My NFc preview For The 2026 Season.
NFC Previews
NFC South:
New Orleans Saints—
The Saints Have Their Best Roster and, really, their first legitimate chance at making a competitive push in the NFC South this decade. This Latest Saints Playoff Push Hinges On The Continued Development Of Quarterback Tyler Shough in Head Coach Kellen Moore’s Offense. The Saints drafted the 26-year-old Shough in the second round of the 2025 draft as less of a developmental option and more of a player ready to boot up out of the box. Shough Lost The Training Camp Battle To Then Incumbent Spencer Rattler and For A While Shough Looked Like A Mistake, He Entered The NFL Older Than Rattler Who Play Fives In College But Shough Physical Tools Couldn’t Outweigh Rattler’s. Ultimately, Shough looked like a waste of a second-round pick. The Saints Have Two Clear Hurdles On Offense That May Cap Their Offensive Upside The Offensive Line Flush With Young Talent But Also Ranked Near The Bottom In Pass Block Win Rate Will Mostly Return As ConStructed Last Season with The Cap Strap Saints Betting On Improvement From Young Player Like Left tackle and Last Year’s 9th Overall Pick. Another Saints top-ten pick, Jordan Tyson, 8th overall, the young wide receiver the Saints Expect To play A Major Role In Kellen Moore’s offense Next season, Suffers From Major Issues Dating Back To His Time At Arizona State and Now In The pros. Tyson Suffered A Hamstring Injury In Practice That Could Keep Him Out Some Time, and the Saints' leading receiver, Chris Olave, has a sordid injury history, mostly concussions and Some Hamstring Issues and Blood Clot Issues. The Saints Have A lot of time to grow as a team and an organization. If The Team Doesn’t Make a Playoff, That Won't Disqualify the Potential of This Version of the Saints. The Saints Defense Finished Last Season on the Outskirts of the Top 10 in football: 11th by ESPN FPI and 12th by DVOA.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers—
The Eyes Of The Football World Will Always Focus In On The Tampa Bay Bucs In This era Of Football and for Good Reason. Before last season, when the Panthers and Bryce Young unceremoniously unseated the Bucs from the top of the NFC South, Tampa had the Division Four Straight Seasons. For the first half of the 2025 Season, the Bucs looked like the Only Team in the Division Who Could Compete in the Playoffs and for the Super Bowl. The Bucs Collapsed Across The Second Half Of The season As The Offense Sputtered Off The Rails And Ended The Season 8-9. That collapse has led to a tumultuous offseason featuring the departure of receiver Mike Evans, a disgruntled Quarterback In Baker Mayfield, And A Vita Vea Trade Request. The Bucs Defense Played Pretty pedestrian Last Year and While Trading Vea For A fifth Round Pick Wont Help Signing a 31 Year Old Defensive Tackle Whose Play Has Decline Year To Year To A New Contract Doesn’t Make Much Sense Either. The NFC South Will Face A Motivated Baker Mayfield But An Offense That Won't Feature Mike Evans for The First Time Since 2013. Mike Evans Not Only Represents The Best Receiver In Franchise History But He’s The Chief Component To Baker Mayfield and nearly every other Bucs quarterback's success outside of maybe Tom Brady in Evans’s History With The Team. Statistically, Mayfield Played Staggeringly Better With Mike Evans on the field, sporting a 4x higher EPA Per Pass with Evans (0.251) to 0.063 without Evans, and his success rate jumped 44.82% to 52.06%. The Bucs Lost A lot Of Snaps From Last Years Team In The Offseason, Like A lot, Some Of Those Productive Snaps Like Jamel Dean Others Represented Needed Transition But The Lost Of Experience Will Fall On Rookies To Fill The Void At Crucial Spots On The Roster.
Carolina Panthers—
Without establishing an identity, but somehow collecting enough wins and registering enough brilliant performances (Bryce Young's 400 Games, Rico Dowdle's Run Of Runs), they entered 2026 as the reigning NFC South champions, facing an arduous climb back to the top of the mountain. Heading Into Their Third Season with Bryce Young as the full-time starter, and Dave Canales has coached the Panthers, they need to establish an identity, a calling card, something that defines their style of ball. What Steps Forward Will Or Can Bryce Young take in his fourth season, a 17-game slate that will Define His Career As A Panther and a number one pick? Bryce Young and the Panthers' passing Attack Caught Heat In The Second Half Of the second half of the season, averaging 7.4 adjusted yards per attempt and a 98 passer rating in Weeks 10-18, Compared Compare To The 5.3 Adjusted Yards Per Attempt And A 79.7 Passer rating in Weeks 1-9. The Panthers' offense will always face limitations because Bryce Young Stands 5’10 with a thin, limited athletic frame, so Dave Canales Will Have To Get Creative On The Outside To Generate Plus Opportunities in the passing game. Young needs to, at the very least, clean up the turnover issues he suffered: 19 Giveaways Last Season, 7 fumbles, and 12 interceptions, and his interceptions more than his fumbles appear like the more correctable aspect of his game. If Identity Has Struck The Panthers In Offseason It’s Injuries Carolina Has Suffer Multiple Season Ending Injuries Including Knee Injuries That Will End The Season’s of Rookie Wide Receiver Chris Braswell and Another Knee that Terminated The Second Of Edge Rusher Nic Scourton.
