Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Aside from tonight’s Rams-Falcons game, Week 17 is in the books. Most of the playoff field has been set in both conferences, but there is still plenty to be determined regarding the first-round draft order.
By virtue of their loss on Sunday, the Raiders are now in pole position to secure the No. 1 pick. Vegas sits at 2-14 on the year, with four teams sporting a record of 3-13. Only one of those, however – the Giants – is still in contention to land the top selection. Vegas will play against Kansas City in Week 18, while New York’s season will end against Dallas.
Fernando Mendoza looms as the projected top quarterback option in the 2026 class, with the futures of Dante Moore and Ty Simpson still uncertain. Demand usually outweighs supply at the top of the draft when it comes to signal-callers, and scarcity at the position could very well come into play in April. Mendoza may find himself on the radar of teams not immediately in need of a quarterback depending on how things play out.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is an updated look at the first-round order:
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-14)
- New York Giants (3-13)
- New York Jets (3-13)
- Tennessee Titans (3-13)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-13)
- Cleveland Browns (4-12)
- Washington Commanders (4-12)
- New Orleans Saints (6-10)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-10)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Miami Dolphins (7-9)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1)
- Detroit Lions (8-8)
- Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (8-8)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Carolina Panthers (8-8)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
- Buffalo Bills (11-5)
- Chicago Bears (11-5)
- Houston Texans (11-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
- New England Patriots (13-3)
- Denver Broncos (13-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
Browns Have Spoken With Chris Grier, Tom Telesco
Andrew Berry has survived the Deshaun Watson trade and, thus far, avoided many rumors about being on the hot seat in Cleveland. But the longtime Browns GM probably should not be considered a lock to return in 2026, given the state of the team since its 2023 playoff season.
The Browns are 7-26 over the past two seasons, naturally leading to rumblings about Kevin Stefanski being on the hot seat. Berry’s seat may not be as warm, despite Stefanski’s two Coach of the Year honors. The Browns, however, have been meeting with some experienced GMs.
Chris Grier and Tom Telesco have spoken with the team, according to The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson. It is not uncommon, as Anderson notes, for teams to hold discussions with available front office execs at this point on the calendar. Neither Grier nor Telesco are presently employed by a team, leaving both eligible to discuss potential roles with the Browns.
This could be about coming on in a role under Berry, as Anderson notes these meetings are being classified as exploratory about potentially adding senior voices in the building. Adding one or both of these staffers could be a half-measure for the struggling team, as Telesco and Berry have more than 20 combined years on the GM job.
Both execs were ousted in 2025. Telesco received his Raiders pink slip after just one year on the job. That brought a historically quick trigger for a GM, but new minority owner Tom Brady eyed alignment rather than sticking Antonio Pierce‘s successor (Pete Carroll) with a holdover GM. Ex-Brady college teammate John Spytek, later a Buccaneers exec when the legendary quarterback finished his career in Tampa, landed the job. Telesco has nearly 12 years’ experience as a GM, holding that role for the Chargers from 2013-23 and then last year with the Raiders.
The Dolphins and Grier came to a disagreement after the team’s 1-7 start. Unlike Telesco, a host of hot-seat rumors followed Grier before his October exit. In place as the Dolphins’ GM from 2016-25, Grier did not receive full autonomy in the role until football ops president Mike Tannenbaum’s exit before the 2019 offseason. Grier’s Dolphins undoing came as the team’s direction trended south during this decade’s midpoint. The embattled GM was believed to be eyeing seller’s trades on the level that conflicted with ownership’s views. The Dolphins removed Grier from the GM role but kept Mike McDaniel, who is not certain to return in 2026.
Berry’s second Browns stint began in 2020, being hired along with Stefanski that offseason. This has been by far the most stable partnership during Jimmy Haslam‘s tumultuous ownership tenure — one that included numerous HC and GM firings before 2020. Although Berry will always be tied to the Watson debacle, he has been in place for two Browns playoff berths — after the team combined for one from 1999-2019 — and received an extension during the 2024 offseason.
