It’s the quiet time of 12 months within the NFL. No coaching camps, no video games, typically no large trades or free agent signings. There’s rather a lot to look ahead to, and because the reigning Tremendous Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks sit atop the mountain till Week 1 of the common season. At that time it’s a clean slate and all groups are on an excellent taking part in area vying for the prize. With staff adjustments, odds on who will win the subsequent Lombardi being calculated in Las Vegas, the place do all of the the groups rank going into the brand new season? Let’s discover out!
How the ability rankings had been created
For the Hawks Eye Podcast with Bryce Coutts, Bryce and I needed to create a Preseason Energy Rankings that was as unbiased as doable. It could have in mind some stats from the 2025 season, and use a pair statistics that might look to the brand new season. That means, even when we don’t agree with the outcomes, it might begin conversations. Listed here are the markers we selected utilizing: Vegas Tremendous Bowl odds, DVOA, EPA, and Energy of Schedule.
How does Las Vegas calculate the Tremendous Bowl odds? They begin by statistical energy rankings, then they add reside betting market knowledge to these statistical energy rankings to steadiness monetary legal responsibility. The oddsmakers in Las Vegas will consider every staff’s metrics, historic knowledge, participant accidents. All through the preseason, the common season, and playoffs, they may tweak the strains to make it as correct as doable and reduce their danger. The present odds have the Seahawks because the third probably to make the Tremendous Bowl, although on the time of making the ability rankings they had been second.
What’s DVOA? DVOA stands for Protection-adjusted Worth Over Common. It was created by FTN Fantasy’s Aaron Schatz, and it’s a metric that evaluates each a staff and participant effectivity. DVOA compares each single play to the league common, adjusting as wanted for down, distance, area place, and the energy of the opposing groups protection. The extra constructive the rating proportion, the higher for offense and complete DVOA. In case you had been to take a look at protection DVOA rating, the extra detrimental the rating proportion, the higher. The Seahawks had been the primary complete DVOA staff in 2025 with a 41.3% DVOA rating.
EPA, or Anticipated Factors Added, is a metric that measures how a lot worth a play provides to an offense’s scoring potential. They base the metric on historic knowledge akin to down, distance, and area place, very similar to DVOA. They offer each state of affairs a degree worth for the likeliness of the offense’s scoring potential. On offense for 2025, the Seahawks ranked fifteenth in EPA, and on protection they ranked second.
How is energy of schedule decided? They mix the win percentages of the groups opponents from the earlier season. Seahawks have the nineteenth hardest schedule primarily based on this metric.
The preseason energy rankings
Based mostly on the entire metrics listed, the Seahawks are heading into the 2026 season ranked second proper behind the Rams. The offensive and defensive EPA rankings is what in the end had the Seahawks ranked slightly below the Rams, who had the tenth ranked protection and second ranked offense in comparison with the Seahawks fifteenth ranked offense and second ranked protection.
In case you had been to say you’ll have the Seahawks ranked first since they’re the Tremendous Bowl champions and beat the Rams two out of their three matches, that might be completely honest. Based mostly on the aggregated metrics we used, the Seahawks are the underdogs proper behind the Rams, which inserts the theme of the Seahawks being underestimated. How intently will this rating be to the tip of the common season? We must see. For the common season, Bryce and I can be utilizing EPA, Professional Soccer Networks stats, DVOA, and level differential, and enter the info every week to replace the ability rankings.
If you need to see Bryce and I talk about these outcomes, be happy to observe the overview right here.
