Cardinals Could Vault Into Top-Five Draft Position Today

Good morning, Arizona Cardinals fans!

It's time for Week 14 action, and the Cardinals play host to the 9-3 Los Angeles Rams.

The Cardinals were officially knocked out of postseason contention last week, shifting 100% of fan focus to the 2026 NFL Draft and what pick Arizona could land at within the final five weeks of the season.

Arizona, currently 8th in the draft order, can climb to the fifth pick when action is all said and done today.

How Cardinals Can Sneak Into Top 5 Draft Order

The Cardinals are actually in a four-way tie with the Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders and New York Jets at 3-9.

So, that makes this formula a bit easy to evaluate in Week 14, as a loss by Arizona coupled by wins from the Browns, Commanders and Jets will push the Cardinals into the top five.

Cleveland plays host to the Tennessee Titans, who have won just one game this season (against Arizona, oddly enough). The Browns are 4.5 point favorites on the spread.

Washington is 1.5 point favorites as the road team against the Minnesota Vikings, who are set to see J.J. McCarthy back in action. The Jets, meanwhile are at home but are -2.5 point underdogs to the visiting Miami Dolphins.

The other 3-9 teams play in the early window while the Cardinals are just one of three games in the afternoon slate, so fans will know if temporarily owning a top-five pick is an actual possibility or not around 2:25 PM's kickoff at State Farm Stadium.

Rams Provide Hardest Test of the Year

And for those keeping track, the Cardinals are ten-point underdogs to Los Angeles -- the largest spread of any team in Week 14.

Arizona's lost their last three-of-four against Sean McVay's squad. This will be their first meeting of 2025 while their second and final matchup will be back in Los Angeles in Week 18.

“Tough. Obviously, (they are) one of the better teams in the NFL offensively and defensively. Really good players, good scheme, good coaches," Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett said of the Rams.

"Divisional opponent -- those are always the toughest. We have our hands full, but we’re excited for this opportunity and going out there to try to get a win.”

Head coach Jonathan Gannon added, "Obviously a really good football team coming in here. Tied for the best record in the NFC. Like I talked about, really well coached team. They've got really good players and they're playing well. They control the double positive, that's why they're 9-3. We got our work cut out for us. Excited about the challenge. Let's go to work.”

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