NFL Week 7 Running Shoe Power Rankings
10/21/26 • 5 minute read
Six weeks into the season, the NFL has three undefeated teams, two winless ones, and a preseason Super Bowl favorite sitting at 2-4. The 49ers are still on top, the Chargers are 0-6, and the Rams dropped twelve spots in a single week. Not many people had that on their bingo card.
That’s the football, but this is a blog about running shoes. So we’ll give you our NFL Running Shoe Week 7 Power Rankings, based on the Vomero 18 from Nike, which Nike has made for all 32 franchises in their team colors.
1. San Francisco 49ers (6-0)
Last week: No. 1. Movement: none.
The 49ers hold the top spot, but it got tight. San Francisco flirted with an epic collapse against Washington before the same battered defensive line sacked Jayden Daniels in the final moments to bury the Commanders’ comeback bid. The ending might make some people question the Niners at No. 1, but they were dominant earlier, they’re undefeated and they keep the throne.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 49ers is red on top with a gold ZoomX midsole and the logo on the lateral collar. A good look for a team that finishes the job.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)
Last week: No. 2. Movement: none.
Another week, another job taken care of. The Chiefs ran into some red-zone issues against the Chargers and Patrick Mahomes threw an interception, but Sunday gave the expected result. Kenneth Walker III remains one of the most valuable players in the NFL, if not the most valuable, and he was in top form coming off the bye week.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Chiefs goes red with a gold midsole, ZoomX again underneath, and the logo on the collar. Red-zone trouble is a problem for the offense and not for the shoe, which has no red zone. A clean look for the No. 2 team.
3. Buffalo Bills (5-1)
Last week: No. 6. Movement: up three.
Buffalo keeps living on the edge and emerging victorious. This team is flawed, but with Josh Allen functioning as a fix-all for the offense, the problems keep proving irrelevant. Sunday’s game could easily have been a loss, and it took a timely turnover and some late James Cook heroics to seal it. It’s not a trustworthy brand of football, but it’s working, and we can’t dispute the results.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Bills is royal blue with a red midsole. The Bills climbed three spots and the shoe’s ranking didn’t move. It has never turned the ball over, which is easy when you’ve never had it. Underfoot it rides like the Niners and the Chiefs, which is a coincidence we’ll come back to.
4. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Last week: No. 7. Movement: up three.
The Vikings climbed without playing a down. They were on a bye, and the jump came from movement around them. The defense is elite and on a path toward a place in history, and the offense started to figure things out before the week off, which sets up a very interesting month.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Vikings is purple with gold. Minnesota rose three spots without playing a game. The shoe had a quiet week too. Four teams in, nothing underfoot has changed.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
Last week: No. 5. Movement: none.
The Jaguars’ high-scoring loss to the Texans at Wembley was one of the best games of the season so far. Two division rivals battled for four quarters, and Jacksonville erased a 10-point deficit before losing on a last-second play. Travis Hunter’s two-way ability is finally adding significant value.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Jaguars is black with a teal midsole. Jacksonville lost on the last play and still held at No. 5. Travis Hunter plays both ways. The shoe plays one way, and it’s the same way it played last week.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (3-2)
Last week: No. 9. Movement: up three.
Another team climbs after a bye week thanks to others falling down the ladder. Cincinnati isn’t close to a finished product, but its stellar defensive front is propping up the rest of Al Golden’s unit. Next up is a showdown with the rival Ravens in Baltimore.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Bengals is orange with a black swoosh and a black midsole. Cincinnati travels to Baltimore next, which means the same shoe will be on both sidelines. Six teams in, we’re running low on new things to say about it.
7. New England Patriots (4-2)
Last week: No. 10. Movement: up three.
New England has gone from a disconcerting mess to a professional outfit, improving weekly on defense and benefitting from Drake Maye’s return to prominence. A.J. Brown was a bit rusty in his return, but we love the trajectory.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Patriots is navy with a red midsole. The Patriots’ season has changed direction, and the shoe’s hasn’t. It doesn’t need a return to form because it never left it, and the Vomero 18 you can buy today is the one you could have bought when New England was struggling.
8. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
Last week: No. 4. Movement: down four.
Baltimore lost to the Browns and fell four spots, but it could have been worse: the Ravens have played their last two games with a backup quarterback. The Tyler Huntley-led offense petered out after its first two possessions, which shows how much the team depends on Lamar Jackson. We still think they’d beat the teams behind them.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Ravens is purple with a black midsole. The Ravens fell four spots with a backup at quarterback. The shoe doesn’t care who’s under center, because it plays the same with Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley.
9. Denver Broncos (4-2)
Last week: No. 8. Movement: down one.
It was difficult to keep the Broncos in the top 10 after last Thursday night’s ugly win over the Seahawks. Denver has serious problems on offense but keeps winning on the back of an opportunistic defense, and Bo Nix still can’t take his own training wheels off.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Broncos is also orange, so check the swoosh and the midsole before you buy: this one has a white swoosh and a black midsole. Denver’s offense has serious problems. The shoe has no offense, no training wheels, and no change since the Niners. While the Broncos may be dropping in the power rankings, the Vomero 18 Broncos is still the same shoe, and so are the eight before it.
10. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
Last week: No. 3. Movement: down seven.
The biggest fall in the top ten. Sam Darnold has a turnover problem and the Seahawks rely too heavily on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Both can be fixed over time, especially if the offensive line, which was quite bad against the Broncos, returns to full strength.
Shoe report: The Vomero 18 Seahawks is navy with a neon green heel tab and a gray midsole. A week ago the Seahawks were No. 3 and the shoe was too. Now Seattle is No. 10, and the shoe is the same shoe in both spots. Ten teams, ten colorways, one shoe, and the only thing that changed all week was the logo on the collar.
The Shoe Standings
All ten shoes are tied. Seven of the ten teams changed places this week, and the shoes changed places zero times. If you want a pair, buy your team or buy your colors. The teams will be shuffled again next week, and the shoes will not. We track Nike prices every day, and those do move around, even if the shoes don’t.
Rankings and team notes are from Nick Shook’s “NFL Power Rankings, Week 7” at NFL.com, with records through Week 6. Details on the collection are from Sole Retriever’s release coverage. Shoe photos are retailer product images.
