The 2025 NFL season passed its midpoint last week, with several teams left to pick up the pieces after torrid starts to their 2026 NFL Draft big boards. To date, only the Titans have made a coaching change amidst yet another lost season wandering the hinterlands of top-five-pick territory. Which teams locked themselves into chasing the first overall pick in the 2026 Draft?
Chasing The First Pick In The 2026 Draft: The Dreadful Eight + Two
1. New Orleans Saints (1-8)
SOS: .504
Week 10 Opponent: AWAY @ Carolina
Woeful New Orleans currently holds onto the top selection of the draft, which isn’t too surprising given the lack of talent throughout the roster. Head coach Kellen Moore has the Saints competitive most weeks, but the talent isn’t there to compete with the NFL’s big boys. Quarterback Spencer Rattler was benched recently for second-round pick Tyler Shough to limited effect. The talent pool was further drained when receiver Rashid Shaheed left the team via trade to the Seahawks. In comes Carolina, who needs a win to stay alive in the hotly contested NFC South. Another morose week on the road awaits the Saints, and the top selection is firmly in view.
2. Tennessee Titans (1-8)
SOS: .556
Week 10 Opponent: BYE
Tennessee is without a head coach and headed towards a certain top-five selection, given its tough schedule and lack of promising talent. A long road to relevancy awaits rookie quarterback Cam Ward and the Titans. With a bye week and teams around them in the draft order looking to lose, it will be tough to hold onto the second selection. The Titans need badly to secure a top-three selection to maximize their potential for a talent haul via trade down. Dennard Wilson’s defense lost a pair of contributors to trade, as CB Roger McCreary and EDGE Dre’Mont Jones were sent to the Rams and Ravens, respectively. Hopefully, the bye week will remain fruitful for Tennessee so their draft slot remains secure.
3. New York Jets (1-7)
SOS: .510
Week 10 Opponent: HOME vs. Cleveland
Gotham set the NFL world ablaze on deadline day with a pair of game-changing trades aimed towards the future. The Jets decided to trade away star cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts for a pair of first-round selections and a surplus receiver. New York then chose to send Quinnen Williams to the defense-deficient Dallas Cowboys. Aaron Glenn’s men lost seven consecutive games before finally securing the first win of his career in Week 8. With the talent deficiencies lining the roster, Cleveland comes into MetLife at a golden opportunity to further New York’s misery. A top-five selection is sure to be locked in by the end of Sunday afternoon.
4. Miami Dolphins (2-7)
SOS: .504
Week 10 Opponent: HOME vs. Buffalo
The Dolphins started the rebuilding process after yet another lost season by trading star pass rusher Jaelen Phillips to the Super Bowl champions. They were projected to tear the 2025 team down to the studs, but couldn’t find any acceptable trades for stars like Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb. This franchise endured two stints of three-game losing streaks during the first half of the year. Tyreek Hill’s grotesque injury forced him into season-ending IR a couple of weeks ago, further decimating the offense. Running back Devon Achane keeps on ticking, though, despite the organizational turmoil. GM Chris Grier was relieved of his duties last week. Mike McDaniel continues to enjoy the owner’s support. AFC powerhouse Buffalo visits South Beach in Week 10, so another loss is in the cards to further cement their status in the top five.
5. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
SOS: .551
Week 10 Opponent: AWAY @ Denver (Thursday)
Las Vegas is in that dreaded quarterback purgatory of being serviceable and outright bad, but not bad enough to merit a run at drafting another one. They’re in last place in the suddenly competitive AFC West, and fate could be unkind on Thursday as they face the Broncos on the road. There’s a good chance that they end up with a top-five selection by the end of Week 10’s activities. If not for a win against a similarly hapless Tennessee team in Week 6, they could have been facing a seven-game losing streak. Denver needed a win to keep their pole position in the division alive, and did so, 10-7. Vegas dropped to 2-7 in the process.
6. New York Giants (2-7)
SOS: .553
Week 10 Opponent: AWAY @ Chicago
New York heads to another fruitless campaign under Brian Daboll, but they appear to have a quarterback of the future, so that’s a good sign for things to come. The sordid injury history of MetLife Stadium claimed another tantalizing soul this season as Malik Nabers suffered a gruesome injury. New York’s defense is stacked with talent like Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence II, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they trudge into Soldier Field to take on the red-hot Bears offense.
7. Cleveland Browns (2-6)
SOS: .468
Week 10 Opponent: AWAY @ New York Jets
The Browns are back again in the top ten of the draft order, as is their custom in recent seasons. Cleveland is armed with an additional first-round selection thanks to the Jaguars’ lucid desires for Travis Hunter. Interestingly, the quarterback of another fellow top-ten selecting team, Joe Flacco, leads the Browns in passing to this day. Fifth-round rookie Dillon Gabriel leads the way for an increasingly haggard Kevin Stefanski, who has given up play-calling duties again. They made two trades leading up to deadline day, trading away EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and CB Greg Newsome II for CB Tyson Campbell plus picks in separate deals. Week 10 features a pitched battle between two dramatically different squads fighting for draft position. Can the Browns outwit the Jets for the right to draft in the top five?
8. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6)
SOS: .546
Week 10 Opponent: BYE
Well, the 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Bengals after Joe Burrow’s potential season-ending injury. Cincinnati has lost six of the past seven games in increasingly funny fashion, the latest being a walk-off Bears touchdown to Colston Loveland. Even the lowly Jets got in on the fun and defeated the Bengals in the dying embers previously. The locker room isn’t a place of good vibes, regardless of how elite old man Joe Flacco plays in Burrow’s stead. Amidst all the drama, a road trip to Pittsburgh awaits after a much-needed bye week.
9. Washington Commanders (3-6)
SOS: .504
Week 10 Opponent: HOME vs. Detroit
Washington needs a win in the worst way possible after a four-game losing streak entering Sunday’s contest against Detroit. The Lions will surely be licking their chops against Marcus Mariota’s ineffectiveness after Dan Quinn degraded himself into a deluded moron of the highest order last Sunday. Quinn took accountability during Monday’s press conference after leaving Jayden Daniels to get catastrophically injured, who was already coming off an injury, to chase points. Star receiver Terry McLaurin has been in and out of the lineup while dealing with injury himself. Detroit needs a win to keep the fight up in a highly competitive NFC North. There’s a real chance that the Commanders launch themselves further up the board in November.
10. Baltimore Ravens (3-5)
The Ravens find themselves in the top ten unwillingly after a slew of injuries to start the season, including to superstar Lamar Jackson. Some injury report shenanigans drew the league’s ire, resulting in the Ravens forfeiting a $100,000 check to the league’s coffers. Highly touted defensive coordinator Zach Orr isn’t having a good season by any means, with the Ravens ranking near the bottom in most categories. Baltimore started the season 1-5 before the Week 7 bye week. They’ve won two straight games to somewhat right the ship, but take on an inconsistent Vikings team on Sunday. November marks a manageable stretch that should vault the Ravens out of the top ten and into playoff contention, thanks to a weakened AFC South.
SOS: .493
Week 10 Opponent: AWAY @ Minnesota
Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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