NFL training camps getting underway at the end of July is always a welcomed end to a long summer. It's also the proper time, with free agency, trades and the draft fully in the rearview, to really evaluate the state of the league and how all 32 teams stack up against one another. That's where we start with our pre-training camp NFL Power Rankings as we go from the loaded NFC West to the contenders to watch to the teams that might sneak up on us and so much more.
NFL Power Rankings, pre-training camp
NFL Power Rankings |
|---|
1. Los Angeles Rams |
2. Seattle Seahawks |
3. Kansas City Chiefs |
4. Denver Broncos |
5. Chicago Bears |
6. Philadelphia Eagles |
7. Cincinnati Bengals |
8. Los Angeles Chargers |
9. Baltimore Ravens |
10. Buffalo Bills |
11. Dallas Cowboys |
12. Houston Texans |
13. Jacksonville Jaguars |
14. Green Bay Packers |
15. Minnesota Vikings |
16. New England Patriots |
17. Detroit Lions |
18. Carolina Panthers |
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
20. San Francisco 49ers |
21. Washington Commanders |
22. Indianapolis Colts |
23. Pittsburgh Steelers |
24. New Orleans Saints |
25. New York Giants |
26. Las Vegas Raiders |
27. Miami Dolphins |
28. Atlanta Falcons |
29. New York Jets |
30. Cleveland Browns |
31. Tennessee Titans |
32. Arizona Cardinals |
Don’t sleep on the Chiefs
Some might think this is too high for the Chiefs, but if you consider the entirety of the Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes tenure, how much lower would you ever stack them? And Mahomes, from everything I hear and from everything his opponents are anticipating, will be ready for Week 1, barring a setback.
Maybe he’s not all the way physically until late in the year, closer a year removed from his injury, but he will be as motivated as ever. “You don’t bet against Mahomes and Big Red,” as one longtime NFL personnel exec with ties to Reid put it to me. They invested heavy draft capital into the defense and the offense will be better than a year ago.
The AFC West will be the best division in football and is well represented here. Denver’s defense could carry it back to the AFC Championship. Putting the Chargers in the top quarter of the league might be high to some, too — but new coordinator Mike McDaniel is going to rev up that offense — and they have an elite coach and quarterback, and Jesse Minter fixed the defense before becoming the Ravens head coach.
We would not be surprised in the least if the Seahawks were the last team standing again. And, yes, we know how rare that is. But the Seahawks didn't lost much and they are a young team that is still just getting better.
NFC North clustered In the middle
We think the Bears can compete for a Super Bowl, and the rest of their division is legit and all could push for the playoffs.
It was very hard stacking them, honestly. Kyler Murray is a better QB than anything the Vikings had last year and the defense is elite … but Murray tends to run out of steam. “Run the numbers on what he does the ffinal two months of the season,” an NFL advance scout told me a few years ago. And so I did, and yeah – 37 passing TDs to 23 INTs in December and January in his career. Gives me pause but coach Kevin O’Connell is quite good.
People around the league who we trust believe the Patriots are going to tumble, and that is reflected here. And there are strong concerns that the 49ers window has closed and they are too old in too many key spots and still don’t have enough bite on defense.
The NFC East can be tricky and we are well aware of how rare it is that a team repeats there and the order of that division can get wacky. Washington could be in a tough spot with a head coach who had his entire staff gutted under him; that defense needs to make major strides ASAP and we just don't see it. Head coach Dan Quinn isn't in charge of it anymore. Better get off to a hot start.
May have missed on the Saints
My buddy Marty Hurney, who had a highly-successful stint as GM of the Panthers and knows the NFC South in a unique way, is bullish on New Orleans. He thinks they will battle the Panthers for the division title. I might have them way too low here but am still skeptical of QB Tyler Shough.
The Jets had quite an offseason, but in this case we suspect it belefits their next head coach much more than their current one, as they do not have a QB. The Browns could make some strides and we think Todd Monken can salvage something of their offense but that's just another team that isn't really trying to do anything in 2026.
I struggled with where to place the Raiders and could honestly seem them being much improved, but having to play in that division, the wins just are not going to come easy. As for the very bottom, the Cardinals are in full tank mode and will deal away veterans, and we just don’t buy Robert Saleh (Titans) as a head coach.
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