The New York Giants' Week 17 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders will have major implications on the organization's position in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After a dreaded loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16, the New York Giants now have two games left before the organization officially ends its 2025 NFL regular season.
The loss on Sunday afternoon puts the struggling franchise in a unique spot entering the offseason, as the team’s 2-13 record has paved the way to a guaranteed high-valued pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In order to potentially land the No. 1 overall pick, however, New York’s upcoming matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders will have major draft implications.
As of now, the Giants currently hold the No. 1 pick, but the organization holds a thin lead over the Raiders, who also stand at 2-13 after 16 weeks.
If the Giants ultimately pull away with a victory, this could be a devastating blow to the team’s quest for the No. 1 pick, as they would join the likes of the Cleveland Browns as two of the top three-win teams in the draft pecking order.
Luckily, if New York finds a way to lose the contest, the organization would become the only team in the NFL with less than three wins on the year before playing their final game of the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys at home.
Obviously, it is never fun to root against your favorite team, but landing the top pick in the 2026 Draft could have a huge impact on the future of the franchise.
Since the Giants took rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, there is a good chance that general manager Joe Schoen would try to trade out of the spot with a quarterback-hungry team.
Looking at the potential return that New York could receive from trading down, the Cleveland Browns struck gold by trading down from the No. 2 to the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This included the Browns receiving the Jaguars’ 2025 second-round pick, along with the team’s 2026 first-round pick.
Clearly, it’s hard to determine what a true bidding war would look like for the top pick, but multiple teams within the top 10 will look to trade up in the draft for a quarterback.