Atlanta Falcons—
For As Long As I Could Remember and Especially In The Past Five Years, The Falcons Roster Has Featured Several Elite Offensive Skill Set Talent at Pass Catchers, Running Back, and Throw In The Offensive Line that Should Put This Offense At The Top Of Football Perennially, But They Never Scratch Top Ten. The Falcons Represent Another Case For Why Quarterbacks Get Paid So Much After Failing To Revive Marcus Mariota’s Career So Time Back, Mercifully Whiffing On The Deshaun Watson SweepStakes, Signed Kirk Cousins To “Big” After Kirk Suffered An Achilles Rupture The Falcons Quarterback Battle In 2026 Comes Down To Two Former Top Ten Pick, Two Lefties One Injured and Not Following up A 2025 Season Where He Played Stellar and Another Famously Injury Prone Who Also Didn’t Play Stellar In 2025. This Team Would Probably contend in the NFC with a Quarterback Like Daniel Jones aboard or even win the NFC South Division With Some Version Of Geno Smith, but their quarterback battle comes down to the player who ranked 35th and 37th At The Position After The 2025 Season. Penix Enters His Sixth season, but he's not flush with upside at age 26, Just Two Years Younger Than Tua, Who Entered The League Way Back In 2020. One reason selecting Penix Out Of Washington Hit Everyone Watching with a Question Mark. The Penix Injury and Rehab Put Tua in pole position to Start In Week One, But Fans and analysts can no longer assert that Tua's Football Cognition And Aptitude Will Make Up For His Lack Of Elite Physical Traits Like Athleticism And Arm strength. If Tua’s Body Has Failed Him In This Game At 28 years old, the Falcons Will Serve As The Resting Place Of His Career, and Michael Penix, whose body also seems unstable, will most likely follow him. The Falcons locked up All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson to a New Deal Worth Three Years and up to $75 million, and Robinson Is One of the Primary Cogs of the Falcons. The Defensive Side Of The Ball Could Swing The Season For The Falcons, but the team faces challenges there. Both of the team's top edge rushers, who also represent the first-round picks Atlanta Exhausted In 2025, won't play to start the season, and one will miss the entire season. James Pearce Jr., who led the team in sacks, will serve an eight-game suspension stemming from domestic violence charges, and Linebacker Jalon Walker Will Miss The Season With An ACL Tear Suffered During Training Camp. The Falcons Jumped From 31st In Pressure Rate In 2024 to 8th in 2025, but won't have two of their sack getters in 2026 for an extended period, which will hurt their good Pass Defense Of 2025.
NFC West:
Los Angeles Rams—
Any Mention Of The NFC & NFC West starts with the presumed NFC Champions, the Super Bowl favorite, and a true Super Team like other Super Teams in football history. Not Content To Run It back with their team that fell an ill-fated special-teams play away from playing in the Super Bowl, the Rams turned “Aggressive Mode” once more, just when they started drafting again for the first time. The Rams Shipped Out Multiple First Round Picks To Assemble The Avengers, basically. The Rams Traded For Former Chiefs Top Corner Trent McDuffie and handed him a contract that briefly reset the cornerback market, and McDuffie becomes the bracket and Anchor Of The Back End Of The Rams Defense. The Rams stayed active and patient, and on the back end offloaded free-agent Myles Garrett, the NFL record-setting sack getter and the guy who once sat at the top of the market at the edge rusher position. Part Of The Reason Why The Rams Could Collect So Many Top Shelf Player Without Completely Gutting Their Roster Because The Team Didn’t Have Many First Round Picks, Actually Just Two Since 2016(2024,2026)They Didn’t Have Many Player Illegible For Big Extensions and Their Glut Of Day Two and Three Picks That Make Up Roster Remain Cost Friendly. The Rams Can’t Depend On This Gamut Of Cheap And Productive Players To Hold As Guys Kobie Turner, Byron Young, and Chiefly Star Wide Receiver Puka Nacua Will Demand Top Or The Top Of The Market Money. The Rams Already Extended Defensive Back Quentin Lake A Former Fifth Round Pick and Los Angeles Theoretically Has “One Year” To Make This Super Team Work and Win A Super Bowl. Some Of Hurdles Los Angeles Will Face Start with The Players, The Rams Needed Veteran Talent In The Secondary and Pick Up Trent MCDuffie Generally Considered One Of The Best Corners in The Game. Still, He’s Coming In Off A Down Year In Which He Generate the 111th-best coverage EPA allowed (+3.3) and the 186th-best catch rate over expected allowed (+7.2%) Amongst Qualified Defensive Backs. The Chiefs played McDuffie Primarily On The Outside Where He Surrendered A 102.1 Passer Rating, three touchdowns, and Forced One Interception. If the Rams Continue The Trend Of Playing The Undersized(5’11) McDuffie outside, will the Rams' expensive corner get exposed and Ultimately Become The Weak Link and The Undoing Of This Super Team? Matthew Stafford Age Also Becomes A concern, He’s Dealt With Back Injuries In Recent Years and He’s Approaching His Final Year(s) In The League At 38 Years Old Coming In Off Of An MVP years He’s Not So Much Over The Hill But The Offense “Hinges” On the Hinges Of Stafford, His Back, His Elbow, His Shoulder.
