Month: May 2026

Cleveland Browns 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Browns

Quarterback

During the 2022 off-season, feeling they were a quarterback away from being true contenders, the Browns made an aggressive trade with the Houston Texans, giving up three first round picks for quarterback Deshaun Watson, who they then guaranteed 230 million over the next five seasons. It was a risky trade, not just because of the money and draft compensation it took to acquire him, but also because Watson had a history of legal trouble that not only made acquiring him a PR nightmare, but that also would cost Watson the first 11 games of the 2022 season, after he had already sat out the entire 2021 season. 

As risky as the trade seemed, it somehow has gone even worse than anyone could have expected. Watson has played just 20 games in four seasons in Cleveland, first missing those 11 games with suspension, then missing 11 games in 2023 with a shoulder injury, and then 27 games between 2024 and 2025 with a double torn achilles, including an entire 2025 season on the shelf. Even before all the injuries, Watson never played well and has completed just 61.2% of his passes for 6.04 YPA, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions with the Browns, a far cry from the 67.8% completion, 8.21 YPA, 104 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions he had in five seasons with the Texans.

Whether it was rustiness after missing almost two seasons with suspension or a poor work ethic or lack of scheme fit, Watson has been a diminished quarterback since his first start with the Browns and subsequent injuries only made things worse. In his last action in 2024, he completed 63.4% of his passes for an average of just 5.31 YPA, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions and now he is coming off of another major injury and heading into his age 31 season. 

The Browns were right that they were a quarterback away from being true contenders, going 18-16 between 2022 and 2023, despite a poor quarterback situation, but that has fallen to 8-26 between 2024 and 2025, as their roster has gotten older and the guaranteed money and draft compensation that the Browns gave up to get Watson has limited their ability to add young talent to replace their aging starters. Their defense, which has been the strength of this team for years, has remained a high level unit, ranking 4th in schedule adjusted efficiency in 2024 and 3rd in 2025, but their offense has ranked dead last both seasons, leading to the Browns ranking 29th in overall schedule adjusted efficiency in each of the past two seasons.

In Watson’s absence last season, the Browns started three quarterbacks, veteran Joe Flacco, third round rookie Dillon Gabriel, and fifth round rookie Shedeur Sanders, none of whom had any success. Sanders probably was the best of the bunch by default, but he completed just 56.6% of his passes for an average of 6.60 YPA, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. A lot of that was due to a poor supporting cast and he could be better in his second season in the league, but fifth round picks rarely develop into long-term starting quarterbacks in the NFL and Sanders has yet to show anything to suggest that he will be an exception.

The Browns had the 6th overall pick in this year’s draft, but with this being a weak quarterback draft, there was no quarterback worth taking with that pick and, as a result, Sanders is expected to compete with a returning Deshaun Watson for the week 1 starting job in 2026. Gabriel remains on the roster, but is not considered a serious contender for the starting job and, with the Browns adding yet another young developmental quarterback through the draft, 6th round pick Taylen Green, Gabriel is not even guaranteed a roster spot this season. 

Even though Sanders is younger and probably has the higher upside of their two quarterback options, Watson is considered the favorite for the job because the Browns apparently want to make absolutely sure he is not good before letting him walk as a free agent next off-season. New head coach Todd Monken also views Watson as being a better fit for his scheme than Watson was under previous head coach Kevin Stefanski and seems to think he can rehabilitate him. Monken was far from the Browns’ first choice at head coach and, hired at 59 years old, he is the 4th oldest first time head coach in NFL history, but he is at least a superior offensive play caller to Stefanski, which could help this offense at least a little bit. 

Regardless, Watson is unlikely to have significantly more success under Monken than he did under Stefanski, given his age and injury history, and it is very likely that both Watson and Sanders will see starts this season in what figures to be another lost season for the Browns, whose primary goal by November will probably be to determine if either Watson or Sanders has any chance to be the long-term starter, before deciding what to do with what figures to be another high draft pick in a better quarterback draft in 2027. This is arguably the worst quarterback room in the league.

Grade: C

Offensive Line

As I mentioned, the Browns had become an increasingly old roster in recent years, as a result of not having their own first round pick for three straight seasons from 2022-2024. Their oldest unit in 2025 was their offensive line, where four of their five week 1 starters finished the season at 30 years of age or older. The results were not good. In total, 10 different players made starts for the Browns upfront last season and the majority of them were liabilities. The relatively good news is that 8 of those 10 players were all free agents this off-season, giving the Browns an opportunity to retool this offensive line, but they didn’t have a lot of good options available to them and the result is an offensive line in 2026 that isn’t much better than it was in 2025. 

The only one of those eight free agents that the Browns had on the offensive line who was retained is guard Teven Jenkins, who was a backup for most of last season and only made just 4 starts. A 2nd round pick by the Bears, Jenkins was decent in his limited action last season, as he has been throughout his 42 starts in 5 seasons in the league, but he is also pretty injury prone, missing 23 games due to injury from 2021-2024 in his first stint as a starter. In five seasons in the league, his career high is 14 starts in a season. 

If Jenkins misses time again this season, which seems likely, he would probably be replaced by Zak Zinter, a 2024 3rd round pick who has shown very little across 279 snaps (3 starts) in two seasons in the league. Another possibility in Jenkins’ absence would be new right tackle Tytus Howard moving inside to guard, where he has made 32 of his 93 career starts, and then 3rd round rookie Austin Barber would slot in at right tackle, but that doesn’t seem like a good option.

The Browns gave Howard a big 2-year, 45 million dollar extension when they acquired him in a trade from the Texans this off-season, suggesting they view him as a tackle rather than a guard. Even as a right tackle, that is an overpay, as he is the 3rd highest paid right tackle in the league in terms of average annual salary, but he has mostly been just an average starter in his career regardless of where he has played. He is also now heading into his age 30 season and could start to decline in 2026, in which case he would likely be a liability. 

The Browns also overpaid free agent additions Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins, who will start at left guard and center respectively, after being signed to contracts worth 49.5 million over 3 years (14th highest paid guard in the league in average annual salary) and 24 million over 2 years (5th highest paid center in the league in average annual salary) respectively. Johnson was a first round pick by the Chargers in 2022, but has been a liability throughout his career, across 65 starts in four seasons in the league. 

Now going into his age 27 season, Johnson is running out of time to make good on the upside he entered the league with and he seemed like someone that would get a cheap one-year prove it deal this off-season, rather than a contract that pays him like an above average starter. Making matters worse, the player he replaces is Joel Bitonio, the Browns’ only above average starter on the offensive line last season. Johnson will almost definitely be a significant downgrade.

