10. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are on the right track for 2026, but it's going to take another year or two for this team to come together. First off, while Cam Ward did play well down the stretch in 2025, there is no guarantee he'll develop into a good enough passer for this team to build around.
Secondly, a new coaching staff was brought in this offseason, so there's a layer of uncertainty there. While the Titans do appear to be on the right track overall and are approaching this rebuild the right way, there is a lot of 'if' present.
9. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons roster is good enough to win the NFC South, but the quarterback position is as uncertain as it gets. Ideally, Tua Tagovailoa wins the starting job and plays like he did for those two years with the Miami Dolphins back in 2022 and 2023. The Dolphins went 19-11 with him as a starter in those seasons.
But given how shaky he's been since then, the uncertainty could not be higher, and Michael Penix Jr is a giant unknown as well. For the time being, the Falcons will be buried a bit in our power rankings until they prove something, whether good or bad.
8. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers won the NFC South last year with an 8-9 record, and the one thing that I keep coming back to is Bryce Young and his limitations. Despite playing the best football of his career in 2025, Young was still rather mediocre. Unless he somehow figures out to take another substantial step forward, the Panthers are going to tread in that 6-9 win tier.
They do deserve credit for winning the division last year, as they also gave the Rams fits in the Wild Card Round, but nothing about this franchise sticks out as being Super Bowl-contender worthy.
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