Walt
I'm going to use these rankings as the order for my 2027 NFL Mock Draft during the early stages of the 2026 season. Follow @walterfootball.
NFL Power Rankings updated Oct. 27, 2026
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San Francisco 49ers (6-1)Team Hub - Previously: 1.
The 49ers got off to a good start against the Falcons, but looked like they ran out of gas in the second half. It didn't help that Christian McCaffrey got hurt and they committed numerous turnovers. This was just a very difficult scheduling spot, playing on a short week across the country without their top three receivers.
If you haven't visited the site in a while, you may have noticed the new look. Yes, after nearly two decades, we've finally re-designed our site to be more modern. This was not done on a whim, but rather out of necessity because of what occurred during the 2023 NFL Draft. Our site crashed during the entire first day of the draft, which was disastrous for our revenue stream because we make more money during the draft than any other time. The site crashed because a line of code conflicted with the old format of the site, so we had to transition to this new look.
Because we lost so much money during the draft, I want to point out that you can really help support the site by paying for the ad-free version of it. It's $8.99 per month, but you'll get a super-fast site with no ads. My developer will be adding new features to paid subscribers as well, so look for that in the near future. If you don't want to pay, please spread the word about the site through word of mouth. That would also be a big help!
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Buffalo Bills (5-1)Team Hub - Previously: 2.
The Bills and Rams played a thriller last Monday night. I thought the Rams would bounce back with a strong Week 6 performance following their loss. Instead, it was the Bills who impressed, going into Las Vegas and winning by 10 before Tre Tucker's deep touchdown catch in the final seconds.
Buffalo is the best team in the conference, but its defense needs to improve. Perhaps the Bills can trade for someone like Budda Baker.
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Los Angeles Rams (3-4)Team Hub - Previously: 4.
It's amazing how much better the Rams can be when they actually try. They put forth no effort against the Cardinals and lost, then responded with a huge performance against the Raiders when their backs were against the wall.
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Seattle Seahawks (4-3)Team Hub - Previously: 8.
The Seahawks had a great victory over the Chiefs. They are just 4-3, but allow me to remind you that they weren't great to start their 2025 season either. They lost to the Buccaneers at home, for example. There's a good chance the Seahawks will once again have momentum down the stretch.
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Chicago Bears (5-2)Team Hub - Previously: 6.
The Bears have scored 30-plus points in all three games Caleb Williams has played in their entirety this year. Ben Johnson said he wanted to set the record for points scored in a single season, but Williams' absence will prevent that from happening. However, with their quarterback back in action, the Bears should be targeting a potential Super Bowl run. It's pretty impressive that the Bears are 5-2 with Williams playing just three full games.
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Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)Team Hub - Previously: 7.
The Jaguars obviously have a lot of talent on their roster, but Liam Coen's dismal coaching will cost them come playoff time once again. I don't know what Coen was thinking by attempting a 60-yard field goal with so much time remaining in regulation. And this wasn't even close to his only horrible decision throughout the morning.
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Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)Team Hub - Previously: 9.
Today's victory over the Ravens mirrored what the Bengals seem to do every season. They start very slowly and then catch fire down the stretch. I had the Bengals winning the Super Bowl in my season previews, and this second-half performance gave me confidence that my selection could be correct. Then again, the win came against Tyler Huntley, so maybe I shouldn't get too excited.
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Baltimore Ravens (4-3)Team Hub - Previously: 3.
You could say the Bengals had the Ravens right where they wanted them when they were down 13-0 at halftime. The Ravens continued their habit of blowing leads, albeit without Lamar Jackson this time. Baltimore can't get Jackson back soon enough, but there's no telling if he'll be 100 percent coming off his ankle sprain.
This ranking assumes Jackson will return this week.
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Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)Team Hub - Previously: 6.
The Chiefs were 5-0 heading into Sunday night because of their cupcake schedule, but they were finally exposed by the Seahawks. Their blocking and pass defense are highly suspect and will be their downfall in January.
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New England Patriots (4-3)Team Hub - Previously: 10.