Seattle Seahawks—
The Seahawks Have The Dreaded Pleasure Of Facing The Dreaded Super Bowl hangover, but what qualifies as a success in a follow-up season for a Seattle unit only in its second year with the Darnold and McDonald Combination? Another Super Bowl? Seattle Rode A Sporadic Offense An Elite Defense and a Especially Effective Special Teams and Those Will Face Some Flux In 2026. The Offense Took A Hit Losing Kenneth Walker In Free Agency. Sure, They Locked JAxson Smith Njigba With The Richest contract In Receiver History. Still, the Seahawks Didn’t operate under the same offensive philosophy as last year: Klint Kubiak threw the ball just 53%, tied for the lowest in the NFL, and managed a -4% Pass Rate Over Expected. Seattle’s Offense Leaned In On Play Action at the highest rate in the league 28% Of Their Pass Plays and generated 0.27 EPA per play and averaged 10.6 yards per attempt On Such Plays. Seattle used the rushing attack to force opposing teams into base personnel three-linebacker and Made The Most Of Their Opportunities in the passing game against such defenses. Seattle’s more balanced under-center style helped Kenneth Walker reach elite status, generating a PFF rushing grade of 90.2, and He Took His Talents To Kansas City. Sam Darnold Has Flourished In Under-Center Shanahan-Based Offense. Still, For Now, Seattle Won’t Have Runningback Zach Charbonnet To Start The Season And Will Lean on rookie running back Jadarrin Price Out Of Notre Dame, Who Might Play elite ball in his rookie season, to give Seattle A Viable Rushing Option. Darnold Will Enter His Second Season In Seattle Playing High Variance Football His Highs Make Him An Unmatched Threat At Quarterback But His Lows Could Sink The Entire Ship If Not Strengthen By A Supporting Run Game. The Seahawks Also Have Vulnerabilities At Receiver Behind JSN, as Cooper Kupp Enters The Season at Age 33 and Rashid Shaheed hasn’t proven himself as The Deep Threat Seattle wanted, but more of a special-teams dynamo. The defense, especially upfront along the defensive line, will sink further down the line in age, with Demarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Jarran Reed all past the age of 30, and one significant injury could buckle the entire defensive line and ultimately the defense.
San Fransisco 49ers—
The Niners will stand in the Distance, waiting and watching for openings and downturns for Seattle and Los Angeles to usurp them. As presently constructed, the Niners Still Don’t Have Enough Fire Power To Top Either Divisional Giant. Injuries Defined The Niners' Season in 2025 As Several Star and Key Pieces Missed Significant Time; Nick Bosa and Fred Warner Missed A Sizable Chunk Of The Season, and both ended the year on the injured reserve. Brock Purdy Missed Time Away From The Offense For Five Starts and nine games total logged. Still, plaudits can no longer dismiss the former Mr Irrelevant from atop the NFL Quarterback After He Completed 69.4% Of His Passes, generated a 55.3% Success Rate, and A 100+ Passer Rating For Third Time In His Career. Injuries Have Started To Threaten The Niners’s 2026 season. With wide Receiver Ricky Pearsall done for the year, the Niners Reunited With Deebo Samuel after Samuel Spent A Year playing Inconsistent Football In Washington, and He’ll Play Along Big Free Acquisition Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, and Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling. Regardless, Outside Of Running Back Christian McCaffrey, the Niners Won’t Have Any Of Their Top Pass Catchers From Last Season Either Due To injury or Free Agency, and the Niners Now Need To Rebuild That Continuity. Some Optimistic Reports Suggest George Kittle Could Make His Return To The Lineup Sooner Than Expected To Alleviate Some Of The Pass Catching Concern. Christian McCaffrey Enters His Age 30 Season After Leading The League in Touches Last Season At 418—a lot of tread on those tires for CMC.