Elgton Jenkins, meanwhile, was once an above average starting offensive lineman, with experience at tackle, guard, and center in his career, but 2025 was a career worst year for him and he’s now heading into his age 31 season, so it is very likely his best days are behind him. He also missed 8 games last season with a broken leg that included ligament damage, which further dampens his outlook, and he has overall been pretty injury prone in recent years, missing 21 games total in the past five seasons combined. The Browns would be lucky to get both a decent and a healthy season out of him in 2026. If he misses time, the Browns would likely either turn to 5th round rookie Parker Brailsford or 2023 6th round pick Luke Wypler, who has struggled in 6 career starts.

Possibly the Browns’ best offensive lineman is left tackle Spencer Fano, even though he is only a rookie. Selected 9th overall after a trade down from 6, Fano has a high upside, but might not be more than an average starter as a rookie. He also hasn’t played left tackle since his freshman season in college and lacks ideal size and length for the left tackle position, meaning he could end up at right tackle long-term. For now, the Browns will try him on the more challenging left tackle, without another good option on the roster, but that just adds to his learning curve in year one. This figures to be a below average offensive line once again, even after all of their off-season changes and investment.

Grade: C+

Receiving Corps

After not having a first round pick in three straight drafts from 2022-2024, the Browns badly needed a good draft in 2025, which fortunately they did have. Arguably their best value pick was tight end Harold Fannin in the third round, who led the team with a 72/731/6 slash line and averaged 1.68 yards per route run as a rookie. Now going into his second season in the league, Fannin could take a step forward and be even better and, if he ever gets a good quarterback to play with, he could end up being one of the most productive receiving tight ends in the league.

Aside from Fannin, the best part of the Browns’ 2025 draft was the fact that they got an extra first round pick in 2026 out of it, just by moving down from 2 to 5 with the Jaguars. With the 24th overall pick that they got from Jacksonville, the Browns selected wide receiver KC Concepcion and then they got another first round caliber wide receiver, Denzel Boston, with their own second round pick at #39. The Browns’ wide receiver room was so bad last season that Concepcion and Boston could be their two best wide receivers, even as rookies. They will have big roles and both have big upside, but both could also struggle through growing pains in year one.

The Browns still have veteran Jerry Jeudy, who has been their leading wide receiver the past two seasons, and he figures to start in three wide receiver sets with Concepcion and Boston. With a terrible quarterback situation, Jeudy fell to a 50/602/2 slash line on 1.02 yards per route run last season, despite receiving 106 targets. Jeudy himself was part of the problem and, only in his age 27 season, he has some bounce back potential, but his career numbers aren’t drastically better than his 2025 numbers, as he has averaged a 66/912/3 slash line on 113 targets per 17 games in his career, while averaging 1.64 yards per route run. 

Jeudy did have a 90/1224/4 slash line in 2024, but that was largely because the Browns passed so much, as his 1.72 yards per route run average was not nearly as impressive as his overall yardage and he also had about 19% of his overall yardage in one game where backup quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 497 yards. At his best, he is only a slightly above average wide receiver option and, potentially fourth in the pecking order for targets behind Fannin and the two rookies, on a team with a bad quarterback situation, I wouldn’t expect Jeudy to produce much in 2026.

Isaiah Bond and Cedric Tillman both played significant roles in this receiving corps and remain on the roster, but I would expect both to be outside of the Browns’ top-3 wide receivers, unless injuries strike. A rookie last season, Bond averaged just 0.98 yards per route run with a 18/338/0 slash line on 44 targets, while Tillman, a 2023 3rd round pick, has averaged just 0.88 yards per route run, with averages of a 32/373/2 slash line on 59 targets per 17 games, in three seasons in the league. Tillman has also missed 13 games in three seasons, with at least three games missed in every season. Neither he nor Bond are guaranteed a roster spot in an improved receiving corps in 2026, though at least one of them will have to remain on the roster, due to the lack of a better option.

Behind Fannin at tight end, the Browns lost David Njoku, who had been a solid starting tight end for them for years, but took a backseat to Fannin last season, finishing with just a 33/293/4 slash line on 48 targets with a 1.06 yards per route run average in 12 games, before leaving as a free agent this off-season. In his place, the #2 job will either go to incumbent #3 tight end Blake Whiteheart, who has averaged just 0.31 yards per route run while playing just 455 total snaps in three seasons since going undrafted in 2023, Jack Stoll, a veteran blocking specialist with a career 0.47 yards per route run average, or 5th round rookie Joe Royer. All of them are likely to be downgrades from Njoku and none of them are likely to cut into Fannin’s playing time as much as Njoku did (42.9 snaps per game). This receiving corps is better than it was a year ago by default, but this is still a below average unit

Grade: B-

Running Backs

Another key member of the Browns’ 2025 rookie class is running back Quinshon Judkins, who went in the second round. Judkins had 230 carries in 14 games as a rookie and, while his 3.60 YPC average and 40.9% carry success rate don’t look good, it wasn’t really his fault, as he averaged just 0.40 yards per carry before contact, as opposed to 3.20 yards per carry after contact. He also broke tackles at a 17.8% rate and was surprisingly a decent receiver, averaging 1.05 yards per route run, despite not really being used much in that capacity in college. The Browns’ lack of offensive talent around him could keep Judkins’ YPC average down again in 2026, but he is still a solid starting running back. 

Even though Judkins was a decent receiver as a rookie, Dylan Sampson, another member of the 2025 draft class, going in the 4th round, will remain their primary passing down back in 2026. Sampson actually led this team with 1.86 yards per route run last season, which ranked 2nd in the league among running backs last season, and he finished with a 33/271/2 slash line on 40 targets. Sampson’s YPC average was even worse than Judkins’ at 2.69, as was his 30.8% carry success rate, but, like Judkins a lot of that wasn’t his fault, as he averaged 2.45 yards per carry after contact and had a 18.5% missed tackle rate. 

Judkins is clearly the better runner though, leaving Sampson as a passing down/change of pace complement. With third string running back Jerome Ford leaving in free agency, that job will likely go to Raheim Sanders, who was also a rookie last season, going undrafted. Sanders only averaged 3.41 YPC on 27 carries as a rookie, but he averaged 3.11 yards per carry after contact, had a 18.5% missed tackle rate, averaged 1.11 yards per route run, led the team with a 51.9% carry success rate and overall exceeded what you would expect out of an undrafted rookie, albeit in limited action. If Judkins misses time with injury, Sanders and Sampson would likely split work in his absence. By default, the Browns’ running back room is the strength of an offense that figures to be one of the worst in the league again in 2026.

Grade: B-

Edge Defenders

While the Browns’ defense has remained an elite unit in the past couple years, despite the team’s overall record, there are some concerns on this side of the ball. The big one is that they lost defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is one of the best in the league and whose arrival in Cleveland in 2023 coincides with the Browns’ ascension to an elite defense. Another concern the fact that is edge defender Myles Garrett, who has won two of the past three Defensive Player of the Year Awards and who set the single season sack record in 2025, is now going into his age 31 season.

