Nick Wright's Way-Too-Early 2026 NFL Tiers: Where Does Your Team Land?
It's never too soon to start thinking about football! The 2025-26 NFL season concluded on Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. Three days later, FOX Sports' Nick Wright is looking ahead to next season. What does Wright expect for your team? Here are his Way-Too-Early 2026 Tiers Death Spiral Teams: Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets Explanation: "I just don't know how these teams extract themselves from where they're at right now." One Playoff Team? Teams: New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants Explanation: "Odds are yes, among these six that one gets in." Their Fans Believe Teams: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts Explanation: "Fans of all three of these teams think, ‘we’re going to the playoffs.'" Anxious Offseason Teams: Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Explanation: "That offseason will lead to an anxious regular season." They're Actually the Same Teams: Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys Explanation: "They both have owners that are a hindrance to winning. They both have statically prolific quarterbacks. They both have excellent wide receiver duos. They both have defensive plans of — it probably won't be worse, huh?" Just Enough to Make You Believe Team: Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans Explanation: "Deep down, all of us feel Dan Campbell was right, that the Lions best chance was two years ago in the NFC Championship game. And the 9ers are always going to be injured. And the playoffs are going to still be a thing that happens at the regular season for herbert. And what's going on with CJ Stroud." Was It a Fluke? Teams: New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens Explanation: "Was the 2025 season a fluke, is the question both these teams have." JV Seahawks/Rams Teams: Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears Explanation: "They hope to become varsity. These teams played three games this year, they were all three epics, they all three came down to the wire. The team that won the first then lost the last two, including the playoffs." Finally, the Hunters Teams: Kansas City Chiefs Explanation: "Now I get it. You make seven straight conference championship games, you win the most games, and you have one bad year. That was not simply due to the quarterback being hurt — they were bad before the quarterback got hurt — and all of a sudden, a 30-year-old quarterback in his prime, who is universally accepted as at worst the third-greatest quarterback of all time, they're old news. Not sure why. Not sure what the argument is. But what I do know is, they're the hunters, not the hunted." Can They Break Through? Teams: Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonviller Jaguars Explanation: "They all had a chance this playoffs… Can they this year, finally?" Closer Than You Thought Teams: Los Angeles Rams Explanation: "The Rams have maybe been a play away from, not only winning a playoff game, but beating a team that no one else came close to." The Champs Teams: Seattle Seahawks Explanation: "The Seahawks are literally the champs, and they don't have their quarterback retiring, they don't have major guys we expect to leave."