4. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans come in at No. 4 in our power rankings. If you replaced CJ Stroud with a Jordan Love, for example, this Texans team would unquestionably be a Super Bowl favorite. At the moment though, while Houston could win it all this year, Stroud's performances the past two seasons have left us wondering just how good he can be.
After an insane rookie season, Stroud's passer rating has dipped below 90 over the past two years. He's not looked like his rookie season self, but as 2026 approaches, it's clear that this is the best Texans team Stroud has been a part of. The offensive line got a ton of love this offseason, and David Montgomery entered the mix in the backfield, which is also huge.
Houston has been able to win double-digit games and advance into the Divisional Round each year of Stroud's career, but there simply needs to be more. The 2026 season could finally be that year where everything comes together.
3. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle dips a bit and comes in at No. 3 in our power rankings. Losing Walker at running back is going to hurt, but they also lost Mafe, Riq Woolen, and Coby Bryant on defense. What we saw with the Seahawks this offseason was very common for Super Bowl winners.
Many of the free agents end up pricing their way out of town, but Seattle was still able to get some key contract extensions done and are clearly going to be relying on their development and in-house players to pick up the pieces left by the departed.
This team is still among the deepest on defense and most explosive on offense in the NFL, and with how well-coached they are, I see no reason not to rank this team quite high as the regular season approaches.
With that said, I do believe a couple of teams have overtaken them, though.
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