The Telesco meeting would seemingly point to a role under Berry. The two worked together with the Colts from 2009-12. Berry was breaking into the scouting ranks at that point, while Telesco was further along, sitting as Indianapolis’ director of player personnel and then VP of football ops before taking the Chargers’ GM job. Telesco, 53, has been at Sirius XM Radio this season. Berry and Grier, 55, have never worked together; Grier spent 25 years with the Dolphins.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/27/25
Here are today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for the penultimate weekend of the regular season:
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from IR: LB Jay Higgins IV
Buffalo Bills
- Signed from practice squad: TE Keleki Latu
- Elevated: K Michael Badgley, DE Andre Jones Jr.
- Waived: WR Mecole Hardman Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Activated from IR: G Luke Newman
- Elevated: CB Dallis Flowers, WR JP Richardson
- Waived: DT Jonathan Ford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Elevated: DT Howard Cross III, CB Bralyn Lux
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: TE Sal Cannella, QB Bailey Zappe
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: TE Drake Dabney, QB Clayton Tune
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from IR: WR Ashton Dulin
- Signed from practice squad: DT Chris Wormley
- Elevated: C Jimmy Morrissey, G Josh Sills
- Placed on IR: WR Anthony Gould, TE Andrew Ogletree
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: G Jerome Carvin, S Juan Thornhill
Miami Dolphins
- Activated from IR: OL Andrew Meyer
- Signed from practice squad: WR Theo Wease Jr.
- Placed on IR: WR Dee Eskridge, CB Isaiah Johnson, DT Benito Jones
- Elevated: LB Derrick McLendon, OL Josh Priebe
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Ronnie Bell, TE Treyton Welch
New York Giants
- Signed from practice squad: DE Elijah Chatman, C Bryan Hudson, S Raheem Layne, K Ben Sauls
- Elevated: TE Zach Davidson, RE Dante Miller
New York Jets
- Signed from practice squad: CB Tre Brown, G Marquis Hayes, WR Quentin Skinner
- Elevated: QB Hendon Hooker
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: CB Brandon Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: T Jack Driscoll, CB D’Shawn Jamison
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: LB Eric Kendricks, TE Brayden Willis
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: RB Cam Akers, T Amari Kight
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: CB Kemon Hall
- Placed on IR: CB Marcus Harris
With Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox both dealing with injuries, the Bills add Latu to the 53-man roster for depth. To make room, Buffalo has parted ways with the veteran, Hardman, just a week after activating him from injured reserve.
A number of players are being called up as standard gameday practice squad elevations for the third and final time on their current contracts. This is the case for Flowers in Chicago, Zappe in Cleveland, Sills in Indianapolis, Driscoll in Pittsburgh, and Kight in Seattle. If their respective teams wish to see them appear in another game this year, they will need to be signed to the 53-man roster, as was done with Wormley in Indianapolis and Chatman in New York this week after they exhausted their three elevations already this year.
Browns Undecided On Kevin Stefanski; Bill Belichick Not Under Consideration
10:45pm: Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer also writes Haslam has likely yet to make a firm decision on Stefanski. He adds, however, that a parting of ways in this case could appeal to all involved. As the season winds down, the Browns will be worth watching closely with major changes receiving consideration.
8:59am: Kevin Stefanski is a two-time Coach of the Year, but past accomplishments may not earn him a seventh season in Cleveland in 2026. With the current campaign nearing an end, the Browns have not made a decision on Stefanski’s future, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The Browns sandwiched two sub-.500 seasons between a pair of 11-win efforts during Stefanski’s first four years at the helm. Since a late-season Joe Flacco revival helped them to a playoff berth in 2023, the Stefanski-coached Browns have gone a horrid 6-26. They’ll need to win one of their last two games to avoid a second straight 3-14 season.
Stefanski lost an in-house advocate when chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta switched sports to take over as the Colorado Rockies’ president of baseball operations in early November. DePodesta “influenced” the Browns’ decision to hire Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, Rapoport and Pelissero note. The futures of Stefanski and Berry have come into question since DePodesta’s departure.
The Browns’ inability to find a post-Baker Mayfield answer at quarterback has been a hindrance for the offensive-minded Stefanski. After Mayfield failed to carry a strong 2020 performance into the next season, Cleveland traded him to Carolina in July 2022. Mayfield’s exit came a few months after the Browns’ ill-fated Deshaun Watson trade and contract extension, two moves that have set the franchise back years.