Arizona Cardinals—
The Kyler Murray Era Of The Cardinals Came And Went with One Playoff Appearance, a lot of awe-inspiring highlights, but also many whimperings before both sides desperately closed the door on each other. Who Will Lead The Next Era Of Cardinals Football? Carson Beck, The Former Georgia and Miami star quarterback whom the Cards drafted in the second round, Or One Of the many prospects in a plush college quarterback class? Beck will Develop Behind Veteran Jacoby Brissett, Who Worked Out A New Deal With The Cards That Gives The Veteran a pay Raise And The Cardinals a propitious Quarterback Structure and Insurance Plan for the Future. Brissett Will Run Out His One Year, Possibly Put Up Strong Numbers(3,366 passing yards, 23 TDs in 12 Games In 2025) or, at worst, play competently enough to make Mike Lafleur’s Offense Look Viable. Beck Could Take Over After A Year On The Bench and Give The Cards time to develop whoever they select in the top ten in next year’s draft at quarterback. The Cardinals Have Built a pretty respectable wide receiver group composed of Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, and Veteran Kendrick Bourne From The Niners. Will the Cardinals lock up Wilson on a long-term deal after the former third-round pick led the team in receiving yards (1,006), Making Him a Prime Candidate For A Raise From Close To $3.924 million in 2026 to top-35 money beyond? In the face Of Social Media Propaganda and Injury Concerns, Marvin Harrison Jr. played in twelve games, averaging +0.39 EPA per target. He’ll Need To Emerge As A true number-one threat on the outside for the Cardinals’ passer. Those two, along with All-Pro tight end Trey McBride, a player threatening for the honor as the best player at the position, will give Arizona A Formidable Collection Of offensive Threats. McBride Racked 1239 Receiving Yards, +66.2 And 595 Yards After Catch all Numbers That Lead The Team and The Tight End Position. With The Addition Of Third Overall Pick and Talented Running Back Jeremyiah Love Who Learned The cost his Constant Spinning—The Cardinals Posses A Formidable Offense if The Offensive Line Forms Together the Cardinals could Push The rest Of The NFc West By Scoring Points.
NFC West:
Dallas Cowboys—
After A Parade Of Moves This Offseason—That Haven’t Ended Just Yet—I’m Willing To Give The ‘Allas Cowboys Back Their “D” At Least A Lower Case “d” Until This Unit Proves Its Worth But The Cowboys Invested Heavily In This Defense In The Off Season and Rightfully So The Cowboys Defense Played Downright Putrid in 2025 Giving Up The Most Expected Points Added In The Pass Game, The Most Total Yards Surrendered and The Score Percentage Allowed In Football In2025. The Cowboys defense lacked difference-making talent, yet somehow still led the league in pressure rate in 2025. Still, the influx of talent heading into this season represents one of the heaviest retoolings in recent NFL Times. The Cowboys picked up Former Packers Edge Rusher Rashan Gary, whose pressure production fell off in the second half of the season as he faced the fifth-highest chip rate (20.2%) but also managed zero sacks in the final nine games after notching 7.5 in the first eight. Gary will run with Veteran Von Miller And Lead Young Rushers Like Donavan Ezeiraku, Malachi Lawrence, and LT Overton. The Cowboys Defense Couldn’t Add “Superstars” Because The Offense Eats Up A Good Chunk Of Their Salary Cap But These Pieces Will At Least Upgrade The Team. The Cowboys also made a mid-season acquisition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a long-term deal: a three-year, $105.9 million contract extension To Anchor Christian Parker’s new defensive line. When Considering All The Additions To The Secondary, with Safety Jalen Thompson and Cornerback Cobie Durant In Free Agency and Safety Caleb Downs in the draft, the Cowboys Should Jump From Last To At Worst 15th Or Better. First-time defensive coordinator Christian Parker Comes Over From The Eagles to Lead A Defensive Resurgence In Dallas. Dallas finished Fifth in EPA per play, second in yards per game, and seventh in scoring 27.7 points per game While Generating A score on nearly half of its drives, second Best in the NFL. The offense should return to the form we witnessed in 2025, with Dak, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and running back Javonte Williams Returning In 2026. The Cowboys Have Their Best Chance In A few years to win this division away from the Eagles And Return To The Playoffs.
