2026 NFL draft order: 18 Round 1 picks set, Raiders at No. 1 - ESPN

With the 2025 NFL regular season coming to a close, the first 18 draft order slots for the 2026 NFL draft are set. The Las Vegas Raiders will have the No. 1 selection, followed by the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals. The rest of the order will shake out over the course of the NFL playoffs, ending with Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.

The draft will be held in Pittsburgh for the first time. Round 1 will be on April 23, Rounds 2 and 3 are April 24, and Rounds 4 through 7 close it out on April 25. Plenty of trades have already gone down to shake up the order, and the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts will not be picking in the first round. The Los Angeles Rams have the Falcons' selection, the Dallas Cowboys have the Packers' selection, the Jets have the Colts' selection and the Cleveland Browns have the Jaguars' selection.

For picks for the non-playoff teams, our NFL Nation reporters broke down each team's biggest need going into the offseason. We also provided the projected order for pick Nos. 19-32 via ESPN's Football Power Index, and we will continue to update this page as those picks are set over the coming weeks. Here is the draft order for 2026.

Biggest need: Quarterback. The Raiders haven't drafted a quarterback in the first round since JaMarcus Russell in 2007. That could very well change in April. The decision to bring in Geno Smith with the expectation that he could deliver instant success didn't work. He threw a league-high 17 interceptions, and at 35, he is not getting any younger. If the Raiders are serious about building for the future -- or in general manager John Spytek's words, "sustained success" -- that means bringing in a young quarterback. -- Ryan McFadden

Biggest need: Quarterback (possibly). If Arizona parts ways with Kyler Murray this offseason, it will take a long, hard look at drafting a quarterback in April. A lot will depend on which prospects come out, but a quarterback will be high on the Cardinals' radar this draft season. It's also possible that Arizona doesn't take one with its first-round pick and trades back into the late part of the first. Or maybe it waits until the second round to grab a signal-caller. The Cardinals also need an offensive tackle, potentially a guard and possibly another defensive lineman, despite rebuilding their defensive front last offseason. -- Josh Weinfuss

Biggest need: A dynamic playmaker. It's tough to decide between wide receiver, cornerback and edge rusher, but simply put, the Titans need more impact players. Since selecting Corey Davis No. 5 overall in 2016, they have only selected a receiver or edge rusher once -- which was Treylon Burks in 2022 after acquiring the pick when they traded A.J. Brown to the Eagles. The last cornerback selected in the first round was Caleb Farley in 2021. Although they've taken a few premier player swings by signing Calvin Ridley and trading for L'Jarius Sneed, it's possible neither is on the roster next season. Tennessee needs to bring in someone to help quarterback Cam Ward take the next step, and that probably makes receiver the top need. But don't underestimate the importance of an impact pass rusher to be Jeffery Simmons' running mate, too. -- Turron Davenport

Biggest need: Interior defensive line. The Giants need to add run-stuffing defensive linemen to the mix. There is a reason they allowed a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry. Rookie Darius Alexander isn't the answer. He's more of a 3-technique pass rusher, and Dexter Lawrence II can't do it all by himself. The Giants need to add depth and talent to the interior of the defensive line. The run defense has been a problem now for three consecutive seasons, and it can't be overlooked this year in the draft. -- Jordan Raanan

Biggest need: Defensive end. Washington needs impact players on defense -- anywhere. But the Commanders have only two defensive ends signed for next season in Dorance Armstrong and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, and both are coming off season-ending injuries. Armstrong was leading Washington with 5.5 sacks until he tore an ACL in Week 6. After him, the Commanders' best edge rusher has turned out to be Von Miller, who was productive with eight sacks but is 36 years old. The Commanders need a young, athletic edge rusher to inject more speed into the defensive front. -- John Keim

Biggest need: Wide receiver. The Saints traded Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks and released Brandin Cooks after signing him to a two-year deal in free agency. That leaves only Chris Olave, who is heading into his option year. The Saints seem to have found their quarterback in Tyler Shough, but they need to add more playmakers around him this offseason. -- Katherine Terrell

Biggest need: Pass rusher. One reason the Chiefs generated just 12 takeaways, the third fewest in the league, is because Steve Spagnuolo's unit couldn't get consistent pressure on the quarterback. The Chiefs must find an above-average pass rusher to put alongside Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. The easiest way for the Chiefs to accomplish that is through their first-round pick. Veterans such as Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna and Janarius Robinson could play elsewhere next season, too. -- Nate Taylor

Biggest need: Anywhere but tackle on defense. Anywhere. The Cowboys have two first-round picks after the Micah Parsons trade and have needs all over the place, except at tackle where they have Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa. There is no way they could rule out taking a pass rusher, cornerback, linebacker or safety. The Cowboys did not affect the passer well enough in 2026, and they did not take the ball away enough either. -- Todd Archer

Biggest need: Linebacker. With this very possibly being it for Lavonte David, the Bucs will have an enormous task ahead of them in replacing one of the greatest players this franchise has ever known. But it's not just David. They still aren't getting the production at edge rusher either, with Haason Reddick not having the rebound season he'd hoped for -- although YaYa Diaby continues to take steps forward. -- Jenna Laine

Biggest need: Interior offensive line. Detroit's offensive line needs a major upgrade after struggling this season, notably in the interior. Lions quarterback Jared Goff faced constant pressure all season and was sacked a career-high 36 times behind the unit. This comes after losing a pair of starters last offseason in four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow (who abruptly retired in June) and veteran guard Kevin Zeitler (who signed with the Titans). Detroit's unit ranked 30th in pass block win rate (55.8%) and 26th in pass rush win rate (31.8%). -- Eric Woodyard

Biggest need: Center. The Vikings have needs at multiple positions from a depth perspective, but center is probably the most acute. Veteran Ryan Kelly, who signed a two-year, $18 million free agent contract in March, sustained three concussions in 2025 and finished the season on injured reserve. It's hard to imagine him back in 2026, but it's far from clear whether backup Michael Jurgens is ready for the full-time job. Guard/tackle Blake Brandel started six of the nine games Kelly missed, in part because Jurgens was dealing with a hamstring injury. -- Kevin Seifert