The Browns surrendered a package that included three first-round picks for Watson, who was under fire as sexual misconduct allegations against him piled up, and then gave him a guaranteed $230MM. Watson, a healthy inactive his entire last season in Houston, served an 11-game suspension to begin his Browns tenure. Injuries, including two Achilles ruptures since last October, have limited him to 19 starts in a disastrous Cleveland stint. The Browns have gone 9-10 with Watson, who won’t play this season as a result of his latest injury.
With Watson largely unavailable, the Browns have cycled through several different starters during the Stefanski era. They’ve used three – Flacco (now a Bengal), third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel, and fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders – this year.
Gabriel, who took over for Flacco in Week 6, was unimpressive before suffering a concussion in Week 11. Sanders grabbed the reins after that, and he has shown enough to finish the season as the starter.
It’s unclear if Sanders will remain the team’s No. 1 option in 2026, especially with Watson likely to return. Regardless, the current coaching staff’s handling of Sanders over the next few weeks will factor into owner Jimmy Haslam‘s evaluation, per Rapoport and Pelissero.
If Haslam doesn’t believe Stefanski is the right fit to groom a young QB, whether it’s Gabriel, Sanders, or a potential high pick next April, the Browns may go in another direction. In the event that happens, it doesn’t appear Haslam would choose North Carolina coach Bill Belichick to succeed Stefanski.
The possibility of Belichick returning to his old stomping grounds in Cleveland came up last week, but the Browns have no interest in the 73-year-old, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Before winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots, Belichick began his head coaching career with the Browns. Belichick led an Art Modell-owned Cleveland team from 1991-95, its last five years there before it relocated to Baltimore. The second iteration of the Browns began play in 1999. Almost three decades later, a Cleveland-Belichick reunion isn’t under consideration.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/25
NFL minor moves this Christmas Eve:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: DE L.J. Collier
Atlanta Falcons
- Designated for return from IR: CB Clark Phillips
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return from IR: C Matt Lee
Cleveland Browns
- Signed off Steelers’ practice squad: G Kendrick Green
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed from practice squad: CB Corey Ballentine
- Elevated: LB Justin Barron
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: OL Kingsley Eguakun, TE Giovanni Ricci
Indianapolis Colts
- Designated for return from IR: WR Ashton Dulin
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed from practice squad: S Terrell Edmunds, WR Shedrick Jackson
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated for return from IR: CB Roger McCreary
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed from practice squad: G Henry Byrd
- Elevated: LB Sione Takitaki
- Placed on IR: TE Gavin Bartholomew, C Ryan Kelly
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers (from Rams): S Chris Smith
Washington Commanders
- Signed from practice squad: QB Sam Hartman
- Elevated: DT Ricky Barber, WR River Cracraft
A month after coming off injured reserve, Kelly is headed right back to the injured list. Kelly was initially placed on IR after two concussions limited him to only three games in the early stages of the season. It is unfortunately a third concussion this season — and the sixth of his career — that will end his 2025 campaign. This will conclude the first half of Kelly’s two-year deal with the Vikings, who will once again turn to backup Michael Jurgens in his absence.
Also in Minnesota, Byrd’s contract to join the 53-man roster will not just be a two-week deal. According to a post from the X account of his agency, JL Sports, Byrd is joining the active roster on a two-year contract.
In Detroit, these will be the third and final standard gameday elevations for Eguakun and Ricci. If the Lions want to see them in the regular season finale, they will need to sign them to the 53-man roster. That’s what Dallas is doing with Ballentine, who exhausted his third elevation last week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/25
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Designated for return from IR: OL Luke Newman
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: RB Quinshon Judkins (story)
Houston Texans
- Designated for return from IR: CB Ajani Carter
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed from practice squad: RB Jaret Patterson
New England Patriots
- Signed from practice squad: OL Brenden Jaimes
- Placed on IR: DT Joshua Farmer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Returned to practice: RB Josh Williams
Washington Commanders
- Waived: WR Jamal Agnew
Buccaneers running back Josh Williams returned to practice today after serving his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the player’s suspension has been officially lifted and he’s now attached to the exempt/commissioner permission designation, which doesn’t count against the 53-man roster limit. However, Williams will need to be activated to the actual roster if the Buccaneers want him on the field before the season ends. The running back has seen time in three games this season, collecting 11 yards on four touches.
