Dustin Baker’s Post-Draft NFL Power Rankings | 2026

32. Arizona Cardinals

Heading into a regular season with Jacoby Brissett and Carson Beck as proposed quarterback solutions is wild — and screams “We want Arch Manning, please.”

31. Cleveland Browns

Heading into a regular season with hasn’t-been-good-since-2020 Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Taylen Green as proposed quarterback solutions is wild — and screams “We want Arch Manning, please.”

30. New York Jets

The roster talent is there, but Aaron Glenn just overhauled his entire coaching staff. In the end, we don’t trust the Jets to be any different than last year. Geno Smith as the fix-all is lunacy.

29. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins’ roster just doesn’t have the firepower to hang with its peers. Not yet, anyway. Go look at the wide receivers here. The group could be the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad, and that’s not an exaggeration.

28. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders will stabilize, mainly because Klint Kubiak has the mind to be an effective head coach. It just won’t happen as soon as 2026, especially when Las Vegas will play Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Denver six times.

27. Tennessee Titans

The Titans have the perk of living in a division that isn’t gangbusters. But Cam Ward quietly had worse efficiency metrics than J.J. McCarthy in 2025, and nobody cared. This feels like a year where the Titans go 6-11, and that’s considered a step forward.

26. Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa will split starts, which has all the makings of a 7-10 finish.

25. New Orleans Saints

This may be too low; we’ll admit it. But we have to see Tyler Shough turn the corner into a stable QB1 to believe it. Thankfully, the Saints finally removed themselves from salary cap hell.

24. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts started the season hot, but when they faced serious opponents in 2025, they began losing. We believe the true Colts identity came to light last December — not September.

23. Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) stands on the field during first-quarter action on Jan. 7, 2024, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Horn later emerged as one of the NFL’s most respected young defensive backs when healthy, showcasing physical coverage skills and versatility in Carolina’s secondary. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.

Carolina reached the postseason in 2025. Its defense ranked 22nd in the NFL per DVOA. Our perception is that the Panthers were lucky to wiggle into the postseason.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike McCarthy will make sure these boys will finish 9-8. Is that good? That’s up to Steelers fans to decide.

21. New York Giants

If Dart develops in Year No. 2, the Giants can finish 10-7 and reach the playoffs. Versus the Vikings, though, he played an imbecile, and we just can’t shake that lasting memory.

20. Washington Commanders

If Jayden Daniels stays healthy, this will be a 9-8 club at worst. Somehow, Dan Quinn coached the NFL’s fifth-worst defense in 2025. That’s scary, and it keeps them out of the Top 15 of power rankings.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Another one that’s probably too low — the Buccaneers have the perk of an “easy” division, where each team is about the same caliber. They’ll be 8-9, 9-8, or 10-7, and keep their current status: not a serious Super Bowl contender.

18. Chicago Bears

In 2022, we watched as the Vikings won nearly every close game, convincing the fan base that they were a “team of destiny.” The 2025 Bears did the same thing. Like Minnesota in 2023, Chicago’s close-game luck will return to this solar system, and the Bears will finish in last place in the NFC North at 8-9 or so.

17. Cincinnati Bengals

It’s all about the defense, baby. Every year, folks wonder if the defense will catch up to the offense and if Joe Burrow will stay healthy. Here we are again.

16. Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings finished 2025 with a winning record, despite the NFL’s fifth-worst quarterback performance per EPA/Play. Now, they have Kyler Murray. With Brian Flores’s No. 3-ranked defense, Murray and the Vikings will finish the season with an 11-6 or 12-5 record.

15. Green Bay Packers

If the Packers didn’t have Micah Parsons, Minnesota would leapfrog them in these power rankings. It remains mind-boggling that of all 31 NFL teams Jerry Jones could’ve shipped Parsons, it just had to be the Packers.

14. New England Patriots

The Patriots had a strength-of-schedule oddity that analysts will study for years. A book may be written about it. New England will face the real world in 2026 without a cakewalk schedule.

13. Dallas Cowboys

Speaking of Jerry Jones, he rebuilt the defense in a single offseason. Dallas will reach the postseason.

12. Denver Broncos

We’re still not on board with Bo Nix as a franchise quarterback. At some point, not being able to drive the ball downfield will mean something. The rest of the team is in great shape, though.

11. Los Angeles Chargers

Trusting Jim Harbaugh is wise, but one must ask if it will ever net a Super Bowl. Is Justin Herbert cut out for that? He seems to have eternal Matthew Stafford-like sympathy around the league.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville’s defense ranked sixth-best in the NFL last year per DVOA, and Trevor Lawrence is figuring it out in real-time. Look out.

9. Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) waves to fans after a 34-27 victory over the New York Giants on Nov. 23, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Hutchinson continued building his reputation as one of the NFL’s premier young edge rushers during Detroit’s successful 2025 campaign. Mandatory Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

The Lions’ roster is too complete for another crummy season. Their Super Bowl window closed the day they coughed up the NFC Championship to the San Francisco 49ers, but Detroit will win the NFC North with a 12-5 record and lose in Round 1 or 2.

8. Houston Texans

This team’s defense is deadly. Utterly deadly. If C.J. Stroud does not rebound, DeMeco Ryans can toss Davis Mills in the lineup, and the Texans will still finish 11-6.

7. Kansas City Chiefs

You’re going to find out that Kansas City’s woes in 2025 were a one-year pause. The dynasty can resume. There is no rule against it.

6. Baltimore Ravens

Like the Lions, the Ravens’ roster is wonderful. Just in case Lamar Jackson suffers a Cam Newton-like slowdown — the abrupt kind — Baltimore must try to win it all this year.

5. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers added Mike Evans, Osa Odighizuwa, and Christian Kirk this offseason. That will matter. 12-5 at worst.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

This is usually about the time on the Nick Sirianni lunar cycle when the Eagles start winning, and the weird strife behind the scenes vanishes. Howie Roseman’s roster construction keeps Philadelphia in the Top 4.

3. Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Darnold completed one of the NFL’s most surprising turnaround stories by guiding Seattle to a championship victory. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

Tip of the cap to Sam Darnold for winning the Super Bowl and making the Vikings look like damn buffoons. Now, he has to stay consistent year by year to prove his staying power as a Top 12 quarterback.

2. Buffalo Bills

Is this the year?

1. Los Angeles Rams

There isn’t a single aspect of the Rams’ roster, coaching staff — or anything — to dislike. They have everything. They could even get away with reaching for a rookie quarterback (Ty Simpson) just for kicks and giggles.