​The Seattle Seahawks have consistently been regarded as a top-five squad entering the offseason, and with training camp rapidly approaching, their status among the NFL’s elite remains intact. Bleacher Report’s NFL analysts—Gary Davenport, Kris Knox, Maurice Moton, and Brent Sobleski—placed Seattle at No. 2 in their power rankings for the 2026 season before the camp gets underway. Davenport captured the mood, saying, “The Seahawks are now the hunted. Kings of the proverbial mountain. … Seattle won’t be relinquishing that throne without a fight, either.” He noted that while last year’s No. 1 defense in points allowed had some losses, there was little reason to anticipate a dramatic defensive decline. Seattle benefits from having the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in Jaxson Smith-Njigba and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Sam Darnold, which helps maintain their offense’s formidable reputation.
The landscape around Seattle, however, features several strong challengers. The Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers—both fellow members of the NFC West—have strengthened their rosters, presenting constant pressure for the Seahawks to defend their standing. Beyond the division, teams such as the Detroit Lions, the Denver Broncos, and the Buffalo Bills loom as potential threats capable of contending for the title in 2026. Even squads with uncertainties surrounding them, like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, are anticipated to generate noise in the race toward the Super Bowl next season.
Despite the shifting dynamics across the league, Seattle has largely kept intact the core that propelled them during their Super Bowl-winning run in 2025. The continuity of their championship core provides a meaningful advantage when measured against many of the league’s best teams, suggesting that Seattle is well-positioned to compete at the highest level in 2026. This assessment, reflecting a blend of historical performance and the current personnel landscape, underlines why Seattle’s status as one of the top teams in football endures as the offseason unfolds. This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks soar in Bleacher Report’s 2026 power rankings for better SEO.