Well, that happened. The Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams broke the NFL on Monday, getting a trade done centered around Myles Garrett, the future Hall of Famer, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and single-season sack record holder.
While this may seem like a wild thing for the Browns to do, it's really the total opposite. Garrett is beginning to get up there in age, and the Browns are in no position to actually compete for a playoff spot in 2026 and beyond.
Trading Garrett after such a strong season does maximize his value, as the Browns were able to get back Jared Verse, a first-round pick, and other NFL Draft compensation. And later in the day, the New England Patriots added AJ Brown in a deal that appeared to be in the works for months.
All in all, these were great moves that make both Los Angeles and New England much better. Let's power-rank the top Super Bowl contenders after a duo of insane trades on Monday.
2026 NFL Power Rankings: Ranking league's top Super Bowl contenders following major trades
10. Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens have a very good roster, but we have seen this team collapse and fall apart in the playoffs. They have been to the AFC Championship Game as recently as 2023, but it's largely been a disappointing playoff tenure in the Lamar Jackson era.
However, with a new head coach in Jesse Minter, a defensive mastermind, it's not a stretch to think that the defense is going to be much improved, and some better injury luck in 2026 could suddenly have the Ravens with 12+ wins and a runaway AFC North title, which would also guarantee them at least one home playoff game.
9. Philadelphia Eagles
I am not that high on the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2026 season, especially after the Brown trade, but the Eagles have typically found themselves either in the Super Bowl or at least finishing with double-digit wins. Having made the playoffs five years in a row now, including two Super Bowl berths and one victory in 2024, Philly's high-floor does make them a moderate threat, at least, to win it all.
Even with a new offensive coordinator in the mix in Sean Mannion, the Eagles still do appear to be good enough on paper to make some noise.
8. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans might have the best roster in the NFL, but their success in 2026 could 100 percent come down to the performance of CJ Stroud, which is both awesome and terrifying. Stroud was playing out of his mind during his breakout rookie campaign back in 2023, but he's since been rather average.
Given that Houston has made it to the Divisional Round three years in a row now, there is a very high floor present here. And if Stroud can channel that 2023 production in 2026, Houston would be plenty good enough to win it all.
7. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have a stellar roster and a top-tier quarterback in Jared Goff, but we have seen injuries plague this team, particularly on defense, over the past two seasons. Despite this harsh truth, Detroit has still managed to win 24 regular season games since the start of 2024, which included an insane 15-2 regular season.
If the injury luck is just a hair better, the Lions should quickly find themselves back atop the NFC North, and seeing as this team made it to the conference title game back in 2023, a deep playoff run is possible.
6. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo's playoff experience in the Josh Allen era is very well-documented, and while it's been insanely successful, the Bills have also fallen short time and time again. Failing to get past the AFC title game, the Bills have at least advanced past the Wild Card Round each year since 2020, which is something.
And while the Bills did make some notable coaching changes this offseason, they've also been so successful that most, if not all of us look at this team as being a legitimate contender - roster-wise, they have it all.
5. New England Patriots
New England shocked the NFL world in 2025, riding a very easy schedule to a Super Bowl berth. The schedule does get harder in 2026, but getting to the big game is impressive, no matter how it's done. The Patriots land at No. 5 in our power rankings, simply because the schedule gets a lot harder, and a regression could be on the table.
The roster is good, but it's not great. However, the Patriots have a top-7 head coach in Mike Vrabel, a top-5 quarterback in Drake Maye, and a top-2 offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels, so this operation could again be good enough to make another deep playoff run.
And oh yeah, adding Brown to the mix is also going to help. Brown joins a remade wide receiver room that could thrust New England into a new tier in 2026, alongside Romeo Doubs.
4. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers, despite again being injured a ton, still won 12 games and got into the second round of the playoffs. We have seen the Kyle Shanahan-led Niners make two Super Bowls, as his teams typically elevate their game when the playoffs roll around.
Sure, the drafting hasn't been great, but the front office hasn't been afraid to make big-time moves, and all we really need to see from this group in 2026 is better injury luck, and they're not the only team on this list that fits into this category.
3. Seattle Seahawks
The defending Super Bowl champions drop a bit in our contender power rankings. Losing Kenneth Walker III and Riq Woolen in free agency is going to hurt, and a Super Bowl hangover is something that has followed teams before.
I would also argue that Seattle's roster isn't the best in the NFL and may have gotten passed up big-time by a fellow NFC West team. Sure, this team did just win it all, but it's incredibly difficult to repeat in the NFL, as history would tell us Seattle would struggle to achieve the same level of success in 2026 as they did in 2025.
2. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos added Jaylen Waddle in a trade this offseason to finally give the offense what it was missing. On paper, this could be the best team in the league. Sporting an elite offensive line and the best pass-rush in the NFL, Denver does have the formula to win the Super Bowl, and had Bo Nix not broken his ankle against the Bills, it's not a stretch to think that Denver would have won it all.
1. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams take the top spot in our Super Bowl contender power rankings, and this should not be a shock. Adding Garrett to the defense wasn't the first big-time move the Rams made on that side of the ball this offseason, as they also added a pair of stud cornerbacks in Trent McDuffie, also via trade, and Jaylen Watson in free agency.
Los Angeles clearly identified areas where they wanted to get better and left no crumbs in doing just that. On paper, the Garrett trade pushes this roster over the top - it's unquestionably the most talented group in the NFL, and while there are some in-between teams that could win the Super Bowl but also might not, the Rams are firmly in the 'Super Bowl or bust' category and top our power rankings.