I don’t expect Garrett to drop off suddenly overnight, but if he declines from a record setting Defensive Player of the Year to merely a really good edge defender, that could have somewhat of a negative effect on a defense that is built around him, especially when coupled with the loss of their defensive coordinator. Selected 1st overall in 2017, Garrett has more than lived up to the hype, totaling 125.5 sacks, 115 hits, and a 14.5% pressure rate in 134 career games, while playing at a high level against the run as well. He has been especially good as a pass rusher in recent years, totaling 83 sacks, 71 hits, and a 16.0% pressure rate in 83 games since the start of the 2021 season.

Any potential decline from Garrett would be made worse by the fact that the Browns don’t really have another high level edge defender opposite him. Alex Wright is an above average run defender, but doesn’t really rush the passer, totaling just 5.5 sacks, 5 hits, and a 8.4% pressure rate in 14 games last season and totaling just a 6.8% pressure rate in four seasons in the league, since being selected in the 3rd round in 2022. Wright (470 snaps in 2025) splits snaps opposite Garrett with Isaiah McGuire (428 snaps in 2025), a solid, but unspectacular all-around rotational player, who has 4.5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 12.3% pressure rate in 33 games as a part-time player over the past two seasons.

Cameron Thomas (310 snaps) was decent as a deep reserve last season, but is no longer with the team, leaving Julian Okwara, who has played just 1,056 snaps in six seasons in the league and who spent the entire 2025 season on the Browns practice squad, as the most likely candidate to be the Browns’ fourth edge defender. The only other options are Markees Watts, a former undrafted free agent who has played just 83 snaps in three seasons in the league, and a trio of undrafted rookies. Myles Garrett’s presence still makes this a really good edge defender group, but Garrett might not be quite as good in 2026 as he has been in recent years, they lack another above average starter opposite him, and depth is very scarce outside of their top-3, all of which hurts their overall grade at least a little bit.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

Another talented rookie from the Browns’ 2025 draft class is Mason Graham, who they selected 5th overall after moving down with the Jaguars in that trade that netted them an extra first round pick, among other picks. Graham was solid as a rookie across 765 snaps, only managing 0.5 sacks, but adding 4 hits, and a 8.1% pressure rate, while providing above average run defense. He has a good chance to take another step forward in year two.

That would be good because the rest of this position group is concerning. Shelby Harris (511 snaps) and Maliek Collins (473 snaps) played significant roles for this group last season, but Harris left as a free agent and was replaced by Kalia Davis, an obvious downgrade who has been a consistent liability on snap counts of 54, 259, and 491 in three seasons of action his career, especially struggling as a pass rusher, with a career 3.1% pressure rate. Collins, meanwhile, is going into his age 31 season and coming off of a career best year that he seems unlikely to repeat in 2026, given his age.

Collins finished last season with 6.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.6% pressure rate in 12 games and, while he has consistently been a solid pass rusher in his career, with 22.5 sacks, 39 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate in 75 games over the past five seasons, he has never been as good as last season. He’s also consistently been a liability against the run in his career, which his pass rush ability was enough to make up for last season, but it might not be this season.

The Browns will be hoping to get more this season out of Michael Hall, their 2024 2nd round pick, who played just 178 snaps in 9 games due to injury, but he also only played 232 snaps in 8 games as a rookie, due to injury and suspension, and he hasn’t shown much in his limited action. With Hall and Davis likely to be a big part of this interior defender rotation and Maliek Collins unlikely to be as good as a year ago, the Browns badly need Mason Graham to take a significant step forward in year two, which is a possibility, but not a guarantee.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Carson Schwesinger was another talented rookie from the Browns’ 2025 draft class, providing both above average run defense and pass coverage across 958 snaps, en route to winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, after being drafted in the second round. Like Mason Graham, he could take another step forward in year two and, like Graham, the Browns need him to, given the state of the rest of this position group. 

Devin Bush, a solid linebacker across 873 snaps, left as a free agent and the Browns replaced him with free agent addition Quincy Williams, who was a decent every down linebacker in his prime, but who was a massive liability across 783 snaps in a career worst 2025 campaign and who now heads into his age 30 season, meaning his decline last season was likely permanent. He figures to be a significant downgrade from the departed Bush.

Depth is a concern too with top reserves Jerome Baker (261 snaps) and Mohamoud Diabette (298 snaps) gone. That leaves the third linebacker job to either 5th round rookie Justin Jefferson, 2024 undrafted free agent Winston Reid, who has played 144 snaps in his career, 2024 6th round pick Nathaniel Watson, who has played 55 snaps in his career, or 2025 undrafted free agent Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, who has played 12 snaps in his career. The third linebacker only plays in obvious running situations, but if either Schwesinger or Williams miss time with injury, whoever is the third linebacker would likely have to move into an every down role. Schwesinger elevates this position group, but the rest of this group is a liability.

Grade: B-

Secondary

Luckily, the Browns’ secondary remains largely the same as a year ago, with the only differences being potential improvements. Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell will be the starting cornerbacks in base packages again. Ward, selected 4th overall by the Browns in 2018, has been a consistently above average starter throughout his career, while starting 107 of 110 games played in eight seasons in the league. The only concern with him is durability, as he has missed 23 games in his career, including at least two in seven of eight seasons and at least one in every season. 

Campbell also has durability concerns, missing at least two games in three of five seasons in the league and 13 games total, but he is generally an average to above average starter when healthy. Acquired 5 games into the 2025 season for Greg Newsome, Campbell proved to be an immediate upgrade and, still only going into his age 26 season, the 2021 2nd round pick should continue playing at a similar level in 2026 and for at least the next few years. Having him for the full season should be a small boost to this secondary.

At safety, Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman will remain the starters. Delpit, a 2nd round pick in 2020, missed his whole rookie season with injury, but has played in 78 of a possible 85 games since, starting 68 of them, and he has generally been an average to above average starter. Hickman, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2023 and didn’t become a full-time starter until 2025, but he flashed promise across snap counts of 308 and 463 in his first two seasons in the league and carried that into his first season as a starter, in which he was above average in 17 starts. Hickman is still relatively unproven, but should continue playing at that level going forward and, only going into his age 25 season, it is possible his best days are still yet to come.

The one potential difference in this group could be the fifth defensive back role, which is close to a full-time role, given how often teams are in sub packages now. Myles Harden, a 2024 7th round pick, somewhat predictably struggled in that role, playing 529 snaps, the first significant snap count of his career. In 2026, he could be replaced by second round pick Emmanuel Warren-McNeil, a safety who can also play on the slot and who was a steal in the late second round, or veteran free agent addition Myles Bryant, who has only played snap counts of 69 and 343 in 2024 and 2025 respectively with the Texans, but who played snap counts of 689 and 852 in 2022 and 2023 respectively, who is still only going into his age 28 season, and who has overall been a decent slot cornerback in his career. This is an above average overall secondary that could easily be better in 2026 than it was in 2025.

