The main cast of characters we've gotten used to seeing in the AFC was completely upended by some of the young, up-and-coming teams in the conference. Just like 10 years ago, it was the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots battling it out in the Mile High City for the right to play in the Super Bowl.
With the young teams finally proving they belong and the established teams looking to bounce back, it's safe to assume that the AFC is going to be absolutely loaded in 2026.
But how do each of the teams stack up against each other as the offseason continues to roll along? Teams are getting underway with their offseason programs, rookie minicamps, conditioning, and we're seeing all of the moves made on paper finally start to trickle onto the field. We're ranking each team in the AFC in our latest NFL Power Rankings based on the quality of each roster, their projections this season, and how much they've done to improve in free agency and the NFL Draft.
2026 NFL Power Rankings: Broncos ascend to the top of loaded AFC
16. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins aren't necessarily trying to fool anyone into thinking they are contending for a championship this year. They gutted the roster from the previous regime, which is wild to think about when you consider the Dolphins dropped 70 points on the Broncos in the 2023 season.
The Dolphins' overhaul started with bringing in a new brain trust from the Green Bay Packers with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley. We've seen how the new duo in charge of the Dolphins has reshaped the roster quickly, starting with giving Malik Willis a chance to prove himself as a viable long-term starter.
Although Willis feels like a free agency lottery ticket, the Dolphins did most of the heavy lifting in the draft this year with a massive incoming rookie class. The Dolphins are still in the stage where the foundation is being built -- it's not even set yet. This is an evaluation year, and winning would be a nice surprise.
15. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of really fun pieces, but they have to prove they are going to be a solid sum of all their parts before we start giving them offseason flowers.
And let's point out the good. The Raiders have had a great offseason, especially by comparison to the 2025 offseason. It's fair to say they sort of lucked into keeping Maxx Crosby around, but that's a situation you'll take after it seemed Crosby was hellbent on leaving. Now that he's back the defense looks vastly improved with some of the additions they made in free agency and the NFL Draft.
But there's no bigger story for Las Vegas than the arrival of #1 overall pick, Heisman winner, and National Champion Fernando Mendoza. The plan is for Kirk Cousins to start, but Mendoza will see the field at the first sign of struggle. Rookie head coach Klint Kubiak needs to be ready to make the tough call whenever it's necessary. The future is now.
14. Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns have one major question mark right now, and everybody knows it. Until that quarterback position is figured out, or even just reaches a certain level of competency, there is simply no way you can project the Browns higher than this.
This Browns team is impressive on paper in a lot of ways. New head coach Todd Monken and the front office clearly got to work quickly evaluating this roster and recognizing the need for fresh meat on the offensive line. We know the Browns can play defense, but if they can dominate in the trenches on both sides of the ball, they might find a way to mess around and win seven or more games this season.
The additions are what they are, but if the quarterback position is a liability and consistently turning the ball over, the Browns won't go anywhere meaningful.
13. New York Jets
The Jets are building something, and it's going to take some time. But even if you just look at this team as a bunch of individual parts, it's impressive early work being done by general manager Darren Mougey.
The Jets took a risk last year on Justin Fields, and it didn't work out. They seem a lot more self-aware this offseason with the addition of Geno Smith and the understanding that the right move was to punt the quarterback situation to the 2027 NFL Draft, where the class looks absolutely ridiculous in the best way.
This Jets team needs to show significant improvement offensively to be competitive in 2026, and as hard as this may to believe, Geno Smith should raise the floor at that position.
12. Tennessee Titans
I really like what the Titans are putting together this offseason. The hiring of new head coach Robert Saleh, paired with bringing in Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, might be as good as any team could realistically do this offseason.
We saw a lot of great things from Cam Ward last season, and the Titans obviously agreed because they shocked everyone by spending the 4th overall pick on wide receiver Carnell Tate. The aggressive moves to upgrade the defense this offseason should pay off in a big way for the Titans, who could be a bit of a surprise team in the AFC South if Ward makes a significant jump in 2026.
The Titans are one of a handful of teams in the AFC that just has a nice infrastructure in place, but where they're ahead of most others is that they already have a young QB in place.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers
Even if Aaron Rodgers is back for the Steelers this year, as expected, it's just hard to see this team being anything more than middle-of-the-road. The Steelers have absolutely made some moves that are additions this offseason, if you get my drift. The quarterback situation is really something that just doesn't feel solved no matter what the Steelers do.
It's the 1st year for new head coach Mike McCarthy, and you never know what kind of jolt that might provide or if we'll find out just how much Mike Tomlin was doing to elevate this team.
Nothing the Steelers did this offseason really moved the needle all that much, and I wouldn't be shocked if they're in for a slight regression.
10. Indianapolis Colts
I hate to say it after the way they played before Daniel Jones's injury last year, but I'm just not buying what the Colts are selling this offseason.
Jones is coming off of an injury, Michael Pittman Jr. is gone, the offensive line has some moving parts, the defense had a couple of notable losses...Not that the moves the Colts made can't be potential upgrades, but they are really banking everything on Jones returning to form.
And again, I'm just not buying it. The last thing Jones has been, for one reason or another, is reliable. This is a playoffs-or-bust season for Shane Steichen, and it's just hard to see the Colts finishing better than 3rd in the South as of right now.
