Raiders clinch top pick in 2026 NFL Draft with Giants’ Week 18 win

The Raiders clinched the first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft before they even took the field on Sunday. 

As the Raiders closed out one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the team received some good news, thanks to the Giants defeating the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon, 34-17, solidifying the Raiders’ spot in the draft order. 

Las Vegas will now make the first pick in April’s draft for the first time since 2007, when they took JaMarcus Russell out of LSU with the selection, and they’ll be looking at possibly taking another quarterback, with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza currently sitting as the presumptive No. 1 pick. 

Geno Smith is currently under contract with the Raiders through 2028, but had a league-worst 17 interceptions this season. 

The Raiders entered their season finale against the Chiefs at 2-14, which is tied for the most losses in a season in the organization’s history — a feat set in 2016 — and they’ve dropped 10 straight games. 

Pete Carroll’s future in Sin City is unclear after the regular season ends.

Even if the Raiders were to win on Sunday afternoon, it would do nothing to change their spot in the draft order with the Jets, Titans and Cardinals unable to move up ahead of them. 

The Giants did Las Vegas a favor by drubbing them 34-10 in Week 17, as Big Blue had entered that match holding the coveted No. 1 overall pick. 

However, the win over the Raiders and then Sunday’s win over the Cowboys have the Giants now picking anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6, depending on how the rest of the games play out in Week 18. 

The Raiders do hold a number of picks in this year’s draft with selections in rounds two through seven, along with additional draft picks they received in the deal that sent Jakobi Myers to Jacksonville.