It's not going to be a shock when the best teams in the NFL are actually the ones standing in the end. While the 2026 NFL Season is still multiple months away, it's not a tough lift to identify the very best teams in the NFL. And sure, while a team might seem like the best right now, deep playoff success is far from guaranteed.
We did take this a step further, though, and looked at a handful of teams we believe are guaranteed, yes, guaranteed, to make a deep playoff run this season. We're taking a risk making these picks right now, but what's the fun in not being bold?
Let's dive into four teams we believe are guaranteed to make a deep playoff run in the 2026 season.
4 teams guaranteed to make a deep playoff run in the 2026 NFL Season
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams were in the NFC Championship Game in the 2025 NFL Season, but could not keep the Seattle Seahawks contained. The main thing that went wrong with the Rams was obviously not the offense - that unit is top-tier and features the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford.
The defense really seemed to stumble down the stretch, and in typical Les Snead fashion, he went out and fixed those issues big-time, trading for Trent McDuffie, signing his teammate in Jaylen Watson, and then swinging what could be one of the biggest trades in NFL history for Myles Garrett.
On paper, this is as good a team you'll see in today's NFL. It's not a stretch to call this group a superteam, and given how great the coaching staff is and how well everything is run, the Rams will surely make a deep playoff run this year.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks should be right back in the mix in the NFC in the 2026 season. While losing players like Kenneth Walker III and Riq Woolen were significant losses, the Seahawks are well-coached enough and still sport a plenty good enough roster to remain atop the NFC, or close to it.
The Super Bowl hangover is definitely a thing, and I am not sure the Seahawks will have enough to win it all, but given how much this franchise has progressed in the Mike Macdonald era, getting into the second round of the playoffs at least, which would feel like a 'deep' run, is very possible. I would not expect a major dropoff from Seattle this year.
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