Grade: A-

Kickers

The Browns made 2023 undrafted free agent Andre Szmyt a first time starter in 2025 after he won an off-season competition and the decision largely paid off, as he added 2.02 points above an average kicker on the season. He’s still pretty unproven and it is tough to know what to expect from him going forward, especially at a position that tends to be pretty inconsistent year-to-year, but Szmyt has more than earned the right to be the undisputed starter going into 2026, which the Browns have made him by not adding any competition for him this off-season.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Browns spent a lot of money to try to improve their offense, particularly their offensive line, this off-season, but all of those additions were overpays. They could be better by default on offense this season, after ranking dead last in the past two seasons, with some promising rookies being added and a new offensive head coach and play caller, but their defense could easily be worse, after losing elite defensive play caller Jim Schwartz, as well as a few free agents, while other key players like Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins are on the wrong side of 30. Overall, this looks likely to be a third straight last place season for this team.

Update: The Browns traded Myles Garrett to the Rams in a blockbuster trade that sends a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick to the Browns along with younger edge defender Jared Verse. Swapping Garrett out for Verse hurts them in the short-term, but this was a great return for the Browns in the long-term and doesn’t hurt as much as you might think in the short-term. Verse has just 12 sacks in two seasons in the league since being drafted in the 1st round in 2024, but he has added 36 hits and a 15.6% pressure rate and, given that he is around the quarterback that often, the sacks will come. 

In fact, his hit total over the past two seasons is actually higher than Garrett’s (29) and his pressure rate isn’t far behind Garrett’s (17.0%). Two or three years down the line, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Verse, who is 5 years younger than Garrett, is better than Garrett and the Browns get significant draft capital as well. As much as it hurts to lose the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, this trade makes a lot of sense for the timeline of a Browns team who is unlikely to be competitive in the short-term either way.

Prediction: 3-14, 4th in AFC North

Buffalo Bills 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Bills

Quarterback

The Bills have consistently been one of the best teams in the league since 2020, winning at least 11 games in six straight seasons since then, while leading the league with 73 total regular season wins over that stretch, but it hasn’t translated to any Super Bowl appearances. It is not as if they have no post-season success, winning at least one playoff game in all six of those seasons, becoming the first team in NFL history to win a playoff game in six straight seasons and not make the Super Bowl.

Josh Allen has gotten a lot of criticism for not taking this team to the Super Bowl yet, but he has performed pretty well in 15 career post-season games, completing 66.5% of his passes for an average of 7.33 YPA, 29 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, while rushing for 767 yards and 9 touchdowns on 135 carries (5.68 YPC). The bigger problem has been the Bills’ defense, which has surrendered 33.2 points per game in their six post-season losses since 2020.

Long-time head coach Sean McDermott had a lot of regular season success (98-50 since taking over as head coach in 2017), but he has a defensive background and finally paid the price for all of the Bills’ post-season defensive failures, getting fired this off-season. In his place, the Bills promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who has had a lot of success in three years on the job, and he hired promising defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to run the defense, allowing Brady to continue focusing on offense and calling offensive plays. Whether or not this is what puts the Bills over the top remains to be seen, but changing things up makes sense at this point and the Bills seem likely to at least win a lot of regular season games again and remain in contention in the AFC.

Allen is going into his age 30 season, which is a bit of a concern for a quarterback whose athleticism is a big part of his game, but Allen has been extremely durable, not missing a game since his rookie year in 2018, despite 782 carries in seven seasons since then, so he could age better than most dual threat quarterbacks and remain an elite quarterback for years to come. Allen’s breakout as an elite quarterback coincides with the Bills’ breakout as one of the best seasons in the league, completing 65.8% of his passes for an average of 7.54 YPA, 190 touchdowns, and 73 interceptions and rushing for 3,580 yards and 62 touchdowns on 673 carries (5.32 YPC) in 101 starts since 2020. It shouldn’t be a surprise at all if he continues playing at a similar level in 2026.

If Allen does miss time with injury, the Bills would be in a lot of trouble, not just because of how good he is, but because they have an underwhelming backup quarterback situation, with Kyle Allen, who has a career 82.1 passer rating in 19 starts in eight seasons in the league and no starts since 2022, likely to remain the #2 quarterback, without another good alternative being added this off-season. Some good teams could survive a short stretch without their starting quarterback, but the Bills do not seem to be one of those teams. That being said, the likelihood of Kyle Allen being needed for an extended period of time is slim, given Allen’s history of durability.

Grade: A

Receiving Corps

While their defense coming up short has been the primary issue for the Bills in their recent playoff defeats, the bigger issue last season was their lack of talent at the wide receiver position. In their ultimate playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, the Bills were using Brandin Cooks, a well past his prime player who got cut by the last place Saints earlier in the year, as their #2 wide receiver and top outside receiver. The Bills’ three leading receivers last season were slot receiver Khalil Shakir (72/719/4) and a pair of tight ends in Dalton Kincaid (39/571/5) and Dawson Knox (36/417/4), while their leading outside receiver was Keon Coleman (38/404/4), who was benched and made a healthy stretch on several occasions due to disappointments on and off the field. 

The Bills viewed getting a better outside receiver as paramount this off-season and paid a significant price to get DJ Moore from the Bears, giving up a late second round pick and picking up the remaining 98 million over four years owed on Moore’s contract, 49 million of which is guaranteed over the next two seasons. Moore used to be a consistent 1000+ yard receiver, surpassing that mark in four of five seasons from 2019-2023, but he had an inefficient 98/966/6 on 140 targets (6.90 yards per target) in 2024 and then a career low 50/682/6 slash line on 85 targets in 2025, slowly getting phased out of the Bears’ offense down the stretch, with just 41 targets in the Bears’ final 9 games. 

Moore is still only going into his age 29 season and hasn’t missed a game since 2020, so he shouldn’t be washed up yet. More likely his statistical decline over the past two seasons is more the result of poor chemistry with new quarterback Caleb Williams than Moore himself declining, but the Bills paid a steep price in terms of draft compensation to get a player who has a lot of guaranteed money left on his contract and whose current team had been phasing him out for younger players. He should at least be somewhat of an upgrade for the Bills, but it is fair to question the price they paid to get him. 

Moore might lead the Bills in targets, but both Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid figure to still be heavily involved in the offense, as they are targets Josh Allen trusts, who have been very efficient for this offense. Shakir has caught 75.8% of his targets in four seasons in the league, while averaging 8.89 yards per target and 1.81 yards per route run, so he doesn’t need a huge target share to have a significant impact on this offense. Kincaid, meanwhile, has averaged 1.80 yards per route run and 7.87 yards per target in his career, including 2.79 yards per route run (1st among tight ends) and 11.65 yards per target last season, showing the talent that made him a first round pick in 2023.

