A few teams are sitting right on the edge of something bigger in 2026. They may not be the obvious picks, but the ingredients are there for a jump if the right pieces click into place.
Start with Cincinnati, where the conversation always begins with Joe Burrow. The Bengals have been a respectable team when he’s on the field, going 9-8 in both 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, they slipped to 6-11, though Burrow still went 5-3 in the games he played while dealing with a turf toe injury. What’s kept Cincinnati from being treated like a true Super Bowl threat since 2022 has been the defense, which has been a mess for three straight seasons.
That’s why the offseason trade for Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants matters so much. At 350 pounds, he could change the entire feel of that defensive line.
If the Bengals can get even to average on that side of the ball, they’re going to be a nightmare with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown driving the offense.
Minnesota is another team that could look a lot different. The Vikings finished with a winning record in 2025, but the season never felt stable.
They dropped to 4-8 before finishing with five wins after they were already out of the playoff race. Quarterback play was the biggest problem, and 2024 No. 10 overall pick J.J.
McCarthy started 10 of those games with a 72.6 passer rating. The fix came in the form of Kyler Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft.
Murray’s early years in Arizona hinted at a franchise quarterback, though his play slipped over the last few seasons and the Cardinals moved on. The Vikings are betting he can rediscover that dual-threat spark, and even if he doesn’t hit that level, he should be a major upgrade over McCarthy, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer.
Kevin O’Connell has already shown he can squeeze more out of a quarterback, as he did with Sam Darnold in 2024.
New Orleans has a simpler case, but a strong one: the Saints look like they may have found a quarterback, and they’re in the NFC South. The Saints went 6-11 in 2025, but they were 5-4 in Tyler Shough’s starts and put together a four-game winning streak along the way.
The rookie completed 67.6 percent of his passes and posted a 91.3 passer rating. That’s enough to make people pay attention, especially in a division that never seems to separate itself.
Last season, the NFC South winner had only eight victories, and this year doesn’t look much different on paper. DraftKings has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers favored to win the division, with an over/under of 8.5 wins and the under favored.
That opens the door for New Orleans to push right into the mix.
The Giants are in a different spot, but they also have real upside. They already had the look of a team on the rise before they added John Harbaugh as head coach.
During 18 years with the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh never won fewer than eight games. New York doesn’t have Lamar Jackson and that whole operation, but it does have momentum and now a coach with a long record of winning.
If Jaxson Dart stays healthy and takes a step in his second season, and if Malik Nabers is healthy at wide receiver, the Giants could find themselves hanging around the playoff picture.
Then there’s Tennessee, where everything circles back to the quarterback. Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, brings massive upside.
His rookie year had real flashes - the kind of plays that jump off the screen - but it also came with plenty of rough edges, and he was tied for the NFL lead with 55 sacks taken. That’s the risk and the appeal all in one.
If Ward makes the kind of leap he’s capable of, the Titans can absolutely play their way into the postseason. If he doesn’t, they could end up near the bottom of the league.
Either way, Tennessee figures to be one of the most fascinating teams to watch in 2026.
In Other News...
Landon Robinson Is Forcing His Way Into The Bengals D-Line Fight
Landon Robinson arrived in Cincinnati with the kind of draft pedigree that usually means a player has to make noise the hard way, but he has done exactly that through training camp and the preseason. The Bengals took the defensive tackle in the seventh round, yet he has already worked his way into the conversation with a mix of versatility and steady impact, showing enough to get noticed beyond the usual rookie buzz.
For a Cincinnati defensive line group that has plenty of competition, Robinsons rise is the interesting part. Analysts have pointed to him as a player who can help in multiple phases, whether as a pass rusher or against the run, and he even landed on a list of promising rookies projected to become future draft hits despite being the lowest-drafted name on it. The real question now is how much of that momentum he can carry once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Get A Needed Tight End Back With One Concern Still Lurking
Erick All Jr. finally gives the Bengals another healthy tight end option after a long road back from a torn ACL and two surgeries, a stretch that kept him out long enough to make his return feel like real depth news for Cincinnati. His clearance matters for a team that has been looking for more reliability and flexibility at the position, especially with camp serving as the first real checkpoint for where he stands physically.
Still, there is a little unease attached to the comeback. All did deal with some knee soreness during training camp, so the Bengals will be watching closely to see how he responds as the workload ramps up and the season approaches. For a player coming off such a serious injury history, getting back on the field is only part of the story, and Cincinnati will want to know whether the knee holds up once the hits start coming for real. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Newcomer Is Already Emerging As A Defensive Voice
The Bengals captain group for 2026 reflects a defense that is leaning on both familiar faces and fresh arrivals, with DJ Turner, Dexter Lawrence and Bryan Cook joining the leadership mix. Cook stands out in particular. Signed in free agency after helping Kansas City to two Super Bowl titles, the safety has settled in quickly and already earned the respect of teammates and coaches enough to be named one of the teams defensive leaders.
For Cincinnati, that kind of early buy-in matters as much as any play on the field. In his first interview as a captain, Cook talked about his commitment to leading and being a dependable presence on defense, a notable development for a newcomer still learning the ropes in a new locker room. If the Bengals were looking for a player who could bring both experience and authority to a changing unit, Cook appears to be wasting no time making his case. [Read more 🡒]