Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Sunday’s action provided more clarity on a number of fronts relating to the playoff pushes in each conference. The list of teams still in contention for the top pick in the 2026 draft remains long, however.
Week 15 saw the Broncos and Rams clinch a postseason berth. Meanwhile, the Chiefs, Bengals and Vikings have each officially been eliminated from the playoffs. They will join the group of teams turning their attention to offseason planning. That of course includes extensive evaluation of the top prospects in this year’s class; several have already turned pro (with some exceptions).
Sunday’s results mean there are nine teams with two, three or four wins. Each of them remain candidates to secure the No. 1 selection, although victories by the Saints and Commanders yesterday will greatly hinder their chances of moving to the top of the order. Jockeying amongst teams like the Raiders, Jets and Cardinals (each on track to pursue a new quarterback this spring) will be a storyline worth following closely down the stretch.
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 (2-12)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-12)
- Tennessee Titans (2-12)
- Cleveland Browns (3-11)
- New York Jets (3-11)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-11)
- New Orleans Saints (4-10)
- Washington Commanders (4-10)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-10)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Miami Dolphins (6-8)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (6-8)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
- Carolina Panthers (7-7)
- Detroit Lions (8-6)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-5)
- Houston Texans (9-5)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Buffalo Bills (10-4)
- Chicago Bears (10-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (10-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- New England Patriots (11-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (11-3)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-3)
- Denver Broncos (12-2)
NFL Minor Transactions: 12/13/25
Here are today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for Week 15’s Sunday slate of games:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from IR: T Christian Jones
- Elevated: WR Jalen Brooks, WR Trent Sherfield
- Placed on IR: DT Bilal Nichols
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: CB Dane Jackson, DE Andre Jones Jr.
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: LB Isaiah Simmons
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: OL Garrett Dellinger
- Elevated: S Chris Edmonds, DT Maurice Hurst
- Waived: WR Jamari Thrash
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: LB Jordan Turner
- Elevated: WR Michael Bandy, QB Sam Ehlinger
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: TE Shane Zylstra
- Elevated: S Erick Hallett, TE Giovanni Ricci
- Placed on IR: S Brian Branch (story)
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: RB Pierre Strong
Houston Texans
- Activated from IR: TE Harrison Bryant
- Elevated: RB Jawhar Jordan, S K’Von Wallace
- Waived: RB Cody Schrader
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to active roster: G C.J. Hanson
- Elevated: T Chukwuebuka Godrick, DT Zacch Pickens
- Placed on IR: T Wanya Morris (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Shedrick Jackson, G Atonio Mafi
Los Angeles Chargers
- Elevated: WR Dalevon Campbell, S Marcus Williams
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: S Tanner Ingle
New England Patriots
- Signed to active roster: RB D’Ernest Johnson
- Elevated: DT Leonard Taylor
- Placed on IR: RB Terrell Jennings
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin, K Charlie Smyth
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: WR Dalen Cambre, OLB Tomon Fox
- Elevated: DT Elijah Chatman, P Cameron Johnston
- Placed on IR: OLB Victor Dimukeje, CB Nic Jones
- Waived: CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
New York Jets
- Activated from IR: LB Cam Jones
- Elevated: CB Tre Brown, QB Adrian Martinez
- Placed on IR: CB Azareye’h Thomas
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: S Andre’ Sam
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: DE Rylie Mills
- Elevated: RB Velus Jones
- Placed on IR: TE Elijah Arroyo
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: T John Ojukwu
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: CB Darius Rush
Nichols began the year on the reserve/PUP list. The eight-year veteran has been hampered by injuries since signing with the Cardinals in 2024. After playing just six games last year, Nichols’ 2025 campaign will end after only four appearances.
Bryant makes his return to the Texans’ offense to replenish a thinned out tight ends group, while in Seattle, the Seahawks place their second-round rookie tight end, Arroyo, on injured reserve with a knee injury.
In Buffalo, this will be Jackson’s third and final standard gameday practice squad elevation. If the team wants to see him in another game this season, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster. The same is true for Strong in Green Bay, Jackson and Mafi in Las Vegas, Smyth in New Orleans, Sam in Philadelphia, and Jones in Seattle.
On the flip side of that, in Denver, Turner has been signed to the 53-man roster after running out of elevations last week.
