Survivor: Game Changers Power Rankings After Episode 1

6. Brad Culpepper

To be clear, the possibility of Brad Culpepper doing something foolish and getting himself voted out is always going to be there. That’s why he’s not even higher. However, there are a lot of positive signs about the former NFL player right out of the gate. For one, his edit concerning Monica (his wife) and wanting to play like her is a very good sign for him in terms of how he comes off to viewers. More importantly, though, his budding alliance with Ozzy and Sierra could be quite formidable and hard to stop if they’re able to stick together.

5. J.T. Thomas

Admittedly, this could all come tumbling down in a flash for J.T. As a former winner, he knows he has a target on his back just like Tony did—okay, maybe not as big and flashing as Tony’s, but still. However, J.T still looks like he’s going to be a physical threat in terms of challenges and he’s never had a problem with making friends and/or alliances. Aside from his horrifically glorious idol blunder in Heroes vs. Villains, J.T. is one of the better all-around players in Survivor history. As such, it’s impossible not to put a little faith in him after a strong first episode.

4. Troyzan Robertson

Troyzan feels like a sleeping giant right now. With the way things went down in voting out Tony, most of the credit for the move is going to Sandra. Yes, she deserves the majority of it and was clearly the most vocal proponent of it. But Troyzan played a pivotal role in getting the entire tribe on board to make the vote a sure thing. He was a threat his first time around, which was actually what led to his demise. Because of the vocal players in this game, don’t underestimate what he’s capable of because he’s not quite as loud.