The Patriots hung tough with the Bears on Thursday night despite missing their top three guards and having Christian Gonzalez play at less than 100 percent. It wasn't a bad loss by any means, and New England can rebound easily against the Dolphins next week.
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Detroit Lions (4-2)Team Hub - Previously: 13.
I like Dan Campbell as a head coach, and I'm usually on board with his fourth-down gambles, but his decision to go for it on fourth down in a tie game near his own end zone was absolutely asinine. It feels like the Lions will lose in the playoffs because of a decision like that.
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Denver Broncos (5-2)Team Hub - Previously: 14.
The Broncos finally faced a defense ranked worse than 13th, and they responded with an offensive outburst. Most importantly, Bo Nix finally showed that he can make plays with his legs on some impressive scrambles. If this persists, it'll be a huge deal for the Broncos entering the second half of the season.
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Houston Texans (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 11.
The Texans dropped teams to 0-3-1 in their first game following a trip to Europe. This needs to be brought to Roger Goodell's attention because it's going to be a major problem if there's a team based in Europe and opponents have to play the following week without a bye.
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Green Bay Packers (4-3)Team Hub - Previously: 15.
Jordan Love was on fire until the very second I bet his over passing yards in the middle of the third quarter. Teams should just hire me to bet against opposing quarterbacks because that's how our live ladders have gone this year, outside of the Carolina-Detroit and Buffalo-L.A. Rams games.
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Minnesota Vikings (6-0)Team Hub - Previously: 12.
The Vikings are 6-0, but they're so difficult to trust. They had issues dispatching the Colts and had trouble pulling away from the Saints and needed Tyler Shough to make multiple mistakes. Granted, the Vikings shot themselves in the foot a couple of times as well. However, when they go up against a great offense, it's going to be difficult for them to engage the opponent in a shootout.
The Vikings have a nightmare of a schedule coming up. In their next four games, they'll have to take on the Lions, Bills, Packers and 49ers. Later in the season, they'll also have to face the Patriots, Lions again and Bears for a second time.
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Carolina Panthers (3-3)Team Hub - Previously: 16.
It turns out that teams do look ahead to certain opponents after all. It was clear that the Panthers didn't put much effort into this week's game because they have a battle against the Packers coming up on Thursday night.
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Atlanta Falcons (3-4)Team Hub - Previously: 17.
The Falcons bounced back nicely from their blowout loss to the Bears. It helped that they had both cornerbacks returning from injury, and it also helped that the 49ers were missing their top three receivers. It's fair to be skeptical about a win against a San Francisco team that was running on fumes. However, it was still a nice performance by the Falcons, who desperately needed to snap their two-game skid.
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Dallas Cowboys (3-4)Team Hub - Previously: 19.
The Cowboys played like crap against the Buccaneers and Packers after performing so well versus Baltimore and Houston prior to their two-game skid. It looked like it would be a repeat of the past two weeks, given all the penalties they committed in the first half against the Eagles, but the Cowboys were much more disciplined in the second half and ran extremely well. Perhaps they've turned their season around.
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Washington Redskins (1-4-1)Team Hub - Previously: 20.
Another week, another coaching gaffe by Dan Quinn, who yelled for this team to go for a field goal after Jayden Daniels foolishly threw the ball away on fourth down. Daniels, meanwhile, looked like he pissed his pants at the prospect of scrambling into a Fred Warner-led linebacker group. The giant wuss ran for only 10 yards in a loss. Pathetic!
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Cleveland Browns (5-2)Team Hub - Previously: 22.
The Browns are now 5-2, but it's difficult to take them seriously given their level of competition. They barely beat Tyler Huntley and the Titans in their past two games. This will be a team to bet against moving forward.
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Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)Team Hub - Previously: 23.
The Steelers earned their fifth victory of the season, but the schedule is about to get much tougher. You can see where they rank in terms of the Remaning NFL Strength of Schedule to see exactly what I'm talking about.
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Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)Team Hub - Previously: 18.
The Raiders have fought hard in many of their games, but they've gotten blown out in two of their past three contests. They've been able to keep their recent games against the Bills and Chiefs to three-point margins, but let's not forget that those results were the byproduct of backdoor covers.