Thomas suffered a shoulder injury in Week 14 and it will end his season. The third-round rookie confirmed on social media today he is set to undergo surgery in the near future. Thomas made five starts in 2025, totaling 22 tackles and seven pass deflections.
Colts Contacted Derek Carr During Quarterback Search
In the wake of Daniel Jones‘ season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14, the Colts stunningly lured 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers out of retirement on Tuesday. The Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist wasn’t the only retired signal-caller the Colts showed interest in signing. The team also contacted Derek Carr, Armando Salguero of OutKick reports.
At 34, Carr would have given the Colts a much younger option than Rivers. Carr also isn’t nearly as far removed from playing in the NFL as Rivers, who hung it up after the 2020 season. Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler, started in all 10 of his appearances with the Saints last year.
While battling a debilitating shoulder injury, Carr decided to call it a career in May. The Saints announced then that Carr had “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”
Seven months later, it’s unclear if Carr is even healthy enough to resume his career. However, as of September, Carr hadn’t closed the door on a potential NFL return. At least two teams have mulled adding him this year. Before acquiring Joe Flacco from the Browns in early October, the Bengals considered Carr as a potential substitute for the then-injured Joe Burrow.
With the Nov. 4 trade deadline still weeks away at the time, the Bengals could have swung a deal with New Orleans for Carr. The fact that the deadline has passed and the Saints still own Carr’s rights complicates matters. Even if Carr is motivated to play, he can’t sign with the Colts or anyone else unless the Saints release him from the reserve/retired list. Cutting Carr at this stage of the season would subject him to waivers. The Colts wouldn’t have first dibs on Carr in that scenario.
Carr to the Colts will go down as an interesting what-if. Should the Colts elevate Rivers from their practice squad, it would make them one of the league’s most fascinating teams to watch down the stretch. Having fallen to 8-5 since a 7-1 start, the Colts are now sitting outside of the AFC playoff picture after a brief run as the top seed in the conference.
With Jones and backups Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard all injured, Rivers may step in for part or all of an intimidating four-game stretch. The Colts’ remaining foes – the Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars, and Texans – have gone a combined 36-16 this season. All hold playoff spots at the moment, and the Colts are looking up at the Jaguars (9-4) and Texans (8-5) in the AFC South.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Week 14’s action brought about a few notable updates to the standings at both ends of the NFL’s conferences. Another four teams are officially out of playoff contention, while wins by Tennessee and New Orleans could prove to be rather important once the campaign has ended.
The Jets, Browns, Falcons and Commanders were eliminated from the postseason through the results of recent days. Of course, each of those teams have been out of the running for a playoff push for some time now. Still, that group will be worth watching closely over the closing four weeks of the season as the top-10 order for Day 1 of the draft gradually comes into focus.
Uncertainty regarding the quarterback class of 2026 will no doubt remain a talking point over the coming months. Fernando Mendoza strengthened his case to be QB1 in April’s draft, although it remains to be seen if other top signal-callers like Dante Moore and Ty Simpson will turn pro or elect to remain in school for one more season. Decisions on those fronts will be central storylines carrying significant implications for the teams near the top of the order which find themselves in need of a quarterback investment.
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 (2-11)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-11)
- Tennessee Titans (2-11)
- Cleveland Browns (3-10)
- New Orleans Saints (3-10)
- Washington Commanders (3-10)
- New York Jets (3-10)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-10)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-9)
- Minnesota Vikings (5-8)
- Miami Dolphins (6-7)
- Baltimore Ravens (6-7)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-7)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Detroit Lions (8-5)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-5)
- Houston Texans (8-5)
- Chicago Bears (9-4)
- Buffalo Bills (9-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (9-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
- New England Patriots (11-2)
- Los Angeles Rams (10-3)
- Denver Broncos (11-2)
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/6/25
Here are the minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Week 14 Sunday slate:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to active roster: LB Channing Tindall
- Elevated: WR Jalen Brooks, WR Trent Sherfield
- Placed on IR: WR Greg Dortch
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to active roster: WR Deven Thompkins
- Elevated: CB C.J. Henderson
- Placed on IR: S DeMarcco Hellams
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: S Sanoussi Kane, DT Josh Tupou
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: DE Morgan Fox, LB Baylon Spector
Chicago Bears
- Signed to active roster: OL Jordan McFadden
- Elevated: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- Waived: LB Carl Jones Jr.