Philadelphia Eagles—
The Eagles Rest On The Precipice Of Either Taking Off Into A New Era Of Football For The Franchise Or Falling Apart Completely and This Season Hinges On The Link Between Hurts and Head Coach Nick Siriani More Than Ever. The Eagles Have Funneled Through Many Iterations In Recent Years From A Pass Rushing attack Centric Team, To A Bombs Away Type Offense, from a pass-rushing attack-centric team to a bombs-away type offense, to the Saquon Show, To The Criticized Mess We Witnessed Last Season. We All Know AJ Brown Left after Forcing A Trade To New England. Philly won’t focus on replacing his presence in the offense because they can’t; he’s a force multiplier on the outside. Still, the Eagles Offense Needs To Focus On Integrating Their New platoon Of Receivers. Rookie Makai Lemon Will Make His Debut At The Start Of The Season After A Hamstring Injury Kept Him Out Of Preseason Action So He’ll Need More Time To Settle In Once The Season Starts. Still, This Offense Will Have Strobe Lights On Them As They Attempt To Shake Off The Debacle Of Last Season’s Offense. Without a superhuman Saquon Barkley, a nearly mortal Offensive Line, and star wide receivers who didn’t win every route, the Eagles Found Themselves Leaning On Jalen Hurts ' arm- something Nick Saban and Alabama Wouldn’t Do In The 2018 National Championship. His give-and-take arm betrayed the Eagles in a playoff game, driving wedges further into a “Fractious” Offense. Hurts ’ passing has always fallen under the microscope-something you don’t want said about a quarterback in the National Football League. Still, He’s Made Strides In his game as a passer since he took over for Carson Wentz all The Way Back In 2021. He Never Won MVP in 2022, but Hurts always hits a roadblock after he starts to stride as a pocket passer; Defenses Always Figure Him Out Before He Figure Himself Out. Hurts Ran The “Same” offense under the same coach back-to-back since Shane Steichen in 2021 and 2022, and now he’ll play under his fourth different coordinator since Steichen Departed. An espn Reported That Hurts Developed “rigid preferences” About The Offense He Ran, The Concepts, The Structure and also Wanting Limited “Motion” that Help The Quarterback Diagnose The Defense But Also Forces The Quarterback To Think Beyond The Concept already Called. Now, without AJ Brown, the Eagles must force Hurts to adapt; he can't play Chuck and Duck, Give The Ball A Chance for his receivers to make a play, especially in a “system more in the Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan mold”. Last season, Hurts Ranked In The Bottom 15 in off-target pass rate, not good enough for a player making top-ten money at the position. In terms of yards per game, the Eagles had the worst offense in the division—Behind The Commander, Who Played Most Of The Season Without Jayden Daniels, and The Giants, who started Russell Wilson, A Rookie Jaxson Dart, and Jameis Winston. On the defensive side, the Eagles might have A Pass Rush To Go Along With Their Elite Secondary. Yes, the Eagles Have Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis On The Interior, but Adding Jonathan Greenard from the Texans Brings Philly As Close Back To Their 70 Sack Team Of 2022. The 2026 lacks the depth, but Greenard represents A Heavy Hitter The Eagles Didn’t Have In 2025. While the Eagles Have Questions to Work Through, I Just Don’t Think The Rest Of The NFC East Has Caught Up To Philly Just Yet.
Washington Commanders—
Time flies in the world of football, and in every other world it feels like just yesterday the Upshot Commanders Upset The Number One Seed Lions in The 2024 Playoffs and Jayden Daniel looked like the quarterback the league will reckon with, and Now One Season After We Have Questions About The Direction Of This Washington Team. The Commanders made moves to improve their roster for the 2025 season, knowing the team would face stiffer competition, adding Laremi Tunsil, a top-five left tackle in football, to protect Jayden Daniels, Then Adding Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel, who had lost a step. Still, the offense never hit the ground running with Daniels. Tunsil Tore His Triceps This Off Season Setting The Commander Offense Back A Notch as Replacing A Top Tier Offensive Tackle Has Bumps and Hurdles Everywhere. The Commanders' offense played better without him, and Marcus Mariota actually turned in the best performance, although Mariota Didn’t Play Stellar In His Own right. Still, he nearly led the Commanders to an upset over the Broncos. Daniels struggled with injuries, throwing for 1,262 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions, and