Updated 2026 NFL draft order: Cardinals climb into top 10

The Arizona Cardinals fell to 3-7 last weekend, thanks to a 41-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. It was their second consecutive loss and seventh in eight games. They are in 12th place in the NFC, so any talk of the playoff race is simply comical, so now we can focus on the 2026 NFL draft.

With the loss, according to Tankathon, the Cardinals are in the top 10 of the NFL draft order, moving up one spot over last week. They would have the 10th overall pick in the draft if the season ended today.

Updated 2026 NFL draft order after Week 11

1. Tennessee Titans (1-9)

2. New York Giants (2-9)

3. Cleveland Browns (2-8)

4. New Orleans Saints (2-8)

5. New York Jets (2-8)

6. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)

7. Washington Commanders (3-8)

8. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta: 3-7)

9. Cincinnati Bengals (3-7)

10. Arizona Cardinals (3-7)

11. Miami Dolphins (4-7)

12. Minnesota Vikings (4-6)

13. Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1)

14. Baltimore Ravens (5-5)

15. Kansas City Chiefs (5-5)

16. Houston Texans (5-5)

17. Carolina Panthers (6-5)

18. Detroit Lions (6-4)

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4)

20. Cleveland Browns (from Jacksonville: 6-4)

21. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)

22. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)

23. San Francisco 49ers (7-4)

24. Dallas Cowboys (from Green Bay: 6-3-1)

25. Chicago Bears (7-3)

26. Buffalo Bills (7-3)

27. Seattle Seahawks (7-3)

28. New York Jets (from Indianapolis 8-2)

29. Los Angeles Rams (9-2)

30. New England Patriots (9-2)

31. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)

32. Denver Broncos (9-2)

Why the Cardinals are 10th overall

The Cardinals have the same record as the Falcons and the Bengals but would pick after them if the season ended today.

Why?

That is because of the tiebreak formula for the draft. For the playoffs, it is about who is the better team — head-to-head matchups, division records, conference records, etc. For the draft, it is about who is the "worse" team. The way that is determined is by strength of schedule. If two teams have the same record, the league believes that the team with the weaker strength of schedule is worse. The Cardinals' strength of schedule currently is .552, while Cincinnati's is .511 and Atlanta's is .508.

With a top-10 pick, the Cardinals could go a lot of ways in the draft. Draft Wire's Jeff Risdon projects a quarterback in a recent mock draft.

We will see in a few weeks where the Cardinals ultimately end up.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Updated 2026 NFL draft order: Cardinals climb into top 10