Kincaid’s biggest issue in his career has been injuries, costing him nine games over the past two seasons and limiting his snap count in others (35.9 snaps per game when he does play), but he obviously has the talent to be a talented every down tight end if he can ever stay healthy enough to play a full snap count. Whether that happens this season or not remains to be seen, but I would project him to at least play more than last season. He might not be as efficient, but he could still produce enough to have a significant impact on this offense.

If Kincaid stays healthier this season, his playing time would likely come at the expense of Dawson Knox, who is a much less efficient target, averaging 1.11 yards per route run and 7.74 yards per target in seven seasons in the league. Now going into his age 30 season, Knox is unlikely to get any better at this stage of his career and could get worse, so it would be for the best for the Bills’ offense if he was more of a traditional #2 tight end. The Bills also have Jackson Hawes, a 2025 5th round pick who excelled as a blocking specialist as a rookie, blocking on 78.9% of his snaps, but also averaging 1.81 yards per route run in his limited role as a pass catcher. He should play a similar role in 2026 and, if he ever got an expanded role in the passing game, he could surprise people and be somewhat productive. 

Keon Coleman and Josh Palmer, their two most productive outside receivers by default, both remain on the roster and will compete for the #3 wide receiver role. Other options for that role include 4th round rookie Skyler Bell and blocking specialist Tyrell Shavers, who played 441 snaps last season, after only playing 32 snaps in his first two seasons in the league, and averaged just 1.17 yards per route run, while blocking on 50.1% of his snaps. The Bills have made big investments in Coleman and Palmer and are probably hoping one of the two wins the job.

Coleman was selected in the first round in 2024, is still only going into his age 23 season, and has flashed potential thus far in his career, averaging 1.50 yards per route run, but the Bills have been disappointed with his effort off-the-field and have been underwhelmed with his abilities on the field thus far. However, it sounds like he is getting a clean slate going into his age 26 season and he has the talent to be the favorite for the #3 receiver job. 

Palmer, meanwhile, is owed 10.25 million mostly guaranteed this season on a 3-year, 29 million dollar contract the Bills signed him to last off-season, but that guaranteed money is probably the only reason he is still on the roster, as he had just a 22/303/0 slash line and 1.28 yards per route run last season. He has been a little better in the past, but his career 1.37 yards per route run average isn’t particularly impressive either. It seems unlikely he will have a significant role in this offense and he could be overtaken by the rookie Bell for the #4 receiver job at some point this season, as Bell was a great value at his draft slot and has the tools to be a long-term starter. This should be a better receiver corps than a year ago, with DJ Moore added, Dalton Kincaid potentially being healthier, and Keon Coleman potentially taking a step forward.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

The Bills’ offensive line was a concern going into this off-season because they had been an above average unit in recent years, but had a pair of starters, left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern, set to hit free agency. However, the Bills were able to retain McGovern on a 4-year, 52 million dollar deal and, while they lost Edwards, he was the more replaceable of the two. In his absence, the Bills will either promote Alec Anderson, their top reserve the past two seasons, or plug in veteran free agent addition Austin Corbett.

Anderson has flashed a lot of potential on snap counts of 290 and 189 over the past two seasons respectively, but the 2022 undrafted free agent is still a projection to a larger role and also the Bills like him as a 6th offensive lineman in jumbo packages, which the Bills have run more than any team in the league over the past two seasons, so the Bills may prefer to start Corbett, a more experienced and proven starter. 

Corbett has started 78 games in 8 seasons in the league (67 at guard, 10 at center, and 1 at tackle) and has always been an average to above average starter, but the concern with him is both age, going into his age 31 season, and durability, missing 29 games over the past three seasons combined, which is why the Bills were able to get him on only a 1-year, 1.4875 million dollar deal. He was still decent across 11 starts last season and could prove to be a steal if he can stay healthy and avoid any further decline, but that is a big if at this point. The Bills may wind up starting the unproven Anderson, with Corbett operating as a versatile reserve and their 6th offensive lineman when they run jumbo packages.

Fortunately, the rest of this offensive line stays the same from the past two seasons. McGovern, a 2020 3rd round pick by the Cowboys, was a bit of a late bloomer, not having an above average season until his 5th season in the league in 2024, but he now has back-to-back above average seasons and still is only going into his age 29 season, so I would expect more of the same from him in 2026. Right guard O’Cyrus Torrence has made 50 starts in three seasons in the league since being drafted in the second round in 2023 and he has been decent, but unspectacular.

The strength of this offensive line is the tackle position, where left tackle Dion Dawkins has been an above average starter for most of his career (137 starts in 9 seasons in the league), while Spencer Brown, a 2021 3rd round pick (69 starts in 5 seasons in the league), has also developed into an above average in recent years. Dawkins’ age is becoming a concern, as he is going into his age 32 season and could decline somewhat this season, which would hurt this offensive line somewhat, but he would have to decline a lot to become a liability.

Along with Dawkins’ age and the uncertainty at left guard, the other big concern on this offensive line is depth. Whoever does not start at left guard will provide solid depth, but the rest of the Bills’ reserves are a concern, with talented swing tackle Ryan Van Demark leaving in free agency. Other depth options include 4th round rookie Jude Bowry, who will compete with 2024 6th round pick Tylan Grable (146 snaps in two seasons in the league) for the swing tackle job, and backup center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, a 2024 5th round pick who has played 217 snaps in two seasons in the league. The lack of depth is made more concerning by the fact that the Bills use six offensive linemen on the field more than any team in the league. This is still a solid offensive line, but they probably won’t be quite as good as they have been the past two years.

Grade: B

Running Backs

Outside of Josh Allen, the Bills’ best offensive player is running back James Cook. A second round pick in 2022, Cook is undersized at 5-11 190, which had historically led to the Bills reducing his workload, despite his obvious talent, in an effort to keep him from tiring out or getting injured. That changed in 2025, when Cook set career highs in snaps (639) and carries (309), and he responded by leading the league in rushing yards with 1,621 on an average of 5.25 yards per carry. In total, Cook has averaged 5.06 yards per attempt in his career, with 3.05 yards per carry after contact, a 18.2% missed tackle rate, and 54.9% carry success rate. He’s also been extremely durable, despite his size, missing just one game in four seasons in the league.

The Bills give Cook a rest in obvious passing situations, as many teams do with an elite lead back, swapping him out for passing down specialist Ty Johnson, but Cook still totaled a 33/291/2 slash line in the passing game, averaging 1.11 yards per route run, not far off from his career 1.28 yards per route run average. Johnson, more of a receiver than a running back, had a 24/263/2 slash line and averaged 1.18 yards per route run, in line with his career 1.22 yards per route run average, while playing 83.9% of his 335 snaps on pass plays. In seven seasons in the league, he has totaled just 329 carries in 106 games.