with Daniels' frame, injuries could persist for much of his career. Offensively, the Commanders Generated An Awkward season, Finishing Both Top 12 in yards per play but bottom 12th in yards per game, ultimately leading to the dismissal of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The Defense Fared No Better, Finishing Only Ahead of the Cowboys in EPA Per Play Allowed and Yards Per Pass Allowed in 2025. The Commanders Have A lot to Work Into Place. They signed Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson To Beef Up The Defensive Line and Pass Rush. Rookie Linebacker Sonny Styles Joins The Commanders Linebacker Core With Frankie Luvu And Leo Chanel After The Linebackers Struggled In Coverage Last Season. How many difference-making moves have Washington made? Will A Healthy Daniels, an older Terry McLaurin, And The Addition Of Stefon Diggs Help Get The Offense Back On track? I Think The Biggest move the Commanders May Have Made Started With Losing Last season. Yes, Losing Gives The Commanders an easier schedule—Not The Easiest One Possible—Than The One They Faced in 2025 After Making The Playoff In 2024. Certainly one more manageable as the team attempts To Bring Itself Back Together. I Think The Commanders Could Use Another Year Putting It All Together
New York Giants—
Under New Head Coach Jon Harbaugh, the New York Giants Hold the Dark-Horse Position in the NFC East. If all goes right, if any team can sneak past the potentially fluttering Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys breaking in a new defense, the Giants Can Spring Up Over The Division Front Runners. Giants Quarterback Jaxson Dart Didn’t Start The Season Because Head Coach Brian Daboll, coaching for his job, felt more comfortable starting a far more accomplished Russell Wilson Over Rookie Dart. Still, once Dart got in the starting lineup, the vibes in New York changed. He got off to an up-and-down start. Still, he made a mark, helping the Giants defeat the then-undefeated Eagles in Week Six. His Best Game Of The Year In terms of EPA Per Dropback, and while he quite commanded the quarterback position, he played with an uncommon electricity for a New York Quarterback. Dart Suffered A Concussion In A Week 10 Loss To The Bears and Hits Became A Point Of Note During His Rookie As A Dual Threat Who Finished Tied For First In Explosive Runs(10 Yards Or Better) amongst Quarterback Second Amongst All Quarterbacks In Rushing Touchdowns and Third In Rushing EPA Generate in Just 14 Games. Still, he got hit a ton, including 35 Sacks. Dart Faced A High Pressure Rate Partly Because He Held The Ball Long 2.82 seconds to throw. After Malik Nabers Suffered An ACL injury early in the season, the Giants Lack Legitimate Targets In The Pass Game. Wan’Dale Robinson made the most of his opportunities, registered a 1,000-yard season, and took a bag to Play In Pittsburgh. Tight Ends Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellingher Made The Most Of The Opportunities But without An Elite Option Out Wide. The Giants Sign Former Raider Isaiah likely To Replace Bellingher and Darnell Mooney To Fill In Robinson But They Didn’t Add An Elite Option to Play Along Side Malik Nabers So The Giants Will Bank On The Potential Emergence Of Third Round Receiver 6’4 Malachi Fields On The Outside. Last season, the Giants finished 11th in pass block win rate, then added top tackle prospect Francis Mauigoa to play guard and strengthen a leaky interior of the offensive line, one of the Giants' top 10 Picks. The Other First-Round Pick The Giants Burned On Another Edge Type In Avrell Reese, Defensively Even With The Loss Of All-Pro Defensive Tackle Dexter Lawrence Traded To The Bengals The Giants Boost - Formidable Pass Rush, Maybe Not So Much Run Defense. Still, Reese, along With Burns and Abdul-Carter, along with Depth Guys Like Kayvon Thibodeaux And Darius Alexander, Will Get After The Quarterback on Sundays. The Giants' secondary Has Serious Questions, and A Mediocre Pass Defense Didn’t Make Many Improvements In Terms Of Player Acquisitions. If The Defensive Line Stays consistent, This Defense Could Wreak Havoc, but if they fall back on Their Own Vices, This Secondary Could Derail Much of the Front's Effort. I’m Tempted To Believe In This Giants Team Under John Harbaugh, If His Staff That Includes Matt Nagy, Who Coached Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City On Two Different Occasions, Can Develop Jaxson Dart Into The Nuclear Football We’ve Witnessed On Occasion In 2025. The Giants Scare The Eagles and Cowboys in late December But Ultimately Can’t Overcome A Vulnerable Roster Construction.