Cleveland Browns
- Elevated: DE K.J. Henry
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: TE Marcedes Lewis
- Elevated: LB Jordan Turner
- Waived: LB Garret Wallow
Houston Texans
- Elevated: CB Alijah Huzzie, DT Haggai Ndubuisi
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to active roster: S Mike Edwards
- Elevated: G C.J. Hanson
- Placed on IR: S Christian Roland-Wallace
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Shedrick Jackson, WR DJ Turner
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: OL Kion Smith
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: QB John Wolford
- Elevated: CB Dwight McGlothern Jr., DT Taki Taimani
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin, K Charlie Smyth
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: QB Brady Cook, CB Jordan Clark
- Elevated: CB Tre Brown, CB Nik Needham
- Placed on IR: CB Jarvis Brownlee, LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Elevated: T Dylan Cook, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: RB Velus Jones
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: S Marcus Banks
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: DE DeMarcus Walker
Dort becomes Arizona’s 26th placement on injures reserve this year. The Cardinals’ receiving corps has been stretched thin with Marvin Harrison Jr. out with a heel injury and Zay Jones on injured reserve with an injured Achilles tendon.
Earning more and more responsibility over the course of his sophomore campaign, former undrafted free agent Roland-Wallace will unfortunately head to IR after starting in the Chiefs’ two most recent contests. As a roaming safety, he’s been functioning lately as a nickelback alongside the versatile pair of starting safeties behind him.
With Bosa set to miss this weekend’s game with a hamstring injury, Fox has been called up from the practice squad in Buffalo to help bolster a thin group of defensive ends.
Smyth gets the call again this week as the primary placekicker in New Orleans. He’ll be kicking in his second straight game following the team’s dismissal of Blake Grupe.
For Spector in Buffalo, this will be his third elevation this season, meaning the Bills will need to sign him to the active roster in order for him to appear in another game in 2025. The same is true of Turner in Denver, Hanson in Kansas City, and Banks in Tampa Bay. On the other side of that, Tindall in Arizona, Lewis in Jacksonville, and Cook in New York were all signed to 53-man rosters today after they used up their three allotted practice squad elevations.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/25
Today’s practice squad moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Jamin Davis
Miami Dolphins
- Suspended: WR A.J. Henning
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Kevin Austin, OL Barry Wesley
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Tomon Fox
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Titus Leo
Dolphins practice squad receiver A.J. Henning was hit with a suspension today for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. It’s uncertain how long the ban will last. The UDFA out of Northwestern hasn’t gotten into a game this season. He joined the Dolphins back in May and hauled in three catches during the preseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/25
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Designated for return from IR: DL L.J. Collier
- Signed to active roster: TE Pharaoh Brown
Atlanta Falcons
- Reverted to season-ending IR: LB Malik Verdon
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return from IR: LB Shaka Heyward
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Giants’ practice squad: DT Jordon Riley
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: DE Solomon Byrd
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed to active roster: DE Matt Dickerson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed to active roster: T Esa Pole
Los Angeles Chargers
- Designated for return from IR: RB Hassan Haskins
Minnesota Vikings
- Designated for return from IR: RB Ty Chandler
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: WR Dante Pettis, G William Sherman
New York Jets
- Designated for return from IR: LB Cam Jones
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated for return from IR: CB Donte Kent
Collier signed with Arizona after injuries and a failure to live up to his first-round draft stock led to his departure from Seattle. He earned a starting role with his new team, but after his first game for the Cardinals, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a bicep injury. He worked his way back to health and started 15 of 17 game appearances last year, but his struggles on the line led to a team reunion with Calais Campbell and the drafting of Walter Nolen in the first round. Collier was working as a depth piece before getting placed on IR back in September, and if he can get back to the active roster, he’ll add to the line’s depth, once again.
As a rookie, Verdon was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the season. The undrafted linebacker had been designated to return from the reserve/NFI list, but now that his 21-day practice window has come and gone without an activation, he moves to IR.