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New York Giants (4-2-1)Team Hub - Previously: 28.
The Giants lost by seven, but they were blown out by the Saints, who benched their starters and allowed J.J. McCarthy to accumulate tons of garbage-time production. So don't be fooled by that final score.
Are people going to be mad at me if I say that J.J. McCarthy was like a bucking bronco when he played for the Vikings? It's a great comparison, as McCarthy was wild with his throws in Minnesota, but has been tamed by John Harbaugh thus far. I imagine dumb people on X are fuming right now.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 25.
Baker Mayfield was rated the worst quarterback in the NFL among qualifiers entering Week 7. Perhaps he won't be at the bottom following the win over the Panthers, but let's not get too confident just yet. After all, he threw just nine passes before the Buccaneers took a 33-6 lead in the third quarter.
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New York Jets (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 21.
What a pathetic performance by the Jets. They had so many opportunities to score in the red zone but couldn't capitalize, and their defense couldn't get off the field in the first half against the lowly Dolphins. The Jets ended up outgaining Miami in both net yards and yards per play, yet still lost in humiliating fashion.
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Indianapolis Colts (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 24.
The Colts showed much better effort against Minnesota this week than they did against Tennessee, but they still ended up losing. Now at 2-5, there's no reason for the Colts not to sell off some of their veteran pieces.
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Arizona Cardinals (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 26.
It wasn't a surprise to see the Cardinals struggle coming off a victory. They basically won the Super Bowl against the Rams the week before, and they couldn't keep up with the Broncos.
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New Orleans Saints (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 27.
It's unclear why the Saints tried to run the ball so much when trailing through the second half in Paris. It was a wasted down every time. The Steelers barely had an answer for Tyler Shough, yet Kellen Moore threw away the game.
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Philadelphia Eagles (2-5)Team Hub - Previously: 29.
The Eagles showed much more fight than I thought they would, given the Jalen Hurts situation. They played their hearts out against the Cowboys, and yet they still lost by 17. This team is horrible.
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Tennessee Titans (1-6)Team Hub - Previously: 30.
The Titans are now 12-30 against the spread since firing Mike Vrabel. They beat the Colts, but needed a comedy of errors from Daniel Jones and Indianapolis' special teams to get the win. There won't be many other victories this year, though they had a chance to defeat the equally crappy Browns.
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San Angeles Chargers (0-6)Team Hub - Previously: 31.
I was asked if I thought Jim Harbaugh would be fired soon, but I think Mike McDaniel will be the one to fall on the sword. Given that the Chargers are heading into their bye week, this could be the time McDaniel is let go following what has been one of the most disappointing coordinator hires I can ever remember.
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Miami Dolphins (1-5)Team Hub - Previously: 32.
Stephen Ross can't be happy about this. The Dolphins won, which puts them out of contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft for now. Sure, they could still end up with the top selection, but the Chargers have the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL, so there's a decent chance they'll finish with a worse record than Miami.
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Group D:
Group F:
2026 NFL MVP Projection:
1. Josh Allen, QB, Bills
2. Brock Purdy, QB, 49ers
3. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs
4. Jordan Love, QB, Packers
5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seahawks
Go to 2027 NFL Mock Draft
NFL Picks - Oct. 31
2027 NFL Mock Draft - Oct. 28
NFL Power Rankings - Oct. 26
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 7
2022 NFL Power Rankings. Week:
Post-Super Bowl Power Rankings |
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Post-NFL Draft Power Rankings |
Post-Preseason Power Rankings |
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2021 NFL Power Rankings. Week: Post-Super Bowl Power Rankings | Preseason Power Rankings | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Playoffs |
2020 NFL Power Rankings. Week: Post-Super Bowl Power Rankings 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Playoffs |
2021 NFL Power Rankings. Week: Post-Super Bowl Power Rankings | Preseason Power Rankings | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Playoffs |
2020 NFL Power Rankings. Week: Post-Super Bowl Power Rankings 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Playoffs |
Charlie Campbell
teerible
Walt, why are the 6-0, division-leading Vikings ranked 15th? I get they’ve had shaky wins but they beat both the Bears and the Packers who you have ranked above them. Sure, Kyler Murray is kinda bad, but their defense shut down Caleb Williams and Jordan Love. Yeah, I get it’s hard to trust defensively led teams, but at a certain point you have to make it make sense.