Meanwhile, Jamal Agnew won’t be joining the Commanders after he was claimed off waivers yesterday. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the veteran wide receiver was waived today with a failed physical designation.
Browns Will Not Activate Deshaun Watson From PUP List
Wednesday marks 21 days since the Browns opened Deshaun Watson‘s practice window. Rather than moving the high-priced quarterback to the active roster and allowing more practice work, the Browns are shutting him down.
Watson’s journey back from two Achilles tears will end today, as Kevin Stefanski confirmed Tuesday (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) Browns will let his practice window close. This will prevent Watson from playing this season, though that was always a long-shot proposition. He will revert to the season-ending PUP list.
This will bring a second full Watson season to a close without a snap taken. The Texans made their then-franchise QB a healthy scratch throughout the 2021 season, after Watson had requested a trade before an avalanche of sexual assault or misconduct allegations surfaced to effectively stall the former Pro Bowler’s career. The Browns were undeterred, sending three first-round picks and more to the Texans for the embattled QB in 2022. That has proven to be a disastrous decision, as Watson was given an unprecedented contract and had not come close to delivering a return on investment before the October 2024 injury.
After submitting woeful on-field work to start the 2024 season, Watson suffered an Achilles tear. During his rehab process, the ninth-year veteran retore the tendon to set back his rehab. The Browns parked Watson on their reserve/PUP list after training camp, and although he did return to practice on December 3, it was never viewed as likely Cleveland would reinsert him into a game. The step toward that happening would have been an activation from the PUP list, which will not take place.
Shedeur Sanders is currently in place as Cleveland’s starting quarterback. The fifth-round rookie has shown flashes, but it is far from certain — regardless of Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry‘s futures in Ohio — the organization will prioritize the second-generation pro to the point he will receive a legitimate shot to become a long-term option. Sanders’ rookie contract does complement Watson’s albatross accord, but the Browns have two first-round picks in 2026. This could be an avenue for the team to finally make a big-ticket investment at a position doomed by the Watson trade.
Watson, 30, still has one season remaining on the five-year, $230MM extension. The Browns memorably guaranteed that contract in full to convince Watson to come to Cleveland, as the Falcons were believed to be where the QB — a Georgia native — was set to go had Berry and Jimmy Haslam not put the $230MM guarantee on the table. Haslam has since admitted a mistake on acquiring Watson, but in the NFL’s closest example of a contract genre the NBA and MLB have seen cripple teams, the deal has been too onerous to remove from the payroll. This pattern well persist into 2026.
As it stands, Watson is set to count $80.72MM on Cleveland’s 2026 payroll. The 2026 cap hit would have checked in south of $50MM as originally designed, but Berry has gone to the restructure well several times to save cap space over the course of this franchise-altering pact. It would cost the Browns $131.16MM in dead money to release Watson in 2026. Even with a post-June 1 designation available to spread that amount through 2027, the team is viewed as likely to retain the nonfunctional QB next year.
While a Browns party line has called Watson a valuable veteran presence for rookies Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, he assuredly would have been jettisoned long ago had the team not fully guaranteed the contract. Teams have not followed suit, much to the NFLPA’s chagrin, on anything close to a fully guaranteed long-term deal since this Browns extension emerged. Based on its calamitous outcome, Watson’s deal should remain an outlier for the foreseeable future in the NFL.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Several dominoes have fallen so far in Week 16 with respect to the NFL’s playoff picture. The Cowboys have been eliminated while the Patriots, Seahawks, Bears, Eagles and 49ers have locked in a postseason berth.
The final two weeks of the campaign will determine the remaining playoff spots, but they will also sort out the top of the draft order. Six teams remain within striking distance of the No. 1 pick, although the Titans’ win on Sunday greatly weakened their chances of landing the top selection for the second year in a row. One contest in particular will be worth monitoring next week with respect to draft positioning.
