Don’t look now, but the Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s hottest team
The Dallas Cowboys may be on of the NFL’s hottest teams, but can they make the playoffs? USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett bell breaks it down.
Sports Pulse
A quarter of the NFL’s 16 games in Week 13 took place before Sunday even began, and it caused a few shake-ups in the 2026 NFL Draft order.
With seven more games wrapping up in the early afternoon slate on Nov. 30, the draft order has gotten some extra clarity. The Tennessee Titans still hold possession of the No. 1 overall pick as the league’s lone one-win team, but there’s a new owner of pick No. 2.
The New Orleans Saints, another 10-loss team, matched the New York Giants in the early slate and holds a worse strength of schedule before New York kicks off its game on Monday night.
The New York Jets had a chance to take a top-three pick with a loss but defeated the Atlanta Falcons on a walk-off, 56-yard field goal.
Here’s how the 2026 NFL Draft order looks with just under one-third of the season left to play:
2026 NFL Draft order
If the season ended after the early Sunday slate in Week 13, here’s how next year’s first-round order would shake out, according to Tankathon.com:
- Tennessee Titans: 1-11 record; .567 strength of schedule
- New Orleans Saints: 2-10; .498 SOS
- New York Giants: 2-10; .545 SOS
- Las Vegas Raiders 2-9; .550 SOS
- Cleveland Browns: 3-9; .488 SOS
- New York Jets: 3-9; .530 SOS
- Arizona Cardinals: 3-9; .561 SOS
- Washington Commanders: 3-8; .515 SOS
- Atlanta Falcons (pick belongs to Los Angeles Rams): 4-8; .498 SOS
- Cincinnati Bengals: 4-8; .520 SOS
- Minnesota Vikings: 4-7; .532 SOS
- Miami Dolphins: 5-7; .485 SOS
- Baltimore Ravens: 6-6; .508 SOS
- Kansas City Chiefs: 6-6; .508 SOS
- Carolina Panthers: 7-6; .507 SOS
- Dallas Cowboys: 6-5-1; .460 SOS
- Detroit Lions: 7-5; .518 SOS
- Houston Texans: 7-5; .535 SOS
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-5; .512 SOS
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-5; .498 SOS
- Los Angeles Chargers: 7-4; .470 SOS
- Buffalo Bills: 7-4; .471 SOS
- Philadelphia Eagles: 8-4; .500 SOS
- San Francisco 49ers: 9-4; .483 SOS
- Jacksonville Jaguars (pick belongs to Browns): 7-4; .490 SOS
- Indianapolis Colts (pick belongs to Jets): 8-4; .500 SOS
- Green Bay Packers (pick belongs to Cowboys): 8-3-1; .488 SOS
- Seattle Seahawks: 8-3; .485 SOS
- Los Angeles Rams: 9-3; .512 SOS
- Denver Broncos: 9-2; .447 SOS
- Chicago Bears: 9-3; .452 SOS
- New England Patriots: 10-2; .368 SOS
NFL mock draft
Here’s how the first five picks in the 2026 NFL Draft could shake out if this draft order holds:
1. Tennessee Titans: Edge Ruben Bain, Miami (FL)
If the Titans don’t trade back for more picks, they have no need to get cute with the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight season. Quarterback Cam Ward is promising enough to keep Tennessee from taking another swing at quarterback, and Bain would provide a potentially game-breaking edge rusher for the Titans’ front seven.
2. New Orleans Saints: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has shown some flashes in his first handful of starts, but the Saints have an opportunity to draft the best quarterback in the draft class. They don’t pass up on that chance to bring in Mendoza, who just led Indiana to a perfect regular season.
3. New York Giants: LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
The other New York team’s defense has been a massive disappointment in 2025. The big, bad defensive line has accumulated only 26 sacks, half of which are Brian Burns’ responsibility. The Giants’ secondary and run defense has also been abysmal, particularly late in games. Reese has the athleticism and versatility to help bolster Big Blue’s defense as a pass-rusher, willing run tackler and strong coverage linebacker over the middle.
4. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Dante Moore, Oregon
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith entered Week 13 as the league co-leader in interceptions, and Las Vegas could have a significant chance to upgrade the sport’s most important position if it held the No. 5 pick. Moore is not a perfect prospect given his limited experience and up-and-down consistency. But he uses his mobility to extend plays and has the strong arm to succeed with the deep ball, which have to be more than a little intriguing for a Raiders team whose quarterback currently ranks near the bottom of the league in big-time throws, per PFF.
5. Cleveland Browns: QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
The Browns’ passing offense has struggled mightily despite taking swings with three different quarterbacks this year: Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and now Shedeur Sanders. Cleveland hasn’t taken a swing at one of the top quarterbacks in a class since it drafted Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, but they’ll have a chance to draft an excellent quarterback prospect in Simpson early. If the No. 5 pick isn’t enough to secure Simpson or another quarterback, maybe packaging it with the Jaguars’ first-round pick the Browns also own could be enough to move up ahead of fellow quarterback-needy teams.
