Cardinals’ 1st-round pick in 2026 NFL Draft moves up with 3 games to play

The Arizona Cardinals get a silver lining from Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans because of how it affected their 2026 NFL Draft positioning.

The loss, paired with wins on Sunday by the New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders, moved Arizona (3-11) up to No. 6 in the draft order after it entered the week at No. 8.

New Orleans (4-10) beat the Carolina Panthers on a tiebreaking 47-yard field goal with two seconds left for its second win in a row. Washington (4-10) stopped the New York Giants on fourth down in its own territory with 1:43 left to seal a 29-21 win.

Two of the Cardinals’ remaining three games (vs. Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 21, at Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 28) could dramatically impact their draft positioning because of how close the records are.

While Sunday’s results moved Arizona ahead of both Atlanta (5-9) and Cincinnati (4-10) in the order, the teams could finish in any possible order between themselves.

The Cardinals could face a team resting players in their final game at the Los Angeles Rams (11-3), but the three teams at the top of the NFC West being so close may prevent that from happening.

L.A. has the top seed in the entire NFC for now, but just a half-game separates it, the Seattle Seahawks (11-3) and the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) within the division.

Arizona still has a shot at the top overall pick, needing wins from the 2-12 Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans, as well as the 3-11 Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.

Strength of schedule is the tiebreaker for draft order, and since the Cardinals have struggled with a tougher slate, they would have to pick up a couple games on the league’s bottom feeders in order to claim the No. 1 pick.

2026 NFL Draft 1st-round order after Week 15

1. New York Giants (2-12)
2. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12)
3. Tennessee Titans (2-12)
4. Cleveland Browns (3-11)
5. New York Jets (3-11)
6. Arizona Cardinals (3-11)
7. New Orleans Saints (4-10)
8. Washington Commanders (4-10)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-10)
10. Los Angeles Rams, via Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-8)
12. Kansas City Chiefs (6-8)
13. Minnesota Vikings (6-8)
14. Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1)
15. Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
16. Carolina Panthers (7-7)
17. Detroit Lions (8-6)
18. New York Jets, via Indianapolis Colts (8-6)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6)
21. Philadelphia Eagles (9-5)
22. Houston Texans (9-5)
23. Dallas Cowboys, via Green Bay Packers (9-4-1)
24. Buffalo Bills (10-4)
25. Chicago Bears (10-4)
26. Los Angeles Chargers (10-4)
27. San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
28. Cleveland Browns, via Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4)
29. New England Patriots (11-3)
30. Seattle Seahawks (11-3)
31. Los Angeles Rams (11-3)
32. Denver Broncos (12-2)

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