7. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams filled two huge needs in the secondary by trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson. Suddenly, this unit is one of the more talented groups in the NFL. Given how strong and explosive the defensive line has been, there's now no reason to believe that this defense won't take a huge step forward in 2026.
6. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs did have a sound defense in 2025, but it was missing a good bit of talent, especially along the defensive line. And in the 2026 NFL Draft, we did see the Chiefs use a majority of their capital on defense, snagging players like Mansoor Delane, Peter Woods, and R Mason Thomas. More talent for Steve Spagnuolo is going to pay off.
5. New England Patriots
Again benefitting from an easier schedule in 2025, the New England Patriots had a strong defense, but it's clear that the unit was playing at a sustainable level. The defensive line is rock-solid with the stellar duo of Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, and Dre'Mont Jones signing in free agency adds a 'plus' player at an important position as well.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
Wherever Vic Fangio goes, he fields elite defenses, and that's been the case with the Philadelphia Eagles in recent years. They've dealt with personnel issues, but much of the defense you see across the NFL today is based on Fangio's own scheme. The Eagles do supplement things with nice talent, but some inconsistent secondary play has been a sore spot.
3. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a tier above all of the defenses we've mentioned up to this point, but they're not the best. A bit weak right in the middle of the unit at linebacker, the Broncos have still led the NFL in sacks in each of the last two seasons and are fielding some of the very best players in the NFL at their respective positions in Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, Patrick Surtain II, and Talanoa Hufanga.
2. Houston Texans
Houston begins this 'next' tier up of NFL defenses. The Texans unit can do a bit of everything and might be the most talented unit across all teams in the NFL. Landing at No. 2 in our power rankings, the Texans as a franchise have advanced into the Divisional Round in three-straight seasons, but they've not gotten past that point.
A clear ceiling is developing, but our top unit in our latest power rankings has recently shattered that ceiling.
1. Seattle Seahawks
Winners of the Super Bowl this year, the Seattle Seahawks take the top spot in our power rankings. Boasting the deepest defensive line in the NFL in 2025, Seattle always seemed to be subbing in fresh bodies. The secondary was also hard-hitting and stingy in coverage, giving this unit no weaknesses.
And given that we just saw this team win a Super Bowl primarily due to the defense, there's no reason to not rank this group No. 1.
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