Ty's 2026 NFL Preview: "Crosseyed and Painless" Division

Hello and welcome back to my preseason NFL countdown. We are on day six and this is the part of the list where the teams get real good. They should all fight for playoff contention, depending on health, and some are legit title contenders.

Coming in at number 12 I have the Cincinnati Bengals. This team has all of the talent in the world, but they can never seem to stay healthy when it matters most, and the head coach crumbles when he is needed most. Joe Burrow is an established franchise QB. The Bengals have done all they could, in the front office, to give him the team he needs to win. Chase Brown has become a very reliable and solid running back. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield too. Ja’Marr Chase is the best wideout in all of football. He runs the best routes, has the best hands, is one of the fastest players in the NFL and he is worth every penny that they're paying him. Tee Higgins is a great number 2 option as well. Mike Gesicki is a decent tight end. And, where the o line used to be the issue, they are now one of the better units in the league. This offense is one of the most elite when they have everyone they need on the field. Burrow has legit MVP talent, Chase is always open and Brown is a upper tier running back. The defense could be an issue. Trey Hendrickson is gone. Jessie Bates was let go in free agency a few years ago. They do still have Dax Hill, and he is a solid safety. They also traded for Dexter Lawrence, who is a very good interior d lineman. They also brought in DJ Turner from LA, and he is going to get every opportunity to start here. The linebacking corps leaves a ton to be desired. The rest of the d line is lacking, outside of Lawrence as well. The Bengals should be a top tier AFC team, but their injury history and head coach scare me a bit too much. I did have them in the Super Bowl in my preseason NFL predictor website I do, but that was with the assumption of good to great health. That also doesn't take into account who the coach is as well. Time will tell, but the Bengals have all the talent to be awesome.

At number 11 I have the Detroit Lions. This feels like the last best shot with this roster and this team. Dan Campbell is a good coach, but he needs to be great. Jared Goff is a very good game manager, but they need him to do a little more for this team to be truly elite and not fumble in the playoffs. Jahmyr Gibbs is awesome. He is such a versatile and amazing running back. They struck gold when they drafted him a few years back, and they made the right pick when they chose Gibbs over David Montgomery, who is still very productive. Amon Ra St Brown is very good. He has been solid and gotten better every season he has been in the NFL. He makes Goff look like a legit franchise QB. Jameson Williams is so fast and has very solid hands. Sam La Porta has been a nice replacement for TJ Hockenson. The o line might be the best in all of football, and they're led by Penei Sewell, who is probably the best tackle in football. The defense is okay, but not elite. Aidan Hutchinson is awesome. He is one of the better edge rushers in the NFL. He also fully came back from his torn ACL and looked like himself last season. Jack Campbell is a tackling machine. And DJ Reed is a decent corner. But they have let some good players go in free agency and they have not replaced them with superstar talent. The Lions should be very competitive. They do play in a very tough division, but this team feels like it is on their last legs. They need to have a good year or they may be making some massive changes next offseason.

At number 10 I have the Green Bay Packers. Jordan Love has been a fine starting QB, but he hasn't blown me away just yet. He can make some nice throws from time to time, but he also makes some wild decisions and throws some wild interceptions. Josh Jacobs is a good running back, even elite, but he has some off field stuff he has to deal with, and he has to deal with it quickly. The wideout corps is filled with number 2 and 3 wideouts. They do not have a true number 1. Christian Watson is good, but not great. Jayden Reed is a fine slot receiver. Matthew Golden is fast, but very small. Tucker Kraft is an okay enough tight end. The o line is always solid, but not as good as they have been in the past. I'm going to miss Rashan Gary. He was so good and I feel he is even underrated. He produced and had managed to stay on the field the past few seasons. They do still have Micah Parsons and he is the best edge rusher in the NFL. But he is also coming off a torn ACL, and it happened late last season. He might miss some extended time to start the season, and that stinks. The secondary is okay, but they tend to give up way too many passing yards and blow leads from time to time. I have no faith in Lukas Van Ness as Gary's replacement. Javonte Wyatt is an okay interior d lineman, but not elite yet. And I do like Edgerrin Cooper at linebacker. The Packers have overperformed the past few seasons, but that has only amounted to early playoff exits. I am curious to see how this season plays out, but I'm not very optimistic as of right now. I hope they prove me wrong again.

The final team for the day, coming in at number 9 I have the Kansas City Chiefs. I do think the Chiefs run is over. It was bad last year, but that was due to injuries. Now they have some off field stuff they have to deal with as well. Patrick Mahomes is a Hall of Fame QB. He has some of the best numbers ever for a QB. He is fun to watch. But he tore his ACL, he is not fully healed yet and he will need some time to fully recover before he comes back. They did bring in Kenneth Walker, and that was a great move by this front office. He is coming off a Super Bowl MVP and he will help take the load off of Mahomes and the wideouts. Xavier Worthy is awesome. He is the fastest player in the NFL and he is going to make plenty of highlight plays this season. Travis Kelce is back, newly married and has put up some nice highlight plays in preseason practice so far. But he should have retired a few years ago. The o line is still very good and constantly gets help from the refs, so they can do whatever they want it seems. George Karlaftis and Chris Jones make for one hell of a pass rushing duo. Those two dudes are legitimately awesome. Nick Bolton is such a solid linebacker. He is so consistent and reliable. L'Jarius Sneed is a solid secondary guy. But they are starting to look a little thin after that. The Chiefs had a great run. This version of the team will go down as one of the best to do it. But time comes for everyone, and that is what it feels like is happening right now. They still have it in them to do one more run, like the Golden State Warriors a few years back. But this is it for this team, and I do think that will make them play above their talent this season.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next  four teams. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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