3 NFL teams getting slept on the most heading into the 2026 season

It's impossible to give every NFL team the appropriate offseason hype they deserve, but there are some teams that have been far too underrated in 2026.

As the season gets closer and closer every day, we've been taking a look at teams that have been overrated this offseason, teams that seem doomed to fail in 2026 (already), and now we're going to take a closer look at three teams that have been getting massively slept on throughout the 2026 offseason.

Which teams are not getting enough attention this offseason? We're going to pick the top three teams not getting the hype they deserve from the media, and maybe even some teams that should be considered stronger Super Bowl contenders than anyone is willing to acknowledge at this point.

3 underrated, slept-on NFL teams heading into the 2026 season

3. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos earned the #1 seed in the AFC last season with a 14-3 record, and they hosted the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. They probably would have one that game rather easily if Bo Nix had been able to play, but he suffered a fracture in his ankle during the Divisional Round win against Buffalo.

There are plenty of holes the national media has been poking in the Broncos this offseason. Nobody seems to think they can repeat the type of success they had last year in one-score games (11-2), and the Broncos flirted with disaster plenty. They set an NFL record with 13 comeback wins last year.

Most people in the NFL world seem to think the Chiefs are going to return to prominence in the AFC West, and many feel like even the Chargers have a better chance to compete for a championship than the Broncos.

But this is a team with a top-5 defense, an ascending offense, and a team that returns 94 percent of its snaps from a season ago. The Broncos were able to win 14 games while ranking in the bottom 5 of the NFL in takeaways. They aren't oblivious to the fact that the ball doesn't always bounce your way in one-score games, but the goal is going to be to create more distance in those games, not just go on a legendary streak of tight wins again.

2. Seattle Seahawks

This one is sort of by our own admission.

There are plenty of people in the NFL media world who seem to believe the Seahawks are going to be just fine during the 2026 season, but I have been a lot more skeptical of that.

While waiting all last season for the clock to strike midnight, the Cinderella story never ended for Seattle and they hoisted the Lombardi. The Seahawks then lost a bunch of notable names in the 2026 offseason, and now, almost every outlet (including this one) has the Rams listed above them in offseason rankings, Super Bowl projections, roster rankings, coaching rankings, and more.

But Seattle isn't going to go down without a fight. With Mike Macdonald still in his seat as the head coach, that defense is still going to be near the top of the league. The Seahawks obviously believe strongly in their player development, which is why they were willing to let players like Kenneth Walker, Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe out the door this offseason.

There's a lot to replace, but there was also a lot of talent waiting in the wings. This team is still going to be tough, even with all of the losses in 2026.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

This article idea was actually brought to you by none other than Liam Coen, who said the Jaguars aren't talked about at all, and he likes that.

Coen also took exception last year to the idea that the Jaguars are a "small market" team, which is factually correct, but a good head coach can turn anything into a chip on his team's shoulder.

This is a Jaguars team that has been criticized for a number of moves this offseason, including:

• Letting RB Travis Etienne walk uncontested in free agency
• Letting LB Devin Lloyd walk uncontested in free agency
• Overdrafting TE Nate Boerkircher and giving Brenton Strange a big-money deal

It hasn't exactly been the type of offseason that gives "all in" vibes, but the Jaguars have a good team, and we think they have a good coach. The breakout year last year was impressive, and Trevor Lawrence was on another level during the second half of the season.

If the Jaguars get that kind of play out of Lawrence consistently, they won't be missing guys like Etienne or Lloyd. Those losses seem to loom pretty large right now, but the Jags are still being slept on more than anyone else, despite the fact that they were arguably the best team in the NFL in the second half of the 2025 seaosn.

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