14. Los Angeles Chargers
Coming in at No. 14 in our rankings, we have the most ‘good, not great’ team in the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers have gone 11-6 and lost in the Wild Card Round in both years of the Jim Harbaugh era. It’s quite amazing that the Chargers have had the same fate both years.
On both offense and defense, the Chargers have nice talent. The team may have the league’s best tackle duo in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, but Slater is still struggling with injuries. They seem to have multiple solid offensive contributors in Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnson, and Oronde Gadsden, and the defense has key veterans like Derwin James and Khalil Mack.
But overall, LA doesn’t stand out much anywhere. Their depth is still questionable, but every year, we seem to do the same thing with the Chargers and wonder if this is the year they get over the hump and make a deep run. I am just not sure the personnel is good enough for that to happen, as they have been leapfrogged by some other AFC teams that have displayed more aggression with their roster building.
13. Cincinnati Bengals
Speaking of aggression, the Cincinnati Bengals were aggressive in revamping the defense this offseason, as they shoot up to No. 13 in our roster rankings for 2026. The offense doesn’t need an introduction, but that offensive line really started to play well down the stretch in 2025, so perhaps after years of fielding poor OLs, the Joe Burrow-era Bengals may have a serviceable unit up front now.
And on defense, the Bengals brought in stable veterans like Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook. Those are legitimate, starting-caliber players making up over one-third of the unit overall. The defense doesn’t have to be special for this team to go far in the playoffs, but the front office finally got serious about making that unit better, as Cincy has not been into the playoffs since the 2022 season.
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