Well, in what is a lost 2025 NFL season for the Las Vegas Raiders, the fan base, once again, should have a high pick in next year's draft to look forward to. Of course, one good pick is not going to put out this dumpster fire, just as Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty haven't yet for Las Vegas.
But things certainly can't get worse for the Raiders, and it is hard to imagine any player coming in from the college ranks and not being able to provide some kind of spark for this hapless Las Vegas team. The Silver and Black have four surefire starters for next year, and that's about it.
They entered Week 12's game against the Cleveland Browns with a clear path to having the No. 1 pick, and at the crux of that route was the Raiders losing. Well, they did exactly that on Sunday, albeit in more embarrassing fashion than desired. But not much else went right on that front for Las Vegas.
Raiders move up ever-so-slightly in 2026 NFL Draft order
Not only did the Raiders need to lose, but they needed several other teams to pull out victories to help with tiebreakers. Unfortunately, of the 11 other games on Sunday that could have gone Las Vegas' way, only one of them did: the Dallas Cowboys beating the Philadelphia Eagles.
That means that, although the Raiders moved up the draft board by losing to the Browns, it was only ever-so-slightly. Here is the updated order for the 2026 NFL Draft after the conclusion of Sunday Night Football in Week 12, according to Tankathon.com.
1. Tennessee Titans (1-10)
2. New York Giants (2-10)
3. New Orleans Saints (2-9)
4. New York Jets (2-9)
5. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
6. Cleveland Browns (3-8)
7. Washington Commanders (3-8)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8)
9. Arizona Cardinals (3-8)
10. Miami Dolphins (4-7)
Moving up one spot is not nothing, but it's hardly a silver lining after what Raider Nation sat through on Sunday. The Giants completely choked away their chances of winning, which hurt to see, and although the Titans and Jets initially showed some fight, they weren't able to win either.
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To make matters worse, the first tiebreaker for the draft order is strength of schedule, so teams with lower numbers in this metric get a higher draft pick. Of the teams currently slated to pick in the top 10, the Raiders have the second-highest strength of schedule.
So, they desperately need the teams currently stuck at two or one wins to start pulling out some games. They'll also need the help of several other NFL teams to take down Las Vegas' opponents from this season in order to lower their strength of schedule.
Yes, the Raiders are a very bad football team in 2025, probably the worst in the league. But they can't even tank or lose right, as the tough schedule they were somehow dealt as a fourth-place finisher last year has them stuck in a battle for the top draft pick with several other losing franchises.
There is no guarantee that Las Vegas would even hold the No. 1 overall pick if they lost out, which is a dark, gloomy position to be in. Raider Nation doesn't want to get blown out the rest of the season like they did on Sunday, but piling up the losses might be the surest way to ensure more big changes.