The Kansas City Chiefs have nothing to play for in their Week 18 regular season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders. They've already missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and players and fans are certainly ready for the season to just be over with.
For the Raiders, losing to the Giants in Week 17 put them in position to earn the number one pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They'll lock down that honor if they lose to Kansas City next week. This is where things could get pretty funny.
As I mentioned earlier, if the Raiders lose to the Chiefs next week, they get the number one pick. Had Patrick Mahomes still been healthy, that would feel like a better strong outcome, especially given how badly the Chiefs whooped up on the Raiders earlier in the year.
Well, as we know, Mahomes isn't healthy. He tore his ACL a few weeks ago and then Gardner Minshew tore his ACL the very next week. That's led to Chris Oladokun getting promoted to starting quarterback where he threw for a whopping 66 yards against the Broncos. This could lead to the Raiders winning this game, which if that happens and the Giants lose to the Cowboys, Las Vegas would no longer own the rights to the number one pick.
Furthermore, if the Chiefs lost this game, they'd boost their draft stock as well. They'd currently own the ninth pick if the draft order was locked in right now but could move up a spot or maybe even a few spots with another loss. That'd be the cherry on top.
Chiefs can ruin Raiders' draft hopes while improving their own
The Raiders getting the top pick would be unfortunate, as they'd clearly go with a quarterback in that spot. The feeling, at least as of this writing, is that Las Vegas would draft Indiana's Fernando Mendoza with that top pick. There's no doubt that the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback would give that offense some hope, something that Chiefs fans don't want the Raiders to have.
Even if the Raiders were to land Mendoza, it's not a certainty he'd pan out, especially with how painfully bad that offensive line has been. That being said, if the Chiefs can directly play a part in the Raiders not getting the number one pick and missing out on a franchise quarterback, that'd be pretty damn funny.