If Cook were to miss time, Ray Davis would probably be the featured runner, with Johnson remaining in a pure passing down role, maybe taking on a couple extra carries at most. Davis was a 4th round pick in 2024 and has shown some potential in two seasons in the league, averaging 4.19 YPC on 171 carries, with 2.92 yards per carry after contact, a 22.8% missed tackle rate, a 49.1% carry success rate. He’d obviously be a big downgrade from Cook if Cook was injured, but he isn’t bad as far as true backups go and Cook’s history suggests there is a better than average chance that he plays every game. Led by an elite, durable lead back, with decent depth behind him, the Bills are in good shape at the running back position.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

While the Bills’ defense has typically been what has let them down in the post-season in recent years, they actually weren’t bad in the regular season last season, ranking 18th in schedule adjusted efficiency, despite having the 4th most adjusted games lost to injury in the league on that side of the ball. Probably their most impactful absence on defense last season was Ed Oliver, who played just 108 snaps in three games due to injuries to his ankle, arm, and knee. When healthy, Oliver is one of the best interior pass rushers in the league, with 30 sacks, 54 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate in 95 games in seven seasons in the league, since being selected 9th overall in 2019. He is generally a below average run defender, but his pass rush more than makes up for it. 

The amount of injuries he suffered last season is concerning, but he still made it back for the post-season, so he should be well past those injuries by the start of the 2026 season and he is still only going into his age 29 season. Durability has been a bit of a concern for him in recent years, as he also missed seven games between 2022-2024, but at the very least, Oliver should be on the field much more in 2026 than he was in 2025, which will be a big boost for this defense.

Making Oliver’s injury worse is the fact that Daquan Jones and TJ Sanders, who were their #2 and #3 interior defenders, also missed five games each. With all of their injuries, the Bills were led in snaps at the interior defender position by 4th round rookie Deone Walker, who was decent across 464 snaps, both as a run defender and a pass rusher (6.9% pressure rate). Jones is gone, not being retained ahead of his age 35 season, but with Oliver back and Walker looking like a potential future starter, the loss of Jones isn’t that big of a deal. Sanders, meanwhile, struggled across 296 snaps last season, but he was also a rookie and the 2025 2nd round pick could take a step forward, perhaps a significant step forward, in year two in 2026. 

Deep reserve options at the interior defender position for the Bills include DeWayne Carter, a 2024 3rd round pick who struggled across 315 snaps as a rookie and then missed last season with a torn achilles, and 2025 3rd round pick Landon Jackson, who was originally drafted as an oversized edge defender at 6-7 280, but who only got on the field for 30 snaps as a rookie and will now gain weight and move inside in an attempt to jump start his career. The Bills will be hoping they don’t need either of them for a significant role in a position group that should be better than a year ago due to better health and continued development from young players.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

The Bills’ edge defender group, on the other hand, could be worse this season than a year ago, as they let veteran Joey Bosa walk and replaced him with Bradley Chubb, who figures to be a downgrade, despite being signed to a 3-year, 43.5 million dollar deal with 26.97 million guaranteed. It was an odd decision. Bosa left something to be desired as a run defender last season, but excelled as a pass rusher, with 5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 14.0% pressure rate. The concerns with Bosa are age, going into his age 31 season, and injury history, 39 games missed over the past 8 seasons, including 2 games missed in 2025, but Chubb is going into his age 30 season and has an extensive injury history as well, in addition to being a downgrade from Bosa. 

Chubb didn’t miss a game last season, but he has missed 43 games in 8 seasons in the league, including all of 2024 with a multi-ligament knee injury, and he did not seem the same upon his return, struggling mightily against the run and not rushing the passer at a high enough level to make up for it, totaling 8.5 sacks, 9 hits, and a 12.2% pressure rate. Both as a run defender and a pass rusher, Chubb was worse than Bosa in 2025. Chubb has had better years in the past, but given his age and injury history, it seems unlikely he will ever regain his old form. Chubb will start in Bosa’s old role (37.5 snaps per game) opposite Greg Rousseau, a mainstay on this defensive line since being selected 30th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Rousseau doesn’t usually get mentioned as a top pass rusher and only has 32 sacks in his career, but that is partially because he rotates more than most top edge defenders, playing 589 snaps per season in his career, including 631 last season, and he also has much better peripheral pass rush stats than his sack totals would suggest, totaling 60 hits and a 13.9% pressure rate in 78 career games. He is also a consistently above average run defender. Last season was arguably the best of his career, as he totaled 7 sacks, 16 hits, and a 14.9% pressure rate, while playing at a career best level against the run. Still only in his age 26 season, with minimal injury history (six games missed in five seasons in the league), he should remain a well above average all-around edge defender for at least a few more seasons.

In addition to signing Chubb, the Bills also used a 2nd round pick on TJ Parker to replace top reserve AJ Epenesa, who was decent across 437 snaps last season, before leaving in free agency, and they signed veteran Mike Danna to compete for deep reserve snaps with Michael Hoecht, who only played in two seasons last season due to suspension and a torn achilles. Parker could have some growing pains as a rookie, but he also could have been a first round pick and was a good value at the top of the second round, after the Bills traded out of the late first round. He should be solid as the Bills 3rd edge defender.

Danna is a mediocre option, playing decent run defense in his career, but only managing a 8.1% pressure rate, while playing 495 snaps per season in six seasons in the league (389 in 2025). He’s not bad as a 4th defensive end option though. Hoecht, meanwhile, has been a little bit better in his career, with a career 10.4% pressure rate, along with generally decent run defense, while playing 669 snaps per season from 2022-2024, but the torn achilles he suffered last season complicates his projection. This position group isn’t as good with Bradley Chubb replacing Joey Bosa, but this is still a slightly above average position group overall, led by the highly reliable and all-around well above average Greg Rousseau.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

The Bills also had a lot of injuries in their linebacking corps last season. The problem is most of their linebackers weren’t good anyway and the only one who was decent, Shaq Thompson (417 snaps in 11 games) was not retained this off-season. Also not retained this off-season was Matt Milano, who struggled across 492 snaps in 12 games, but whose departure leaves the Bills very thin at the linebacker position behind Terrel Bernard (623 snaps in 12 games) and Dorian Williams (433 snaps in 16 games), who both also struggled last season.

Bernard, a 2022 3rd round pick, has been below average in each of the last three seasons, playing 56.5 snaps per game, while missing nine games total in the past two seasons. Dorian Williams, a 2023 3rd round pick, has maybe been marginally better, but still below average he has played an average of just 25.9 snaps per game in three seasons in the league, with a maximum of 651 snaps played in a season. He will almost definitely have to play an expanded role this season, especially if Bernard misses more time with injury. 

Behind Bernard and Williams, the third linebacker role will either go to Joe Andreessen, a 2024 undrafted free agent who has played just 211 snaps in two seasons in the league, or 4th round rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr. The third linebacker only plays in obvious running situations, but if either Bernard or Williams miss time with injury, whoever is the third linebacker would have to move into an every down role. This is a well below average position group overall.

