The Los Angeles Chargers hold the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft order entering Week 9, and the New York Jets own three of the first 10 picks. Chad Reuter’s first-round order has the winless Chargers (0-7) ahead of the Tennessee Titans (1-7) and Miami Dolphins (1-6), with the Jets at Nos. 5, 6 and 10 through the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys picks they own.
Justin Melo’s first-round mock, released Monday before the Bears-Seahawks game, fills the same slots, so we matched his pick to each team below. His mock follows the same top 10 teams in a slightly different order at Nos. 4 to 6, and he put the Seahawks at 4-3 because Monday night had not been played.
The first 10 picks, with each team’s needs and Melo’s selection
| Pick | Team | Record | Strength of schedule | Week 9 | Biggest needs | Melo mock pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Chargers | 0-7 | .593 | vs. Texans | WR, Edge, IOL, DT, CB | No. 1: Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State |
| 2 | Tennessee Titans | 1-7 | .434 | Bye | OT, DT, RB, Edge, CB | No. 2: Dylan Stewart, EDGE, South Carolina |
| 3 | Miami Dolphins | 1-6 | .635 | vs. Lions | QB, Edge, OT, CB, S | No. 3: Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State |
| 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2-6 | .450 | vs. Giants | OT, CB, IOL, QB, TE | No. 5: Greg Johnson, IOL, Minnesota |
| 5 | New York Jets | 2-6 | .516 | at Chiefs | QB, DT, CB, LB, IOL | No. 6: Chris Cole, LB, Georgia |
| 6 | New York Jets (from Indianapolis) | 2-6 | .534 | Colts host Cowboys | Jets: QB, DT, CB, LB, IOL | No. 4: CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame |
| 7 | Houston Texans | 2-5 | .510 | at Chargers | OT, RB, LB, DT, CB | No. 7: Jordan Seaton, OT, LSU |
| 8 | New Orleans Saints | 2-5 | .613 | vs. Browns | DT, RB, Edge, CB, S | No. 8: Colin Simmons, EDGE, Texas |
| 9 | Washington Commanders | 2-4-1 | .435 | vs. Rams | CB, WR, Edge, DT, IOL | No. 9: Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame |
| 10 | New York Jets (from Dallas) | 3-5 | .426 | Cowboys at Colts | Jets: QB, DT, CB, LB, IOL | No. 10: Will Echoles, DT, Ole Miss |
Records are through Week 8. Ties in record are broken by strength of schedule, with the lower one picking first, which is why the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jets and the Colts pick in that order among the three 2-6 teams. Melo has the Colts’ pick fourth, ahead of the Eagles and the Jets’ own pick, so the three-way tiebreak is the number to watch.
Why Sunday matters to the Jets
The Jets own the Colts’ and Cowboys’ first-round picks, and those two teams meet in Indianapolis on Sunday, so one of those two picks will take a loss on Sunday. The Jets also visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Melo’s mock sends them a quarterback, CJ Carr, with the Colts’ pick, a linebacker, Chris Cole, with their own and a defensive tackle, Will Echoles, with Dallas’ pick.
Melo wrote that the Jets “will probably draft a quarterback with one of their three first-round picks,” and Reuter lists quarterback first among their needs. We counted the quarterback market in our consensus of 13 new mocks, where Drew Mestemaker was the first quarterback in nine of them.
The top three: a receiver, an edge rusher and a quarterback
Melo takes Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith first for the Chargers. He asks whether any quarterback is worth drafting there to replace Justin Herbert, answers “probably not” and says the Chargers “can’t run the Herbert-Mike McDaniel partnership back in 2027”, so they go for the best player and a new offensive play caller. Reuter puts wide receiver first among the Chargers’ needs and notes that guards Kayode Awosika and Trevor Penning might find new homes as free agents.
Tennessee gets South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart in Melo’s mock because the Titans start veterans Jermaine Johnson II and Jacob Martin, though Martin has 6.5 sacks. Reuter lists offensive tackle and defensive tackle ahead of edge rusher for the Titans and says Jermaine Johnson II is due to reach free agency. Miami, where Reuter has quarterback as the top need, takes Mestemaker at No. 3.
Picks 11 to 18
| Pick | Team | Record | Melo mock pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-5 | No. 12: Arch Manning, QB, Texas |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons | 3-5 | No. 13: Lance Heard, OT, Kentucky |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-5 | No. 11: Boubacar Traore, EDGE, Notre Dame |
| 14 | Las Vegas Raiders | 4-4 | No. 14: Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana |
| 15 | Baltimore Ravens | 4-4 | No. 15: Ashton Hampton, CB, Clemson |
| 16 | Cleveland Browns (from the Rams) | 4-4 | No. 16: Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss |
| 17 | Seattle Seahawks | 4-4 | No. 17: Yhonzae Pierre, EDGE, Alabama |
| 18 | Cleveland Browns | 5-3 | No. 18: Devan Thompkins, DL, Alabama |
The Cardinals are the team to watch for a quarterback, because Reuter notes that Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett are both pending free agents even with rookie Carson Beck on the roster. Melo gives them Arch Manning, noting a decent chance the Texas quarterback returns to college, but that if he declares the quarterback-needy Cardinals probably would not resist.
Melo sends Chambliss to Cleveland at No. 16 and Alabama lineman Devan Thompkins at No. 18, the Browns’ two picks, as they look for a long-term answer for Deshaun Watson. Tennessee also holds the Chicago Bears’ first-round pick from the Jeffery Simmons trade, which Melo uses at No. 27 on Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone. Our trade interactive has every deal since Week 1.
The Chargers’ Sunday
The Chargers host the Texans on Sunday, a game between the first and seventh picks. A Los Angeles loss would make them 0-8, and a win would end the league’s last winless season. For how the 2027 draft order lines up against the top of the standings, see our Week 9 power rankings consensus, which has the Chargers last at 31.6.
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