episode

Predictions for Every AFC Team in 2026

Austin Gayle, Steven Ruiz, and Diante Lee shine a light on every division in the AFC conference and speculate on possible outcomes for each team in the upcoming 2026 NFL season.
Host: Austin Gayle 
Guests: Steven Ruiz and Diante Lee 
Producer: Chris Sutton 
Video Editor: Stefano Sanchez 
Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell

Austin Gayle writes about the NFL, surviving horror movies, raw-dogging flights, and other weird stuff. He’s The Ringer’s audience engagement manager (big numbers guy) and a 10-year Oakland Raiders season-ticket holder who still thinks about Derek Carr’s leg every Christmas.

Austin Gayle

Diante Lee joined The Ringer as an NFL writer and podcaster in 2024. Before that, he served as a staff writer at The Athletic, covering the NFL and college football. He currently coaches at the high school level in his hometown of San Diego.

Diante Lee

Steven Ruiz has been an NFL analyst and QB ranker at The Ringer since 2021. He’s a D.C. native who roots for all the local teams except for the Commanders. As a child, he knew enough ball to not pick the team owned by Dan Snyder—but not enough to avoid choosing the Panthers.

Steven Ruiz

Best-, worst-, and weirdest-case scenarios for every AFC team in 2026

Video

The Ringer NFL Show

Scenario Predictions for Every AFC Team in 2026

The Ringer

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Scenario Predictions for Every AFC Team in 2026

Hosts

About the episode

Summary