12. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are one of my favorite sleeper teams to be a division champion this upcoming season, and there are a lot of reasons for that.
The first -- and most important -- is that this team looks like it has a legit franchise QB in Tyler Shough. Shough was outstanding in the second half of last season, and the Saints did a great job this offseason of surrounding him with talent, adding veteran RB Travis Etienne as well as LG David Edwards in free agency.
It'll be some time before Jordyn Tyson is on the field for the Saints, but they have plenty of other playmakers on offense. Defensively, this was one of the most underrated teams in the NFL last season. They play in one of the worst divisions in football, and could very well win 10 games this season. I'm high on the Saints with the season about to get underway.
11. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are unfortunately entering the 2026 season as my lowest-ranked reigning division champion around the NFL.
That doesn't mean they will be going away quietly.
I really like what the Panthers did to upgrade on defense this offseason, going after Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd in free agency before absolutely stealing Lee Hunter in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. I also like the (late) addition of Bobby Okereke at linebacker, and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has done a great job of developing the pieces he has in the secondary.
If Bryce Young can take another leap this year under Dave Canales (now their 3rd season together), this team will absolutely be back on top of the NFC South.
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