NFC North:
Green Bay Packers—
I Haven’t Deciphered whether Or Not The Packers Have Gotten Better Or Worse This Offseason After The Roster Lost Several Core Pieces—Some Who Under Performed—But Will Those “Losses” Open Doors For Other Players To Step Info The Void? The Packers Started Last season looking like the Best Team in the NFC, if not the League. They Picked Up Micah Parsons in a Trade, and Jordan Love Played Like Jordan Love Usually Plays, but the Packers Jumped on Opponents Before a Loss to theBrowns Exposed The Defense and Key Momentum. Jordan Love Missed Two Games Due to a Concussion Late in the Season, ultimately leading to Malik Willis Getting Paid This Summer. Love’s Numbers Had Drop Off At That point. He Started The Year Completing Better Than 70% Of His Passes for over 2,000 yards in Weeks 1-8 Before Ending The season Barely Hovering Around 60% for less than 1,500 passing yards. Love Haz Shown Flashes Of Sustainable Talent To A Degree But In High Leverage Games He Hasn’t Lived Up To The Billing Of Top Ten Quarterback. This Year The Packers Will Run a More Standard Offense After Rolling With Multiple Receivers (four) In Platoon Type Pass Catching Structure Along With Tight Ends, With No “True” Number One Receiver This Year The Packers Streamline The Targets To Christian Watson, Jaydan Reed And Matthew Golden along Side Uber Tight end Tucker Kraft Who Tore His ACL In November and Still Finished As A Top Five Tight End In terms of Yards After Catch and EPA Production. Josh Running Back Josh Jacobs’s Legal Situation Will Make Things Interesting For A Shanahan/MCVay Style Offense Without Much Proven Rushing Force Behind Jacobs On The Roster. The Packers Have A lot of talented players who will face an uncharted situation, thrust into more snaps, more routes, and more expected production. The Packers' defense could face a similar reality, with the linebacker corps and Defensive Line All Suffering the Loss of Major Snaps from Last Season, and New Players and a Worrisome Lack of Depth could Lead To Regression. Outside of Micah Parsons, the Packers lack proven edge production, and acquiring Parsons cost them two first-round picks. So adding cheap quality depth won’t come easy. The Packers ranked 19th in Defensive DVOA last year, and the loss of Micah Parsons pushed the defense back, but the Packers Weren’t Great and Somehow Lost Defensive Coach Jeff Hadley To The Dolphins. The NFC North has a lot of good-enough teams who can all win the division.
Detroit Lions—
After a few years in the playoffs and really one year as the NFC’s number one seed, the team regressed in 2025, and as the roster gets more expensive at the top, the turnover occurs too fast for the talent or The Brass to Keep Up. The Lost Of Ben Johnson Hurt The Lions Far Greater Than anyone Could Have imagine, Detroit Expected To Lose Johnson (He Accepted The Bears Job Immediately after The Playoff Loss) And Head Coach Dan Campbell Began His Search For The “next man up” A Coach To Replace John But The Play-calling Responsibilities That Dan Campbell Eventually Took Control Of In Week 10. The Change Of Voice and offensive philosophy briefly worked, but the Lions Could Never Stay On Track. Despite their talent, the Lions finished 8th in offensive DVOA, 6th in passing DVOA, and 6th in EPA per play, but parts of the offense underwhelmed in stretches. Jared Goff Started The Season Completing 74.9 percent of his passes but closed the year under 65%, averaging just 190 yards per game in the final ten games as the Lions went 4-6. Goff Racked Up Some Impressive Numbers, Even MVP-Level, But His 6.8 Intended Yards Per Throw Indicated WHO couldn’t Challenge Defenses Downfield. Just 39 Deep Attempts All Season Compared To 419 Short Attempts. Goff Has Regressed Even As His Numbers Stabilized To The Form That Sean McVay Fell Out Of Love With In LA. The Lions Hired Former Cardinals play-caller Drew Petzing to fill the same role in Detroit, and Detroit Has An Offense Fitted With Players paid at the top of the market at multiple positions, draining the depth of the roster and leaving the offense To Hinge On Key Players. No More David Montgomery Behind Jahmyr Gibbs; instead, the Lions pick up a “Bargain” Player Like Isaiah Pacheco, who’s got upside, but he’s not a proven force like Montgomery. The Lions Also Lost Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn, who coached the Jets last season, and the Lions promoted Kevin Sheppard To Run Aaron Glenn’s system built around heavy man coverage, which the Lions Defensive Backs Couldn’t Sustain, and a season-ending injury to safety Brian Branch Only Accentuated The Issue. Defensively, the Lions Will Look to Corners DJ Reed and Roger McCreary to start at cornerback day one; neither player played elite football in 2025, But Both Represent Serviceable Options When Healthy. The Lions' pass rush will impact, and it will fall on the arms of Aidan Hutchinson Unless An Unlikely Force Steps Up To Push Detroit Forward. The Lions Gave Just as Much Chance To Win This Division and Contend In The NFC as they have of falling completely apart like well-cooked brisket.