He will always make excuses for their wins and completely ignore them. Once they lose a game he will act like that’s the proof he’s been right all along. But teams that he wants to do well like the Rams he will completely ignore every loss and just say they weren’t trying so I’m gonna act like the game never happened. Hahaha. The absolute biggest joke of a power rankings. I’ll give it to him though because I check his rankings every week just to see the worst rankings imaginable for a laugh.
Walt,
As a Browns fan, even though I find myself completely disagreeing with some of your takes, I want to thank you for calling out this team, specifically the offense, for what it is. If it wasn’t for our defense, there’s a good chance that we’re winless through 6 games. Four late game comeback wins, each in the final minute of low scoring games, does not fill me with much confidence for this season and I’m DEATHLY scared of the possibility that we may resign Watson (which imo should get AB fired if that happens, and I’m a BIG supporter of his, even through his first few years as our GM).
Fortunately, he has drafted very well over these past 2 drafts and one more good draft (that involves getting a new QB) would put as among the contenders for the AFC North. I think he’s starting to settle in as our longterm GM, but that’s as long as he avoids the urge to make stupid decisions.
Not sure if I like Monken longterm, but he has done a great job despite the disaster he has in his QB room. Overall, he’s been a boon to this team, especially the younger players.
Rutenberg looks like a good DC, but how much of it is his input vs what Schwartz already put in place????
The defense looks legit, but where you have this team ranked is pretty accurate imo because of the shotgun only offense that they have to run due to this team not being able to move on from Watson. The sooner they come to terms with that, the better.
Sanders is not the answer either, but I’d rather watch him try to prove everyone wrong (he likely won’t) than watch a “woe is me” guy who blames everyone but himself for his issues.
You do the same thing every year. You obviously want the Rams to win so they can prove you right so every single time they lose you make an excuse for it (they only lost due to some bad calls or they only lost because the other team got lucky or my favorite…. they didn’t even try to win.) So you completely ignore the fact they lost because of whatever excuse you reach for that week and keep them at the same spot. Then teams like KC and Minnesota who you obviously don’t like you just ignore all their wins because of the same kinda excuses (the other team gained more yards so they should have lost so I’m going to act like they lost) and punish them for winning just because you don’t like them. Wins and losses carry more weight than your excuses.
Ah darn, you got me. I really want the Rams to win because they’re paying me to have them rated highly in these power rankings. They could go 0-17 and I’ll have them in the top five. KC and MIN go 17-0? No way are they in the top five!
This is my first time here and.. wow. The Ravens aren’t 3-2 first off and this is the only ranking that doesn’t put them in the top 10. I think you might have smoked something before you made this list. Not to mention there were some very valid points made in the comments as well that the writer seems to lash out at with childish responses instead of poised and thought out replies. Definitely wouldn’t recommend using this site, my lord.
I find that extremely offensive. I may lash out, but I definitely don’t do so in childish fashion. I’m beginning to think you’re the childish one
What exactly do you mean by “struggling to pull away”? The Vikings won by 10 and knelt it out. They outgained their opponent by ~200 yards and held one of the NFL’s leading passers in Shough to under 100 yards. They didn’t rely on mistakes, they forced mistakes with tons of pressure. Having the Bears who they beat and the lions who have arguably the worst defense in the league both over them is impossible to defend.
It was a one-score game most of the day
Don’t waste your time trying to understand this clown. Actual wins and losses mean nothing to him. He goes by cherry picked stats that will fit the narrative he wants. Minnesota is one of the teams he doesn’t like so whenever they win he’ll search for some stat or mistake that he can blame it on and ignore the win. He does the same with KC. Then he has teams like the Rams that he does the opposite when they lose. This is more of a list of which teams he likes than it is a power rankings.
I have a suggestion. If you really want to see rankings based on wins and losses, you can go to NFL.com and click on standings. That’ll give you exactly what you want!
