Going into the 2025 NFL season, all the talk was about how dominant the AFC was about to be as a conference with so many elite top-end teams, quarterbacks, and young teams on the rise. As you would expect, the NFC completely flipped that narrative on its head.
Not only did the AFC look like the slightly weaker overall conference, but the NFC ended up including the team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy (Seahawks), taking home the league MVP (Rams QB Matthew Stafford), and the Offensive Player of the Year (Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba).
How much better can the NFC be in the 2026 season? Now that the dust has all settled from the 2026 NFL Draft and the majority of NFL free agency, we are going to take a look at all of the changes each team has made, and how they all stack up as we start to project for the 2026 season in our latest NFL Power Rankings.
2026 NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys ascending in NFC rankings with Eagles on the brink of a downfall
16. Arizona Cardinals
It's easy to see heading into the 2026 NFL season that the Arizona Cardinals are on their way to potentially earning the #1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. At this point, anything else would be a slight shock.
Not only do the Cardinals have a 1st-year head coach in Mike LaFleur, but they have a roster that is in progress when it comes to being rebuilt. The icing on the cake is that they don't really have much in the way of an exciting quarterback option at the present moment, but with Ty Simpson going to the LA Rams, that feels like it was by design.
The Cardinals did use a 3rd-round pick on Carson Beck, but whether or not Beck can be another version of what Tyler Shough was for the Saints last year remains to be seen. Even with Jeremiyah Love added to the mix and the duo of Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. available in the passing game, this Cardinals team is poised for a long season of learning and evaluation.
15. Atlanta Falcons
If it weren't for the Arizona Cardinals, the Atlanta Falcons would pretty comfortably be the worst team in the NFC right now heading into the 2026 offseason program. We saw the Falcons finish strong last year, and I like the decision to hire Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach, but this team just doesn't have the pieces to compete, even in a weak division.
Injury issues have repeatedly come up throughout Michael Penix Jr.'s football career, and the Falcons didn't exactly get a model of availability by bringing in Tua Tagovailoa as an insurance policy. There are weapons for this team offensively, but how far can Bijan Robinson really carry this team?
The Falcons got a huge boost last year from 1st-round pick James Pearce Jr., but his situation off the field looms large right now. He could face a minimum suspension of six games for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Even with the strong finish we saw from the Falcons last season, it feels like this team's ceiling is going to be 7 or 8 wins.
14. New York Giants
The New York Giants reeled in a pretty big fish early in the 2026 offseason when they hired new head coach John Harbaugh. After nearly two decades with the Ravens, Harbaugh is starting over and he'll have a fun task ahead of him with a young and hungry Giants team.
There were times last season where you felt like the Giants might put together a little run, but injuries took their toll and the core pieces of the roster, especially offensively, were just depleted.
If Jaxson Dart can play a bit safer, and get a healthy Malik Nabers on the outside, this Giants offense could be a lot of fun this coming season. Trading away Dexter Lawrence hurts in the middle of that defense, but there are a ton of pass rushers to pick up the slack and it wouldn't be shocking to see this Giants team at least be a really tough out every week if Harbaugh can raise the proverbial floor.
13. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have fallen pretty far from the team that won 14 games just a couple of seasons ago. Even though we saw Kevin O'Connell really work his magic last season as the Vikings managed to win 9 games, it feels like it's going to be tough for them to repeat that level of success.
There are a lot of factors to that. We'll see how Kyler Murray does going from Arizona to Minnesota, and if that reclamation project turns out to be a success, the Vikings could surprise a lot of people. But the losses on the defensive side of the ball are tough to ignore.
Minnesota gutted its defensive front this offseason, so Brian Flores is going to have to work his magic yet again. This team desperately needs Kyler Murray to return to the way he played back in his first few NFL seasons.
12. New Orleans Saints
I might be higher on the Saints than others, but this team has a chance to be really exciting if Tyler Shough can continue to take steps forward in 2026.
The fact that the Shough pick actually worked out in the first place was nothing short of shocking last year. Kellen Moore and his staff did such an impressive job getting Shough ready to play as the season went along, and he did a great job spreading the ball around even without a lot of star power in the passing game to throw the ball to.
