6. Detroit Lions
The disappointment of going from winning 15 games to missing the playoffs completely is going to fuel the Detroit Lions in 2026.
This is simply too talented of a team not to be around when it comes time for January football, and the Lions know that.
Although the roster obviously looks different, the primary cast of characters remains the same. Jared Goff is a model of consistency at the quarterback position, and he has a truly elite group of weapons to get the ball to, starting with Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta.
The Lions revamped their offensive line a bit this offseason, moving Penei Sewell to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker, then drafting Blake Miller in the 1st round. They also gave their defensive front a boost by taking Derrick Moore in the 2nd round out of Michigan to hopefully pair with Aidan Hutchinson.
Even before Terrion Arnold's off-field situation, the secondary was a question mark for this team, and that remains their major issue going into camp.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
After a wildly disappointing year offensively in 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles made some major changes on that side of the ball for the 2026 season.
They finally relented and traded AJ Brown to the New England Patriots, and their hope is that he realizes that the grass is greenest where you water it, not just on the other side of the fence. Losing Brown in a championship window is not a small deal, especially for an offense that already struggled quite a bit last season.
Jalen Hurts now has playmakers like Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown to get the ball to, and maybe without the pressure coming from Brown, he'll be able to relax a little bit more. The Eagles know they need to be better from an entire operation standpoint offensively, because they hired Sean Mannion to replace Kevin Patullo as the offensive coordinator in 2026.
The defense won't be an issue with Vic Fangio scheming things up. That side of the ball will be taken care of. The Eagles have to re-discover themselves offensively, but they should be in the mix as Super Bowl contenders again.
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