The five teams with the best chance to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
5. New York Giants: The Giants are not good, but at least with Jaxson Dart at quarterback, they are interesting. Nothing would be better for this team than for Dart to show progress while the team loses games.
4. Cincinnati Bengals: For anyone who said, “Joe’s not walking through the door anytime soon” after Joe Burrow’s injury, the joke’s on you.
3. Las Vegas Raiders: The most entertaining thing about this football team right now is trying to picture Tom Brady ditching his broadcasting gig to suit up and play quarterback.
2. New York Jets: It’s hard to see where the wins come on the Jets’ schedule, but I don’t want to give the Jets too much credit in assuming they’ll be able to lose properly to get the No. 1 pick.
1. Tennessee Titans: Can the Titans ride the momentum of that wild ending to a win over the Raiders? It feels like their last chance at a win until after Thanksgiving.
Not ranked: Baltimore Ravens. History will probably remember this Ravens team for faltering because of injuries, namely to their starting quarterback. In reality, the wheels were falling off the defense almost from the outset. If you’re still trying to map out a miracle ending for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson’s return is the most significant thing to track in-house. The other thing is that, fortunately for them, it’s just a two-team division. You have to hope the Aaron Rodgers revival in Pittsburgh falters at some point and provides an opening.