Now, the Saints have fortified the offensive line with David Anderson at left guard. They used their top pick on wide receiver Jordyn Tyson to upgrade the weapons around Shough. They brought in Travis Etienne to get another dynamic element in the backfield. This team could ascend quickly if they can build on what we saw late last year.
11. Carolina Panthers
This is a brutal position for the Carolina Panthers, because we saw this team make so many strides last season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And that unit got even. better in the 2026 offseason.
The Panthers went out in free agency and added pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, as well as former Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd. Those two moves should be substantial upgrades for this team, and honestly it doesn't even feel like the primary questions are on that side of the ball anymore. At least, not on paper.
The primary questions are with the Panthers' offense and whether or not they can find some level of consistency. This is a team that gave the Los Angeles Rams fits (two times) while also barely being able to put points on the board on a variety of occasions. Can Bryce Young take that next step? If anything, the Panthers' placement here on this list indicates just how deep the NFC looks right now.
10. Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders finished with the 7th-worst record in the NFL this past season, and were in the NFC Championship Game the year prior. The NFL is weird sometimes.
If you expect the Commanders to be healthy this upcoming season, you have to expect they'll climb right back into contention for the NFC East, or at least one of the two spots in that division. Jayden Daniels couldn't stay healthy this past season, but the offseason provided a clean slate for everyone.
With all of the moves the Commanders made defensively to add players like Sonny Styles, Leo Chenal, Odafe Oweh, and K'Lavon Chaisson, it's hard to see that unit not getting better in 2026. Will we see a healthy Jayden Daniels this coming season? How does new offensive coordinator David Blough take that unit to another level?
This team still has major question marks, which is why they're still lower on the list, but they could once again be a factor.
9. Detroit Lions
The Lions might be the best team that didn't make the playoffs in the NFL last season. And still, they might be the 9th-best team in the NFC going into 2026.
Once again, we're doing some projecting with these rankings and not solely focusing on what teams did just last year. The Lions definitely needed to make some major adjustments on both the roster and coaching staff this offseason, and they did just that. The question is whether or not they did enough.
Dan Campbell brought in Drew Petzing to be his new offensive coordinator after the first year without Ben Johnson was a bit of a disaster. They changed things up on the offensive line with Penei Sewell moving over to left tackle, taking over for the released Taylor Decker. Blake Miller, the team's first-round pick, gives the Lions one of the safest picks in this year's draft to take over on the right side.
The upgrades this team needed the most were on the defensive side of the ball, and they'll be relying heavily on another former Michigan prospect -- Derrick Moore -- to make an immediate impact off the edge.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles feel like they're on the cusp of a major turn for the worst. This is a team that just won the Super Bowl two seasons ago, and now it feels like you have to really squint to see the best-case outcome for this team in 2026.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense were 19th in the NFL in scoring last season, 24th in the league in 3rd down percentage. They had one of the worst offenses in the league when it came to three-and-outs. It just doesn't feel like the Eagles are going to be able to skate by with talent, and the offense will have to make strides this season without AJ Brown.
At this point, Brown getting traded to the Patriots is all but a done deal. The Eagles moved up for Makai Lemon in this year's draft, so they'll be leaning on a rookie to pick up some significant slack.
The additions of Jonathan Greenard and Riq Woolen could be huge for the Eagles' defense, but even a top-5 defense couldn't prevent this team from getting bounced in the playoffs right away last year. The offense must be better.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the first half of the 2025 season, it really looked like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to be one of the best all-around teams in the entire NFL. Baker Mayfield was playing like an MVP, and then all of a sudden, something just snapped for this team.
The Bucs fell off so badly in the second half of the season that they didn't even finish last year with a winning record. They had just two wins in their final nine games last season, and one of them came against the Arizona Cardinals.
It was an embarrassing finish to the season for the Bucs, but they are running it back in a lot of ways. I absolutely loved what this team did in the 2026 NFL Draft, landing Rueben Bain, Josiah Trotter, and Keionte Scott for their defense. The addition of Bain alone could take the Bucs' defense to another level if he can find a way to play even close to the way we saw from him at Miami.
6. Dallas Cowboys
Fire up the annual Dallas Cowboys hype train, I guess. I'm going to be getting suckered into the optimistic outcome for this team once again.
