We’ve reached the point where the New Orleans Saints are eliminated from playoff contention. And that’s going to mean giving up on hopes of a playoff berth and gearing up for the 2026 NFL draft.
Right now, after Sunday’s games, New Orleans is projected to pick second overall next April. The Saints got some help from the New York Jets, who beat the Atlanta Falcons with a last-second Nick Folk field goal — but they’ll need an assist from the NFL’s other New York team to lock in the No. 2 pick. It’ll be Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants competing against Drake Maye and the New England Patriots on Monday night.
Here’s how the top five picks shake out going into that Giants-Patriots game, thanks to the projections from Tankathon:
1-11 Tennessee Titans2-10 New Orleans Saints2-10 New York Giants (pending MNF)2-10 Las Vegas Raiders3-9 Cleveland Browns
If the Giants lose to the Patriots on Monday, they’ll have a 2-11 record and move up ahead of the Saints to No. 2. A Raiders win or loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon doesn’t impact New Orleans thanks to the strength of schedule tiebreaker. But if the Giants can upset this 10-win Patriots team, it would go a long way to helping out the Saints. We’ll be watching from the sidelines when those two teams square off Monday night.
Update: The Raiders lost to the Chargers, putting them at 2-10. This has been reflected in the list above.