Tonight is the night its all starting, football is BACK. We have the Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys taking on the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Philadelphia Eagles. These predictions were specifically requested by some of my friends, and who am I to disappoint my loyal blog followers. Full disclosure I picked the Jets to win the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in week 1 two years ago. I’m not even good at this.

I also only had about 30 minutes to whip this up, so these aren’t going to be the most in-depth predictions, but I’ll go through all the major awards as well as each division and give my thoughts on the upcoming season. Let’s start with my division winners and playoff matchups:

I’m utilizing this awesome tool to help pick each individual matchup.

I think it’s the same exact top three in the AFC with Buffalo squeaking out the 1-seed for the first time. With the Chiefs getting the Eagles, Ravens, Lions and Commanders all at home this season, I think Kansas City takes care of business in the AFC West. The AFC South is the wildest division to me. All four of those teams have a bunch of question marks. As you can see, the Bengals just missed out on the postseason at 9-8 for the second consecutive season. The Las Vegas Raiders also finish 9-8 but 4th in the AFC West.

In my opinion, the Philadelphia Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC. Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Bucs are right there in these predictions. The NFC West is loaded with talent that is relatively similar. The Arizona Cardinals are a team to watch as they drastically improved the defense in the offseason.

Some notable playoff matchups here, as the Harbaugh’s face off in the first round of the playoffs on the AFC side, and the Green Bay Packers take on Davante Adams and Los Angeles Rams. Only two new playoff teams join from last year’s playoffs, with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers losing in the opening round.

High level rematches in the second round of the playoffs including two divisional matchups on the NFC side and the Baltimore Ravens upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

Ultimately, the season boils down to the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles playing for Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara. I think Josh Allen is an incredible player, but the Eagles are on a different level. It’s back-to-back Super Bowls for Travis Kelce’s brother-in-law’s former team.

Now let’s get into the season awards:

Lamar Jackson – Losing out on home field advantage lends to another exit from the playoffs before the Super Bowl, but this dude is generational. Nobody can do what he does on a football field.

Saquon Barkley – Running behind that offensive line all the way to another Super Bowl appearance. It’s back-to-back OPOY’s for the former New York Giants running back.

Jared Verse – The 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year takes the next step and becomes one of the best defensive football players in the game. He was my top-rated defensive player in the 2024 class.

Penei Sewell – One of the best offensive tackle prospects I can remember ever evaluating ends up being the first winner of the Protector of the Year award.

Omarion Hampton – Hampton was easily the RB2 in the 2025 NFL Draft class, with some putting him in the same tier as Ashton Jeanty. I think Hampton’s pass catching ability earns him this award.

Mykel Williams – This dude is an absolute beast, and Robert Salah re-joining San Fran was one of the best moves of the offseason. Look for that defense to be much improved, led by Williams.

Aiden Hutchinson – I think Hutch narrowly misses out on DPOY but after an injury ended his 2024 season, he’s firmly in line to win the CPOY award in 2025.

Sean McDermott – Unseating the Kansas City Chiefs will be no easy task, but in week 9 Buffalo hosts KC in a game that not only has playoff seeding implications but also could determine this award.

Here’s how the 2026 NFL Draft Order would look if I were to get every single game right:

Pre Free Agency 2-Round Mock Draft

Post Combine 3-Round Mock Draft

AFC West Mock Draft: Raiders Take QB #1