Overview
- Las Vegas clinches the top pick with a loss to Kansas City, while New York’s narrow path requires a Giants loss, a Raiders win, and specific results from other games, per The Sporting News and FOX Sports.
- After Saturday’s results, an updated board has Dallas at No. 13, Carolina at No. 14, Detroit holding No. 15, and Baltimore, Minnesota and the Jets (via Colts) at Nos. 16–18, per Bleacher Report.
- The Lions entered Sunday at 8-8 with a projected range of picks 11–18, and The New York Times model most often places them at No. 13 (23%) or No. 14 (25%), with just a 4% chance of falling to No. 18.
- Key swing games cited across guides include Lions at Bears, Cowboys at Giants, Buccaneers vs. Panthers and Falcons vs. Saints, with Tankathon highlighting strength-of-schedule outcomes that could shift Detroit’s slot.
- Early mock drafts map provisional spots to prospects, with The Sporting News projecting QB Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1 and CB Mansoor Delane to the Lions around No. 15.