Chicago Bears—
Even after securing the famed Ben Johnson As Their Head Coach, I Believed The Bears Would Need One Season, A Muligan Or Trial Season That Would Help Shape The Roster and install Johnson's program to his liking in Chicago. Instead, Johnson built his philosophy to handle the roster already assembled, with a talented quarterback who needed greater support, and Johnson Understood The Bears' roster from years of coaching against an NFC North Rival From His Days in Detroit. Johnson Lead The Bears To A NFc North Title A Playoff Victory Over The Packers(A Team Johnson Loves To Beat)After Working with Jared Goff One Of The Few Traditional Statue Like Quarterbacks Left In The League To Caleb Williams A Quarterback Who Plays With His Hair On Fire, An Explosive Thrower Who Thrives On Improvisation But One Suffers From Accuracy Troubles(2nd In Off-Target Rate in The NFL) and A Propensity For Starting Cold Before Turning On The Propane In The Forth Quarter Caleb’s Basically an Upgrade Tim Tebow For Most Of The Year. With His Second Season Under Johnson, Williams Needs To Take On More Of A Jared Goff Style Of Play, More Than Simply Executing From The Pocket But Maintaining The Boring Stuff, Keeping The Offense On Schedule, and not thriving on fast-and-furious style theatrics to save the Bears' offense. Goff, while less exciting, had the highest accuracy percentage in football last season. Williams Adds More Threat As A Runner. He holds the ball, hunting deep passing opportunities, averaging 8.9 yards per depth of target and an average time to throw of 3.25 seconds, generating 28 big-time throws but also 19 turnover-worthy plays on just 7 interceptions. Some Of The Challenges The Bears Will face Outside Of Williams Style Of Play Include A Harder Strength Of Schedule The Bears Actually Have The Hardest Strength Of Schedule Based On Last’s Season Results 550 (Hardest in NFL). Still, They Also Started Last Season With The Second Hardest projected Schedule Before Closing With The Fourth Weakest. Last season, the Bears defense thrived on turnovers: 33 Total, 19 interceptions. But Most Of That Turnover Production Left In Free Agency And The Bears Will Look For Rookies To Fill The void Of Guys Like Safety Kevin Byard. The Bears Traded Lead Receiver DJ Moore To The Bills With The Expectation That Third and second-year receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden Will Play A Larger Role in the offense alongside the second tight end. All Three Players Have Shown Spots Of Brilliance. Rome averaged 15.3 yards per catch through eight games last year but suffered a foot injury that stymied his Progress. Now He Takes over as the team’s number one option, with Burden Slotted At Number Two. The Bears Didn’t Add Much Fire Power In Terms Of Edge Rusher, a Position This Defense Desperately Needed. I Don’t Think The Bears Will Make Enough Progress from Last Year to This Year, and I Don’t Think They Got Better Overall. While I Think They’ll Stay Competitive, I Don’t Think They’ll Retain Their NFC North Crown.
Minnesota Vikings—
The Curse of Kirk Cousins Continues As The Vikings Entered A Downward Spiral Searching For A Replacement to Cousins, who exited Minnesota Two Years Ago, and Now The Dial Lands On Former Number One Overall Pick Kyler Murray. The Vikings will start Their Third Straight Season With A New after featuring four different quarterbacks in 2025, but I’m Still Not sure They Found The Answer With Their Latest Acquisition. I Speak Of course Of Kyler Murray The Former Cardinals Quarterback and Number One Overall Pick Who Couldn’t Get Results In Arizona As Expectation Increased Every Season: After Murray Won Rookie Of The Year, After He Lead The Cardinals To The Playoffs in 2021 and After Arizona Mulled Paying Murray Creating A Tumultuous Saga That Ended With Five-year extension worth $230.5 million Top five Quarterback Money The Time That Would Lock Murray To Cardinals Through 2028. The Cards cut the cost and released Murray with nearly $40 million still on the books, indicating a loss of faith in Murray’s Unique Talents. The Vikings and Kevin O’Connell now hope they can capitalize on another reclamation-like project at quarterback with Murray. Murray’s Falling Into A Uniquely auspicious Spot For Any Quarterback In The League Throwing The Ball To Really The Most Talented Receiving Corp In The League—Argue With An Excel SHEET. Justin Jefferson Speaks For Himself He’s Always Amongst The Top Choices For Best receiver In The League, Jordan Addison suffered A Down Year Last Season But Heading Into An Extension Year He Might Regain His 2023-24 Form and Jauan Jennings Who struggled With Injuries In 2025 But Came One Ejection away From Notching A 1000 Yards In 2024 and as A Big Bodied Threat With Kyler Murray Both Could Unlock Each Either. Because of Their Lack Or Running Talent And Kyler Murray’s Limitations Under Center The VIkings Could Prove One Of The Highest Passing Teams In Football Next Season Operating Heavy Out Of The Gun. Despite Finishing Under .500 last season, the Vikings fostered a top-ten defense and managed to retain defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Still, the defense lost key players, including top edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who was traded to the Eagles this offseason, and I’ve written this on every “Blurp” On The North Teams. Still, the Vikings Will Lean On a Rookie and Other Unproven Pass Rushers To fill The Void. For the Vikings' First-Round Defensive Tackle Caleb Banks, whose injury history raises concerns about his ability to Handle Full-Time, pro-Level Work. The Vikings' desperate desire is for former 1st-round pick edge rusher Dallas Turner to live up to his billing. The Vikings Have The Worst Chance To win the division, thanks in part to poor quarterback continuity, but the Panthers had the worst odds in the South Last Season.