Pharaoh in Arizona, Dickerson in Duval, and Pettis in New Orleans all had used up their three standard gameday practice squad elevations. If their respective teams wanted to see them play in any more games this season, a move to the 53-man roster was necessary.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/25
Twenty-one different teams made practice squad transactions on Tuesday. Here are the latest updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: RB Montrell Johnson, RB Sincere McCormick
- Signed: LB Eku Leota
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB William Kwenkeu, RB Jonathan Ward
- Placed on practice squad IR: LB Chandler Martin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DE Andre Jones
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Jalen Kimber
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DT Simeon Barrow, G Jack Conley, RB Ahmani Marshall, LB Mark Robinson
- Placed on practice squad IR: DE Julian Okwara
- Released: LB Eugene Asante
Denver Broncos
- Released: WR Kyrese Rowan
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Shemar Bartholomew
- Released: CB Tyron Herring, WR Michael Woods
Houston Texans
- Signed: OLB Xavier Thomas
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: K Greg Joseph
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: C Josh Kaltenberger, OT Foster Sarell
- Released: WR Luke Grimm, OT David Sharpe
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: OL Wyatt Bowles
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Kion Smith
- Released: OL Braeden Daniels
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: QB Desmond Ridder
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Beanie Bishop
- Released: RB Ian Wheeler
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Samuel Womack
- Released: WR Brandon Smith
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: DB Parry Nickerson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Daequan Hardy
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: OLB Ja’Markis Weston
- Released: C Doug Kramer, WR Brenden Rice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Owen Wright
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Robbie Chosen
- Released: LS Zach Triner
With J.J. McCarthy close to a return from his concussion, the Vikings parted ways with Ridder. He was signed last week after McCarthy entered concussion protocol, but was not elevated to back up Max Brosmer in Week 13. That responsibility instead went to John Wolford, who remains in Minnesota.
Bishop was released by the Steelers at the beginning of November. After appearing all 17 games last year with a 50% snap share, he did not make the 53-man roster this season and remained on the practice squad. He will now join the Saints in the hopes of making his 2025 debut in New Orleans.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order
Week 12 saw the Giants become the first team in the NFL to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Based on Sunday’s results, another two teams from each conference saw their postseason chances officially come to an end.
The Titans, Saints, Raiders and Cardinals have now been eliminated as well. Attention in the case of those teams will increasingly turn toward the offseason. For some, questions about changes at the quarterback spot will be ongoing through the spring. Free agency is not expected to include many notable options, so the draft will be sought out in several instances as a means of finding a 2026 starter.
Of course, the incoming class of passers has largely underwhelmed this season. That has led to uncertainty regarding the ceiling for many of the top prospects at the quarterback position. Nevertheless, supply often outweighs demand at the top of the Day 1 order in the NFL draft. How things shake out over the closing weeks of the season will be key in determining which QB-needy teams find themselves in the best position to select a new QB1.
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 early look at the first-round order:
- Tennessee Titans (1-11)
- New York Giants (2-11)
- New Orleans Saints (2-10)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
- Cleveland Browns (3-9)
- Washington Commanders (3-9)
- New York Jets (3-9)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
- Miami Dolphins (5-7)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
- Detroit Lions (7-5)
- Houston Texans (7-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Buffalo Bills (8-4)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
- Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
- Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
- Denver Broncos (10-2)
- Chicago Bears (9-3)
- New England Patriots (11-2)
Saints To Use K Charlie Smyth In Week 13
Sunday will mark the Saints’ first game since their decision to move on from kicker Blake Grupe. His immediate replacement will not be the veteran signed earlier this week, though. 
The Saints have made Charlie Smyth one of their practice squad gameday elevations for Week 13. The Northern Irishman is thus in line to make his first ever regular season appearance tomorrow. He will look to provide New Orleans with an improved performance compared to Grupe’s inconsistent 2025 season.
Grupe’s third year as the Saints’ kicker did not go nearly as well as the first two. His field goal accuracy rate for 2025 sits at 69.2%, and the team moved on shortly after auditioning free agent options to replace him. One of them – Cade York – was signed on Tuesday. Instead of York (who has made 23 appearances across spells with three different teams), it will be Smyth getting the first opportunity to handle kicking duties.
The 27-year-old entered the NFL when he signed with the Saints in 2024 by way of the International Player Pathway Program. Smyth has been in the organization ever since, but given his background as a Gaelic football player prior to joining New Orleans he has been seen to date more as a developmental project than a reliable backup kicking option. It will be interesting to see how his debut goes as the 2-9 Saints look to identify players worth retaining for next season.
New Orleans has also elevated receiver Dante Pettis for tomorrow’s game against the Dolphins. This is the veteran’s third elevation, so for the Saints to continue using him down the stretch he will need to be signed to the active roster in the near future.