Ravens (8-8) with the AFC North division... The Browns' stunner over the Steelers is good news for the Detroit Lions (8-8). After the Lions were eliminated from playoff contention with their Christmas Day loss at Minnesota (8-8), attention has turned to Detroit's position on 2026 NFL draft boards. Thanks to the Ravens' Saturday night win over the Packers, Detroit moved ahead of Baltimore on 2026 NFL draft boards. That's because Detroit and Baltimore now have identical 8-8 records, but the Ravens' strength of schedule has been more difficult than the Lions'.

Per Tankathon, Baltimore's strength of schedule is .507 as compared to Detroit's .493. Strength of schedule is measured as the aggregate winning percentage of a team’s opponents, and per NFL draft rules, the team that played the schedule with the lowest winning percentage is awarded the higher... 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: Browns may no longer be in contention for an elite QB in the first round Shedeur Sanders continues to make a case for his place as the Cleveland Browns' quarterback of the future. The rookie out of Colorado delivered his most commanding performance to date on Sunday, leading the Browns to a hard-fought 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sanders completed 17 of 23 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, despite throwing two interceptions.

The win was Cleveland's fourth of the season, and while it does nothing for the franchise but give them some pride, it significantly shifts the outlook for the upcoming NFL Draft. This is a look at the first-round order for the 2026 NFL Draft heading into Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season, along with the top five needs for each team. 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 would make the playoffs if the season ended today 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. The Giants should be looking at playmakers to partner with Malik Nabers at the top of the draft.

There will be a major need for a slot receiver if they don’t re-sign impending free agent Wan'Dale Robinson. Assuming the Raiders take a quarterback in Round 1, they'll need to find a starting corner in Rounds 2/3. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger has proven himself worthy of his draft billing (Round 2, No. 33 overall) with his exceptional play in Year 1. But fellow starter Devin Bush , as well as backup Jerome Baker , are set to become free agents this spring, so the Browns must add depth to the defense's second level on Day... The Jets may re-sign the injured Tony Adams or Andre Cisco to play alongside Malachi Moore at safety next season, but that shouldn’t stop the team from keeping an eye out for value at...

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