9. Baltimore Ravens
I liked the Baltimore Ravens' offseason better when they had Maxx Crosby. The Ravens reneged on the Crosby trade, sending him back to Las Vegas and immediately signing free agent Trey Hendrickson. I'm sure it's better for the team to have both Hendrickson and Olaivavega Ioane, the team's 1st-round pick in 2026, along with that 2027 1st-rounder, but Crosby is the most impactful player from that lot.
The Ravens didn't just underachieve last year -- they were arguably the most disappointing team in the NFL. We'll see how new head coach Jesse Minter does in his first year taking over as head coach with John Harbaugh being fired. Baltimore has maybe been a disappointment in January a lot of the time, but they've had a consistent culture under Harbaugh.
Baltimore is going to be hoping for Minter to be their version of Mike Macdonald, who won a Super Bowl quickly after leaving for the Seahawks.
8. Cincinnati Bengals
I am probably higher on the Bengals than most at this point. Maybe I'm way too high on the Bengals. But I like what we've seen them do this offseason.
You obviously need to factor in a healthy Joe Burrow and supporting cast offensively, but the additions this team has made on the defensive front are worth bumping them up offseason power rankings lists, for sure.
The blockbuster deal sending the 10th overall pick in the draft to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence is the headliner, but the Bengals used their top pick on Cashius Howell and they also brought in Vikings cap casualty Jonathan Allen to fortify that defensive front. If they can get some teeth on the defensive front, the Bengals might have the best overall roster they've had in the Joe Burrow era.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes is allegedly going to be ready for Chiefs OTAs, which is absolutely massive news. The Chiefs have had that dark cloud looming over their immediate future all offseason, although the oddsmakers have had them as one of the top 6 or 7 Super Bowl favorites pretty much all offseason.
The bounce-back narrative is going to be strong for this Chiefs team.
There is no question that the return of Mahoems gives a huge jolt to the Chiefs' projection, but it's important to keep in mind that this team is going to have to do more with less regardles of the presence of Mahomes. They have made some big changes this offseason, but the Chiefs are going to be borderline unrecognizable in so many ways.
6. Los Angeles Chargers
There are really two sides to the offseason for the Los Angeles Chargers. On the one hand, you can't help but be excited about the possibility of Mike McDaniel bringing his run game genius to the Los Angeles offense, and finally opening things up for quarterback Justin Herbert. It feels like there's been such a ceiling on Herbert's game, and the Chargers hope that McDaniel can be the one to blow the roof off the operation.
On the other hand, this team lost Jesse Minter, one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. Minter's departure is not a small deal for the Chargers, who now have a 1st-year DC in Chris O'Leary running the show.
The injury issues this team dealt with on the offensive line were also not a small issue and it remains to be seen how thoes guys are going to come back. The jury is still out on so many things for the Chargers, but the structure is there for them to be great.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL last season, but they're not going to catch anyone off guard this year. I struggled to put them this high, honestly. I don't know if it felt like last season was lightning in a bottle, or if it just really doesn't sit right the way they reloaded after letting Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd walk in free agency.
The Jaguars' draft class was not impressive on paper, and we don't quite know what to expect from last year's prized pickup, Travis Hunter.
It was a very underwhelming offseason from a team that really seemed to have a lot going for it. We'll see if their conservative approach pays off or bites them badly.
4. Houston Texans
The Texans have one of the most dominating defenses in the entire NFL. It took the ball bouncing a million different ways for the Patriots to beat them in the playoffs, and you can't help but feel like even just a slight raising of the floor offensively will have the Texans back in the final four of the AFC this coming season.
It's been so interesting watching this Texans team reload on the offensive and defensive lines over the last two seasons, and as important as that is, nothing is going to matter more for this team than CJ Stroud getting back on track.
After a stellar rookie season, it feels like Stroud has been getting dragged by the awesome Houston defense. The Texans' offense needs to figure some things out in 2026.
3. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills should, in theory, have all of the pieces in place to make a title run. Although they fired head coach Sean McDermott this offseason, this Bills team got better overall with the addition of DJ Moore to a wide receiver group that struggled badly throughout the course of the 2025 season.
Buffalo's defense will have some new faces with Bradley Chubb joining the cast on the defensive line, but the real question mark on that side of the ball is going to be first-year coordinator Jim Leonhard. Leonhard is coming over from Denver where he was the secondary coach and pass-game coordinator.
If Leonhard is as good as the Bills expect him to be, you have an MVP at the quarterback position and a defense that could be lights out in January.
2. New England Patriots
Depending on what way you perceive the Patriots, you could either look at their recent playoff run and Super Bowl appearance as a remarkable show of toughness against an impossible stretch of defenses, or you could look at it as the Patriots sort of limping their way through the postseason and getting what they deserve against Seattle.
Regardless of which camp you land in, the Patriots undoubtedly have a great roster, which might get better in a short time. The Patriots could soon add AJ Brown to an already-improved offense, and that type of move could be the last piece of the puzzle for this team.
1. Denver Broncos
The way the 2025-26 season ended for the Denver Broncos was absolutely brutal. The Broncos managed to host the AFC Championship Game after an epic Divisional Round win against the Buffalo Bills, but they didn't get to have Bo Nix for the game after he fractured his ankle.
And that ankle injury for Nix is the only dark cloud over an otherwise stellar offseason for the Broncos once again. Continuity was a major theme as the Broncos brought back almost all of their in-house free agents, but they also made a blockbuster trade for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the Dolphins.
Assuming Nix is ready to go for training camp, as expected, you'd have to think this Broncos team will be one of the most improved in the league with the addition of Waddle and the retention of pretty much everyone else.