Grade: C

Secondary

Top cornerback Christian Benford also dealt with injuries last season, missing three games and being limited in others. Normally a well above average starting cornerback, Benford was only slightly above average last season, which hurt this secondary. Still only in his age 26 season, he could easily bounce back this season, which would be needed for a cornerback room that otherwise has upside, but not a lot of experience. 

Tre’Davious White (700 snaps) and Taron Johnson (571 snaps) played key roles in this secondary last season, but were average at best and were not retained this off-season. In their absence, the Bills will start Maxwell Hairston, a 2025 1st round pick who flashed his first round talent across just 348 snaps in 11 games in an injury plagued rookie season, while 2nd round rookie Davison Igbinosun will compete for the third cornerback job with veteran free agent additions Dee Alford and CJ Gardner-Johnson, who are both mediocre options. 

Alford has averaged 531 snaps per season over four seasons in the league (581 in 2025), primarily on the slot (78.2% of snaps), but the 2022 undrafted free agent has generally been a liability. Meanwhile, Gardner-Johnson struggled mightily last season across 767 snaps with the Texans, Ravens, and the Bears, getting cut mid-season by Houston and Baltimore. He has had some decent seasons in the past, but he has also been very injury prone, missing 29 games over the past five seasons. It’s possible he could bounce back at least a little bit in 2026, but it is also possible that all his injuries have permanently sapped his abilities.

Gardner-Johnson could also be a candidate at safety, which is also an unsettled position. Cole Bishop, a 2024 2nd round pick, broke out as an above average starter in 2025, after only playing 358 mediocre snaps as a rookie, but opposite him the Bills started three other safeties. Veteran Jordan Poyer was probably the best of the bunch by default, but he wasn’t retained as a free agent this off-season, ahead of his age 35 season. The rest of the Bills’ starting safeties last season struggled and are also no longer on the roster. 

Jordan Hancock, a 2025 5th round pick, flashed potential as a rookie, but only across 150 snaps and he didn’t make a single start, despite a need at the position, so he probably isn’t a real candidate to start opposite Bishop in 2026. Veteran free agent addition Geno Stone is a more realistic candidate to start and will probably primarily compete with Gardner-Johnson. Stone finished second in the league with 7 interceptions in 2023, but also missed a lot of tackles and gave up a lot of big plays, as he has throughout his career, when he has otherwise totaled just 7 interceptions in 66 games. This secondary has some upside, but also a lot of concerns.

Grade: B-

Kickers

Tyler Bass was supposed to be the Bills’ kicker in 2025, for the 6th straight season, since being drafted in the 6th round in 2020. However, he suffered what ended up being a season ending hip and groin injury before the season even started. That ended up being a blessing in disguise though, as Bass had cost the Bills 11.49 points compared to an average kicker in his first five seasons in the league combined, while Prater turned back the clock and actually contributed 2.64 points above an average kicker in 2025. Prater wasn’t retained ahead of what would have been his age 42 season in 2026 and the Bills didn’t add any other kickers, leaving Bass in that role, even though he is an underwhelming option and coming off of a significant leg injury. It is hard to imagine he won’t be at least somewhat of a liability in 2026.

Grade: C+

Conclusion

The Bills figure to win somewhere between their usual 11 and 13 games again in 2026. That won’t mean anything to some people though if they can’t finally get over the hump in the post-season. Whether or not they can do that remains to be seen, but consistently qualifying, getting a high seed, and winning at least one game is an accomplishment in and of itself and doing that year after year will likely lead to them winning it all at some point. Expect them to at least be contenders again this season.

Prediction: 12-5, 1st in AFC East

Baltimore Ravens 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Ravens

Quarterback

Going into 2025, the Ravens had high expectations, after finishing the 2024 season ranked 1st in schedule adjusted efficiency. However, they finished the season 8-9 and out of the playoffs entirely, as everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Their defense was ravaged by injuries, totaling the 3rd most adjusted games lost to injury in the league. Their offense did not have the same total amount of injuries, but they had the most important one, as quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t healthy for most of the season, even if he only actually missed 4 games. 

Despite all that, the Ravens still would have made the playoffs if they hadn’t missed a makeable field goal at the end of their week 18 winner-take-all clash for the division against the Steelers. In total, the Ravens went 1-4 in one-score games and if just one or two of those had flipped, they still would have made the post-season, despite all of their injuries. In terms of schedule adjusted efficiency, the Ravens finished the season ranked 11th, including a 11th ranked offense and a 15th ranked defense.

Jackson’s injuries primarily affected his rushing ability, as he averaged just 5.1 carries per game and 3.98 yards per carry in nine games after suffering his first injury, down from 9.8 carries per game and 6.06 yards per carry in 107 total starts in his career. His passing numbers were still in line with his career averages, completing 63.6% of his passes (64.8% for his career), for 8.44 YPA (7.83 for his career), and 21 touchdowns to 7 interceptions (187 to 56 for his career), but his rushing ability is what makes him special and that was severely hampered last season as he tried to play through multiple lower body injuries.

This now makes it four seasons out of seven full seasons as a starter in which he has suffered some sort of significant injury. His rushing ability is what makes him special, but it also puts him in harm’s way more often than most quarterbacks and, as he gets older, injuries will only become more frequent and will likely lead to him not playing at an elite level for as long as most elite quarterbacks. However, in his three healthy seasons, he has either been the MVP or the MVP runner up and he’s still only going into his age 29 season, so his upside is as high as any quarterback in the league if he can avoid significant injuries.

The Ravens weirdly opted to bring in Cooper Rush as their backup quarterback last off-season, even though he is stylistically the opposite as Jackson, rather than bringing back long-time backup Tyler Huntley, who was closer to Jackson stylistically and more familiar with the scheme, but the Ravens opted to change course mid-season after Rush struggled in Jackson’s absence. Huntley only ended up throwing 67 passes all season, but he played as well as he ever had, completing 77.6% of his passes for an average of 6.36 YPA, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also adding 6.29 YPC on 24 carries. 

Huntley was kept this off-season to give them a trusted insurance policy in case Jackson misses more time. In six seasons in the league, Huntley has started 16 games and completed 66.2% of his passes for an average of 5.93 YPA, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while rushing for 4.82 YPC and 5 touchdowns on 165 carries. He’s obviously a downgrade from Jackson and the Ravens would be in a lot of trouble if Jackson missed significant time again, but Huntley is at least a better option than Rush. The Ravens would likely be back to being Super Bowl contenders if Jackson is at his best, but that is a big if.

Grade: A

Offensive Line

One big problem for the Ravens’ offense is the center position, where Tyler Linderbaum, who was one of the best centers in the league last season, left as a free agent and, in his absence, they have arguably the worst center situation in the league. Free agent addition Danny Pinter is the only player on their roster with any real experience at center. A veteran utility linemen, Pinter has only made ten starts in six seasons in the league, seven of which came at center, and he has been a liability wherever he has played. Now going into his age 30 season, I would expect him to be a massive liability if he becomes a full-time starter for the first time in his career.

