The NFL has a funny way of affording downtrodden teams more and more opportunities to get on top after being down for so long. It is a league driven by parity, where the worst teams have the best draft picks, and usually have the most cap space to work with entering free agency. Regardless, you still have to take advantage of these great opportunities. Dysfunction has a funny way of messing it all up.
But even in dysfunctional situations, a great team can present itself. The stars can and will often align. Not to say it is little more than a blind squirrel finding a nut or a broken clock being right twice a day, but there is definitely some of that in the NFL. On the other hand, it is always great for the league for a team that has been down on its luck for so long to finally make its own luck to get back to good again.
What I want to do today is outline a magnificent seven teams who I think are poised to make some noise this season that are not getting as much around their respective cores as they should. I could be totally wrong in this, but I just have a feeling that two, maybe even three of these teams will end up playing meaningful games once the weather starts to change. It is all about timing and preparation...
Let's start with a team that could conceivably take flight and cruise past the dreck of a weak division.
7. New York Jets
What has gotten into me? I am a bit more optimistic on the New York Jets than I ever have been, or probably should be. Woody Johnson still owns this team. While I cannot say that I am in favor of Justin Fields at quarterback or Tanner Engstrand at offensive coordinator, I like the combination of Aaron Glenn at head coach and Darren Mougey as general manager. Together, I think they elevate.
Glenn is a former star defensive back for the Jets in the mid-1990s. It may have been a different era of Jets football back then, but he might have more baked-in equity with this team than even we realize. Mougey still needs to grow on me, but they are not taking over a team devoid of talent. The fact second place could be so up for grabs in the AFC East, maybe they get the last wild card spot?
In most years, I opt for the I will believe it when I see it mantra with the Jets, but this year intrigues me.
6. Tennessee Titans
I was looking for an additional AFC team to include, and I may have found that extreme sleeper team of my liking. What about the Tennessee Titans? They may have only won three games a year ago and will not appear on a standalone game this year, but they did end up with the No. 1 overall pick. While I am coming around more on the idea of Cam Ward of late, I like that he gets to play for Brian Callahan.
Ward is a mega talent. Callahan was one of my favorite offensive coordinators in the league when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals. Although I still think the Titans are screwy to no end, they could finish in second place in the AFC South behind Houston. I do not trust Indianapolis or Jacksonville at all. If Ward is as good as advertised, maybe the Titans can sneak into the playoffs or go worst to first?
The expectations are quite low for this team, so it is only natural for them to exceed them in a big way.
5. Carolina Panthers
Keep an eye on the Carolina Panthers moving forward. Now that meddling owner David Tepper has decided to stop meddling for once, we might see the professional football team in Charlotte finally make some headway. To me, it is not about Bryce Young, but rather the combination of Dave Canales at head coach and Dan Morgan at general manager. The New York Jets are this way to me in the AFC.
The fact that Tampa Bay is not doing everything in its power to prevent its division rivals from overtaking them suggests that, in time, they will. It was not that long ago that New Orleans was on top of the division. Now look at them... Carolina has a ceiling of winning around 11 games this year. With the right tiebreakers over Atlanta and Tampa Bay, they can get into the playoffs in a multitude of ways.
2026 may be the better year to expect for the Panthers to pop, but the team is certainly on the uptick.
4. New England Patriots
Yes, I have the New England Patriots on the list, firmly in the middle of everything. Why did the rest of the NFL allow for Mike Vrabel to walk back to Foxborough? I will never understand this! Not to say the Patriots will become the Evil Empire once again, but I expect they will be markedly better this season than last, and especially moving forward. They finally have the right alpha male to guide the franchise.
To me, it is all going to come down to how well the develop Drake Maye. They can surround him with plenty of talent, but I want to see if he can be as mentally tough as he is phyiscally gifted. If he is the next Justin Herbert in the NFL, that is great for the Patriots. I think there is a chance he may be better than the starting quarterback of the Los Angeles Chargers. New England might be a playoff team.
New England is my pick to finish second in the AFC East behind only the Buffalo Bills this season.
3. Dallas Cowboys
How about these Dallas Cowboys?! Even though they may play in the same division with two serious Super Bowl contenders in Philadelphia and Washington, I am not ruling out the possibility that the NFC East gets three teams into the postseason. New York needs a new head coach and general manager before I can get my head around that with them, but I have reasons to be bullish on Dallas.
The addition of George Pickens should help round out the receiving corps quite a bit. Even though Brian Schottenheimer may have his limitations as a head coach, I think he could be the one to get the most out of this team. There are enough quality pieces on both sides of the ball where Dallas could conceivably catch fire down the stretch to be a force to be reckoned with in the deep NFC this year.
I am more inclined to see Dallas make the NFC playoffs than to be picking inside the top 12 again.
2. Atlanta Falcons
Of course, my Atlanta Falcons were going to be on this list. They might be the NFC's punching bag, but there is enough equity in this team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball to really go places. It is all about how well Michael Penix Jr. performs in year two out of Washington. I am quite bullish, but he really needs his supporting cast to step up, especially on the other side of the football.
As is the case with Carolina, the Falcons play in a winnable NFC South. It is one that I almost sort of feel like Tampa Bay is just begging to give away. Atlanta is the favorite to potentially do that, but this team does face immense pressure this season. If they do not make the playoffs, then what happens? Atlanta reminds me a lot of Chicago talent-wise, but the Falcons play in the far easier NFC division.
At this point, it would be more of a disappointment if Atlanta did not make the playoffs than anything.
1. Arizona Cardinals
I am getting so incredibly high on the Arizona Cardinals this season. As is the case with most of the teams on this list, you can take it or leave it when it comes to their starting quarterback. Kyler Murray is fine. What I like the most about this team is the tandem at the top of the organization in head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort. If they jell together, they win the division.
How I feel about Tampa Bay is even more so how I feel about the Los Angeles Rams. This really does feel like the last year they will be playoff-viable with their current core. Since I do not trust San Francisco and remain dubious of Seattle's upward trajectory, Arizona is by default my pick to win the NFC West. If the NFC gets two new teams into the playoffs this season, Arizona will be one of them.
Atlanta has a lot of what Arizona has, but the Cardinals are a year further along in the process, to me.