I remember this site back in the day, right now just found a random link to it and decided to visit it, but damnnnnnn! How can you take a site seriously that won’t even update team names and logos even though it’s been years?
Shows the owner is stuck in his ways and is inflexible and biased with his thoughts. If you can’t adapt, than you can’t see actual changes, it’s no wonder these rankings look like they been pulled out of a hat.
I’m guessing you’re referring to the Redskins. Sorry to hear that you hate Native Americans so much that you want to remove their imagery!
Where do you have the Giants Ranked about 15. You have the Jets ranked over the Giants. Who biased joke.
“Who biased joke?” Bernard, the only joke here is the public school system
Wow, Walt, did you criticize Trump and I didn’t see it? Some of these guys act like MAGAs do with all that hate when you point out valid things their cult leader did wrong. Anyway, I think there MIGHT be some validity to you letting whether you like teams or not affect your rankings of them. I think it does with the Chiefs, anyway. They should be top 3 being undefeated this year and Mahomes back to playing well again. As far as not blowing other teams out, they rarely did that even in their Super Bowl winning seasons. I don’t know why, they always seem to let inferior teams keep it close until they pull it out in the end. But then they DO pull it out in exciting fashion. That’s why they are fun to watch. Of course, I am also letting my love for them affect my rankings, but they have been an incredibly successful franchise in the Mahomes era. Last year was a fluke.
Don’t be shocked if the Bucs wind up with Arch Manning/Darian Mensah/Dante Moore next April. Baker’s new contract is moveable in 2028 (~$50 in cap savings) so he can be an expensive bridge for 1 year
List of overrated teams:
-Cleveland Browns
-Las Vegas Raiders
-Pittsburgh Steelers
-Minnesota Vikings
-New York Giants
-Detroit Lions
List of underrated teams:
-Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even if you’re not going to include them. They could easily be 3-1 right now.
-Cincinnati Bengals
-New England Patriots
-Atlanta Falcons
-Dallas Cowboys, for once.
Until further notice, I am DONE with Walter football.com. I used to be a regular visitor, but lack of quality and clownish “hot takes” have earned y’all this. Everyone don’t waste your time closing ads just to waste more time reading a subpar article. Go to YouTube. Better quality and more entertaining than the mess they put out here!
We actually have the best power rankings in the business. Sorry to hear that I hurt your feelings by ranking your team too low!
“The Broncos are 2-1, but they got outgained by the Rams, 482-257 in net yards and averaged only 4.3 yards per play compared to the Rams’ 5.9. The officials gave Denver the victory on a silver platter with a bogus interception at the end.”
Damn!!! You sound big mad!!! Do you want a cookie????
This guy is a complete clown. He has teams he doesn’t like and when this teams win all he does is go to the box score and search for something that the other team did better and say they should have lost because of that. Then he always throws in some bad calls. He’s the complete opposite with the teams he likes. Looks for any stat that he can point to and say they should have won because of this stat and again throws in the blaming the refs for the loss.
You are 1000% correct. This whole website has clown vibes!
Sorry I hurt your feelings when I ranked your team too low, Sean. If you have an actual case to make about a team, I’m all ears
I really do enjoy coming here every season to get a good laugh. It’s always so obvious as to which teams you like and which teams you don’t. The teams you do like you always make excuses for their losses (“if not for some bad calls they would have won”) and the ones you don’t you always make excuses for their wins (“if not for some bad calls this team would have lost”) and if you didn’t do it for the same teams every year somebody might actually believe you
The Bills being named the best team in the AFC after that Detroit demolition feels right — it was as complete a performance as I’ve seen from them, and they made it look easy. I can’t get on the Rams for losing in Australia either, because that kind of travel genuinely drains you before the game even starts, no matter the roster. I’d been messing around on https://1dollardeposit.com before this and honestly, this breakdown was a far better use of my attention span.
I love this time of the season. Walt’s NFL Power Rankings come into first contact with the season. Not an easy business. I guess the Rams may have been a tad high, Seattle a tad low…maybe (TBD), 49ers a tad low. Patriots probably at the right spot.