The Cowboys had to improve one of the league's worst defenses from last season, and they started by stealing Christian Parker as their new defensive coordinator from the Philadelphia Eagles. They followed that up by bringing in a host of new players to revamp that unit from the ground up. Rashan Gary and Malachi Lawrence will be huge additions on the defensive front. Dee Winters and Jaishawn Barham add athleticism and playmaking to the second level.
Safeties Jalen Thompson and 1st-round pick Caleb Downs are two really big upgrades in the defensive backfield. It just feels like the Cowboys' offense is going to be somewhere in the top 10, and if the defense can even be league average, they'll make a huge jump.
5. San Francisco 49ers
Make fun of the way they drafted all you want, but we all saw the job Kyle Shanahan and his staff did last year with an absolute shell of a roster. Even having to make last-minute and in-season adjustments, the 49ers were one of the best teams in the league all season.
It's hard to imagine this team not being one of the top 5 or 6 teams in the NFC if they can get some key pieces back healthy, and if they are proven right about even just a couple of their incoming rookies. Sure, it's a new era in a number of ways for the 49ers, but they still have a familiar cast of characters that can lead this team to the final four of the NFC playoff race, maybe further.
The 49ers added Mike Evans this offseason to add an experienced weapon on the outside and teach some of the young players, and they also brought back Dre Greenlaw to pair up with Fred Warner at linebacker again. Getting Osa Odighizuwa in a trade with the Cowboys was also an extremely underrated move.
4. Chicago Bears
As much as I'm buying the Chicago Bears as a whole, I think what I'm really convinced about with this team is head coach Ben Johnson. It just feels like he gives the Bears such an advantage week after week. That's not to say the Bears don't have talent, but Johnson is the straw that stirs the drink there.
And having the talent he does offensively doesn't hurt, either.
The biggest question mark for the Bears will be how they overcome all of the major losses in their secondary. We know who they've brought in to replace some key players, but losing all of Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, and CJ Gardner-Johnson was not a small thing this offseason.
The Bears were one of the best teams in the NFL last year at creating turnovers, but do they have enough juice off the edge to be a better team in the pass rush department? It feels like they didn't properly address that this offseason.
3. Green Bay Packers
The Packers need a healthy Micah Parsons back in the mix, but when they had a healthy Micah Parsons, there were few teams playing as well as them last season.
Green Bay has had one of the better and more well-rounded rosters in the league for a handful of seasons, and that remains the case entering the 2026 season. Just like every other team, the Packers had to reload in a number of ways this past offseason, but they did an impressive job of that, especially on defense.
The Packers added Javon Hargrave to the defensive line, they made an underrated trade for linebacker Zaire Franklin, and they used their top draft pick on cornerback prospect Brandon Cisse, who could end up starting from Day 1.
They'll be relying on a young kicker after drafting Trey Smack, and they won't have Elgton Jenkins on the roster for the first time since 2019, but the Packers look ready to make a run in the NFC if Parsons can get back to form quickly.
2. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks begin their Super Bowl title defense as the 2nd-best team in the NFC and the 2nd-best team in their own division, at least the way I see it right now.
The NFL is a tough business sometimes.
And this isn't just for the sake of having a controversial take, but the Seahawks did suffer a number of critical losses this offseason, and it's fair to be at least a little skeptical of how things will go with the way they addressed those losses.
Losing Klint Kubiak to the Raiders is a big deal. Losing players like Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker and starters or key players like Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, and Coby Bryant? Those are big losses. The Seahawks already had a strong roster structure, and they'll rely on a handful of young players once again, but the jury is out on the new players and coaches coming in for the time being.
1. Los Angeles Rams
I hate doing this, because the Seahawks earned their Super Bowl win last season -- and had to beat the Rams to do it. But the Rams are the better overall team at this point in the offseason, even after using their top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
The Rams' decision to pass on instant gratification for a future QB option aside, this team looks about as good as you possibly can at this point in the offseason. They return an MVP at the quarterback position and pretty much every other starter on both sides of the ball. The biggest moves the Rams have made to add to this roster are in the secondary, where they struck a blockbuster trade for Trent McDuffie at the cornerback position.
McDuffie's buddy Jaylen Watson followed him to the Rams from the Chiefs, giving the Los Angeles secondary the boost it needs to truly vault this team back to another Super Bowl title.