The Giants and Raiders each sport a record of 2-13. They will play each other in Week 17, meaning the loser of that contest will have the inside track for the No. 1 pick. New York already has a head coaching vacancy while Pete Carroll is in danger of going one-and-done in Vegas. Plenty of incentive for winning will exist for Carroll in particular, but the outcome of that game will have major implications on the draft order.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is an updated look at the first-round order:
- New York Giants (2-13)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-13)
- Cleveland Browns (3-12)
- New York Jets (3-12)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-12)
- Tennessee Titans (3-12)
- Washington Commanders (4-11)
- New Orleans Saints (5-10)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-10)
- Miami Dolphins (6-9)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-8-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-8)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8)
- Detroit Lions (8-7)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Carolina Panthers (8-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5)
- Houston Texans (10-5)
- Buffalo Bills (11-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- Chicago Bears (11-4)
- New England Patriots (12-3)
- Denver Broncos (12-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (12-3)
Browns RB Quinshon Judkins Suffers Fractured Fibula, Dislocated Ankle
5:01pm: Judkins is facing a recovery timeline of four to five months, Cabot reports. That should allow him to fully heal with plenty of time before training camp.
4:18pm: Quinshon Judkins‘ 2025 season has come to an end. The rookie running back suffered a fractured fibula along with a dislocated ankle in today’s game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced. 
Stefanski confirmed (via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) Judkins will undergo surgery. Once that takes place, a lengthy recovery process will begin. This development marks an abrupt and unwanted end to Judkins’ debut campaign in the NFL.
The second-round pick was arrested in July on charges of battery and domestic violence. Those were ultimately dropped, something which paved the way for a fully-guaranteed rookie contract to be signed just before the start of the regular season. Judkins wound up being activated in time for Week 2, and he was in the fold from that point on.
That run of availability came to an end when the 22-year-old was carted off the field during today’s contest against the Bills. Not long after that took place, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported a fibula fracture had occurred. Testing to evaluate a potential knee injury took place, and it appears nothing was revealed on that front. That represents a small consolation, but today’s news is still a notable blow to Cleveland’s offense late in the year.
Having elected not to re-sign Nick Chubb, the Browns relied heavily on Judkins once he joined the lineup. The Ohio State product notched double-digit carries 12 times in 13 games entering Sunday, including five games with 20 or more attempts. Judkins totaled 947 scrimmage yards prior to suffering the injury. He will look to build off that production once healthy in 2026.
The Browns also have Jerome Ford in the backfield to close out the campaign. Rookie Dylan Sampson is another candidate to receive an increased workload over the final two games of the season. Cleveland sits at 3-12 after today’s loss, so attention will increasingly turn to the team’s position in the first round of April’s draft. Efforts to end on a winning note have been dealt a blow with Judkins sidelined, though.
Browns Place RT Jack Conklin On IR
The Browns will finish 2025 without starting right tackle Jack Conklin. The two-time first-team All-Pro is going on injured reserve, the Browns announced.
Conklin hasn’t played since he suffered his second concussion of 2025 in a loss to the 49ers on Nov. 30. The 31-year-old will end up sitting out the Browns’ last five games of the season. KT Leveston is expected to fill in for Conklin for the rest of the year.
Conklin, who has also dealt with eye, elbow, and knee injuries this year, will end 2025 with eight starts in as many appearances. The sixth-year Brown has been a full-time starter over 57 games with the team, but durability has long been an issue. Conklin has missed between five and 16 games in four of his seasons with the Browns, whom the ex-Titan joined on a three-year, $42MM contract in March 2020.
Conklin scored a second lucrative pact with Cleveland – a four-year, $60MM extension – in December 2022. He would have been under club control through 2026, but Conklin agreed to restructure the deal last March. He’ll be a free agent in the offseason as a result.
The Browns are primed for major offseason changes up front with left tackle Cam Robinson (who has filled in for the injured Dawand Jones for most of 2025), guards Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio, and center Ethan Pocic also unsigned past this season. Both Conklin and Pocic (Achilles) endured injury-ruined campaigns, which won’t do either any favors on the market.
To take Conklin’s roster spot, the Browns signed safety Chris Edmonds to their active roster. Primarly a special teamer, he’ll make his seventh appearance of the season in a Week 16 meeting with Buffalo. Defensive tackles Keith Cooper Jr. and Maurice Hurst will join Edmonds on Sunday. The Browns elevated Cooper and Hurst from the practice squad.