The start of June marks 100 days until the beginning of the 2026 NFL regular season. And the past few months of team-building have given us plenty to look forward to in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the offseason, organizations have tirelessly worked to better their standing, with many hiring new coaching staffs and all<\/em> retooling their rosters via free agency\/trade\/draft. No matter the approach, franchises have given their respective fan bases reason to believe ahead of the 2026 campaign. So, we ask the question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which buzz-generating team do you believe in most<\/em> for the 2026 season?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Cincinnati Bengals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cincinnati enters the season with the longest-tenured coach, best receiving corps and most recent Super Bowl appearance in the AFC North. Yes, the Bengals are coming off a 6-11 campaign, but they only had\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0for eight games, going 5-3 in those contests. The defensive additions — headlined by\u00a0Dexter Lawrence\u00a0— and a healthy,\u00a0headstrong\u00a0Burrow have Cincy sizzling with high expectations. The Bengals boast winning DNA. It’s time for that to show up on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Dallas Cowboys<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I ask, with much trepidation, is it the Cowboys\u2019 year? After giving up the most points in the league in 2025, Dallas completely rebuilt its defense, swinging trades for players like\u00a0Rashan Gary\u00a0and\u00a0Dee Winters\u00a0and using\u00a0two\u00a0<\/em>first-round picks on that side of the ball: taking safety\u00a0Caleb Downs\u00a0at No. 11 overall and pass rusher\u00a0Malachi Lawrence\u00a0at No. 23. The Cowboys also nabbed an important Eagles coach, Christian Parker, to serve as their defensive coordinator. With a potent offense and finally a (mostly)\u00a0drama-free offseason, a turnaround feels imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: New York Giants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Giants have a challenging schedule with some really tough road tests, but I think this outfit is far better than the four-win team Big Blue fielded in 2025.\u00a0Jaxson Dart\u00a0and an emerging offense could be above average, especially if\u00a0Malik Nabers\u00a0is ready to go. The Giants’ defense, even without\u00a0Dexter Lawrence, has a strong lot of talent. John Harbaugh appears reenergized, and I expect him to make the G-Men playoff contenders in Year 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pick: Chicago Bears<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the purposes of this debate, I’m counting the Bears as “buzzy” because of how hot they were from November on last year, with\u00a0Caleb Williams\u00a0and Ben Johnson giving Chicagoans legitimate hope that their team\u00a0finally<\/em>\u00a0has the superpowered QB-head coach combo that every fan base dreams of. There are legitimate reasons to fear a regression, namely the likelihood that the Bears won’t pull off so many miracle comebacks and lucky-bounce takeaways again. The scariest issue is the step-down on the O-line, with left tackle\u00a0Ozzy Trapilo’s torn patellar tendon and center Drew Dalman’s abrupt retirement leaving\u00a0key vacancies up front. Potential spottiness in that unit is not something to just hand-wave away, knowing how much it seemed to impact Williams as a rookie. Then again, as Football Challenges go, that might seem easy to Johnson after leading the Bears to their first playoff win since January of 2011. The offense was a legit powerhouse from Week 9 on, ranking fourth in the NFL in EPA per play (0.06), in the vicinity of true contenders like the Rams (No. 1), Patriots (No. 2) and 49ers (No. 3). The key performers on that side of the ball (Colston Loveland,\u00a0Rome Odunze,\u00a0Luther Burden III,\u00a0D’Andre Swift,\u00a0Kyle Monangai) are all back. I feel comfortable buying in on that unit to drive the bus again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Baltimore Ravens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ravens often felt like they were on the cusp of a Super Bowl breakthrough in the John Harbaugh-Lamar Jackson\u00a0era, but they continuously fell short, even missing the playoffs entirely in 2025. This offseason brought about major change with a new head coach in Jesse Minter, whose presence the franchise quarterback called\u00a0“a breath of fresh air.”\u00a0Baltimore also filled key holes in free agency (edge rusher\u00a0Trey Hendrickson, guard\u00a0John Simpson) and the draft (guard\u00a0Olaivavega Ioane, edge rusher\u00a0Zion Young). I like the roster moves, but ultimately, I believe it’s the change at the top that will rejuvenate this group to produce positive results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Dallas Cowboys<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t have a discussion about teams generating buzz without the Cowboys. OK, to be fair, Jerry Jones\u2019 hype factory has been more reserved than usual this offseason. But I\u2019m still here\u00a0gassin’ up the \u2018Boys\u00a0because Lucy\u2019s holding the football,\u00a0imploring me to kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why hitch my wagon to\u00a0The Star? I could point to the offensive firepower or extol the defensive overall. I could also just admit that I fall for the Dallas delusion every few years. But frankly, this isn\u2019t entirely about the Cowboys themselves. I think the NFC East is there for the taking. The Eagles remain talented but temperamental; the Commanders haven\u2019t supported\u00a0Jayden Daniels\u00a0with the most inspiring weaponry; and the Giants are transitioning to a new head coach. So, I like the Cowboys to take the divisional crown. But can they get beyond the Divisional Round? That\u2019s the question, isn\u2019t it? After all, it\u2019s been three decades since Dallas reached Championship Sunday. Well \u2026\u00a0Thirty-first<\/em>\u00a0time\u2019s the charm!<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Cincinnati Bengals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bengals have had a busy offseason retooling their defense. Instead of using the No. 10 overall pick in April\u2019s draft, Cincinnati acquired defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to\u00a0immediately<\/em>\u00a0upgrade a struggling unit. The Bengals also added DT\u00a0Jonathan Allen, pass rusher\u00a0Boye Mafe\u00a0and veteran safeties\u00a0Bryan Cook\u00a0and\u00a0Kyle Dugger. All of Cincy\u2019s moves have Joe Burrow\u00a0optimistic, claiming this is the\u00a0\u201cmost talented roster\u201d\u00a0he\u2019s been on. The Bengals have me believing in the quick turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PICK: Los Angeles Rams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Offseason hype isn\u2019t always the greatest thing. Teams can garner attention in a variety of ways, but those who are talking the most in the spring are often those with new coaches and high draft picks. Browns QB\u00a0competition, anyone? Raiders rebuilding (again).\u00a0Titans\u00a0and\u00a0Giants\u00a0starting another new era. There\u2019s been buzz aplenty regarding the Rams, though. They made one of the biggest moves of the entire offseason,\u00a0trading\u00a0for two-time Defensive Player of the Year\u00a0Myles Garrett. And that’s not all; the Rams\u00a0drafted\u00a0Ty Simpson\u00a0in the first round,\u00a0traded for\u00a0Trent McDuffie\u00a0and signed him to a bank-busting extension. Los Angeles has also dealt with some\u00a0Puka Nacua\u00a0controversy,\u00a0Davante Adams\u00a0trade rumblings\u00a0and discourse regarding Sean McVay\u2019s\u00a0post-draft mood. But this squad’s a Super Bowl favorite for a reason. After barely losing\u00a0a riveting NFC title bout\u00a0to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks, L.A. returns a team stocked with talent, including a vastly improved defensive backfield that was a glaring weakness last season. Led by reigning MVP\u00a0Matthew Stafford, the Rams are experienced, talented and hungry, a team set up to be\u00a0Super Bowl or bust<\/em>. Bring on the expectations and scrutiny — it\u2019s time to jump on the Rams express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The start of June marks 100 days until the beginning of the 2026 NFL regular season. And the past few months of team-building have given us plenty to look forward to in the fall. Throughout the offseason, organizations have tirelessly worked to better their standing, with many hiring new coaching staffs and all retooling their rosters via […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409600,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409599\/revisions\/409600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}