The Miami Dolphins have made it clear that they will not lose games simply to advance their draft position in 2027. Even if they play above expectations on the field, the chances of winning more than four games are going to be tough.
The Dolphins have the second toughest schedule of any NFL team. The final stretch of games is against playoff teams. Four games might be generous.
What is great about the NFL is that anything can happen, and everyone can become a Cinderella Story. O.k., it's still going to be tough, and the Dolphins are likely to finish with a top five pick in the draft, but several other teams could do a lot worse.
Winning 4 games could end the Miami Dolphins chances of landing the top pick in next year's draft
There are several games on the Dolphins' schedule that the team could win, but if the Dolphins are hoping for a first overall draft pick, these teams could stand in their way.
New York Jets
The division rival Jets have the players to be more successful than they have in the past decade, but they also have a returning head coach who is less than inspiring and a quarterback situation that rivals the Dolphins in uncertainty; in fact, it could be worse.
The Dolphins may have questions about Malik Willis in a full-time role, but I would put Quinn Ewers against any of the Jets starters. The team is in Geno Smith's hands, which isn't inspiring. Behind him? Bailey Zappe and rookie Cade Klubnik.
The Jets will open with four playoff contenders, including the season opener against their former head coach Robert Saleh, who now leads the Titans. The Jets will get the Dolphins twice, the Raiders, Browns, and Cardinals. Those games will decide their win/loss totals.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns' biggest problem also resides behind the center. Will they start Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, or Dillon Gabriel? Do any of them truly matter? Probably not. The Browns are going to be more run-oriented, but after trading their best defensive player, Myles Garrett, they may be going all in for the tank.
The Browns have only four on-paper winnable games. The Raiders, Falcons, Saints, and Jets. The rest of their schedule is against teams that are expected to compete for a playoff spot. Cleveland could steal a couple of division games as well, but this is a team destined for a top-5 pick in next year's draft.
Las Vegas Raiders
Two new quarterbacks could be enough to kick the Raiders out of the bottom five next year. Kirk Cousins is likely to handle the early games until Fernando Mendoza is ready to take over.
The Raiders have five games against teams that could potentially be feeding at the bottom. The Dolphins in Week 1, Jets, Cardinals, Saints, and Browns. All five of those are winnable, but none of them are guaranteed.
Arizona Cardinals
No team in the NFL is poised to lose as many games as the Cardinals. They may even want to. Their quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, skipped most of the offseason workouts over a contract dispute. The Cardinals might be better off releasing him rather than paying him more.
The Cardinals are not going to be a good team. They play in one of the toughest divisions in the league and will be lucky if they can pull off a win against any of their NFC West rivals.
Almost the entire schedule will be against playoff-caliber teams. They will have three good opportunities to nab a win when they play the Jets, Saints, and Raiders in back-to-back-to-back weeks late in the season.
It is very possible that the Cardinals enter Week 15 without a single win.
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