Other options include Corey Bullock, a 2024 undrafted free agent who has played 13 career snaps and 2023 7th round pick Jovaughn Gwyn, who has only played 11 career snaps, as well as potentially Andrew Vorhees, who has never played center and who was benched at guard after being a liability across 20 career starts, and Emery Jones, a hybrid guard/tackle who played 48 snaps as a 3rd round rookie last season and who has also never played center. Center figures to be a big position of weakness for the Ravens’ offense this season.

Guard was a position of weakness for the Ravens last season, with Vorhees and free agent departure Daniel Faalele both being liabilities as the starters. The right guard position was definitely upgraded, with the Ravens using their first round pick on Vega Ioane, who was the best pure guard prospect in the draft and could easily be an above average starter immediately. The left guard position is a little bit more of a concern, with the Ravens set to start free agent addition John Simpson, who they signed to a 3-year, 30 million dollar deal this off-season.

This is a reunion for Ravens and Simpson, who started 17 games at left guard in Baltimore in 2023, but he struggled that season, as he has throughout most of his career (72 starts in six seasons in the league). The exception was 2024, when he was a solid starter in 17 starts with the Jets, so it is possible the Ravens could get at least decent play out of him, but most likely he will be a liability, albeit not necessarily a downgrade from Vorhees. It’s also possible the Ravens bench Simpson for Emery Jones, who fits best at guard and has the talent to potentially start long-term, but Simpson’s contract, which includes 17.5 million guaranteed, suggests he will at least get the first chance to start.

The tackle position is a position of relative strength for the Ravens. Ronnie Stanley has been a high level left tackle in his career and was a well above average starter as recently as 2024, but he has had a lot of injuries in his career, missing time in all ten seasons in the league, with 45 games missed total, and he is now heading into his age 32 season. Between his age and injury history, he has definitely seen better days and could easily continue declining and continue being injury prone in 2026.

With Stanley aging and being injury prone and uncertainty on the interior of the offensive line, it is  very possible right tackle Roger Rosengarten will be the Ravens’ best offensive lineman this season. A 2nd round pick in 2024, Rosengarten was a solid starter as a rookie and then was better in year two, especially excelling in pass protection, ranking 2nd among offensive tackles in pass block win rate and allowing just 3 sacks all season. He’s a bright spot on an offensive line that could easily be underwhelming overall, with likely weaknesses at center and guard.

Grade: B-

Receiving Corps

The Ravens’ receiving corps was also a bit of a weakness last season. Zay Flowers put up big numbers as the #1 receiver, totaling a 86/1210/5 slash line with 2.53 yards per route run on 118 targets, a career best year for the 2023 1st round pick who also had 77/858/5 slash line with 1.64 yards per route run on 106 targets in 2023 and a 74/1059/4 slash line with 2.25 yards per route run on 116 targets in 2024. However, no other Ravens pass catcher had more than 422 receiving yards last season. Part of that is because the Ravens ranked dead last in the league in pass attempts last season with 422, while also missing their starting quarterback for four games, but the receivers themselves were part of the problem too.

The Ravens also had some pass catchers depart in free agent this off-season, losing wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who played sparingly and who only had a 22/330/2 slash line, but who averaged 1.63 yards per route run, Isaiah Likely, who was once a solid #2 tight end, but struggled last season after missing time with a foot injury early in the year, totaling a 27/307/1 slash line and 1.29 yards per route run, and Charlie Kolar, a great blocking tight end who flashed potential as a receiver with 1.39 yards per route run, but who ultimately only had a 10/142/2 slash line. The Ravens didn’t add any notable veterans to replace them, instead using 3rd and 4th round picks on wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt and 4th and 5th round picks on tight ends Matt Hibner and Josh Cuevas. All will have the opportunity to earn significant year one roles.

Zay Flowers should remain the clear #1 receiver, still only going into his age 26 season, but either of the rookies could end the season as the #2 receiver, with their competition being Rashod Bateman, who has only averaged 1.32 yards per route run in his career, and Devontez Walker, a 2024 4th round pick who has flashed potential thus far in his career (1.94 yards per route run), but only across 220 total snaps. Hibner and Cuevas, meanwhile, will compete for the #2 tight end role with mediocre veteran free agent addition Durham Smythe, who has averaged 0.91 yards per route run in eight seasons in the league and isn’t much better as a blocker.

Mark Andrews will remain the #1 tight end, but he is a bit of a concern too and, going into his age 31 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cuevas and Hibner were in part brought in to potentially replace him long-term. Andrews used to be a great receiving tight end, averaging a 71/904/8 slash line per 17 games and 2.11 yards per route run prior to last season, but he fell to a 48/422/5 slash line on 70 targets in 17 games last season, with just 1.23 yards per route run. Now going into his age 31 season, it is likely that Andrews has seen his best days, even if it’s possible he is a little better in 2026 than he was in 2025. This receiving corps has a lot of rookies who could play significant roles, but it is possible they are better overall than they were a year ago if a couple of the rookies are ahead of schedule.

Grade: B-

Running Backs

Running back Derrick Henry still had a great season in 2025, though he wasn’t quite as good as he was in 2024, going from 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns on 325 carries (5.91 YPC) to 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns on 307 carries (5.20 YPC). In total in his career, he has 13,018 yards and 122 touchdowns on 2,662 carries (4.89 YPC), while averaging 3.64 yards per carry after contact, a 19.0% missed tackle rate, and a 50.9% carry success rate. Henry is going into his age 32 season, which is well past when most even elite running backs start to decline, but Henry has managed to buck the normal trend for his position. He could decline in 2026, which would hurt this offense, but he would have to decline significantly to be less than an above average runner.

Henry’s weakness has always been the passing game, as he has averaged just 1.15 yards per route run and a 21/200/1 slash line per 17 games in his career, but Henry needs to come off the field at some point anyway and taking him out in obvious passing situations has never been a big deal for his teams. Justice Hill has been the primary passing down back over the past three seasons, averaging 1.28 yards per route run and a 38/314/2 slash line per 17 games in that role, and he should remain in that role in 2026. In fact, the Ravens should get more out of him, after injuries limited him to 10 games last season. 

Hill is not much of a runner, with 3.2 carries per game in his career, including just 18 total carries last season, but that would only be an issue if Derrick Henry got hurt and missed multiple games, something that has only happened to him once in his career. The Ravens did plan for the future at the running back position a little bit this off-season, using a 5th round pick on Adam Randall, who would need an injury ahead of him on the depth chart to see any sort of role as a rookie, but who could be in the mix for a role long-term. Derrick Henry’s age is a concern, as is the Ravens’ lack of proven running back depth behind him, but Henry’s upside is still high enough to significantly elevate this position group by himself.

Grade: A-

Edge Defenders

While the Ravens’ offense still has concerns even if Lamar Jackson can stay healthy, with Tyler Linderbaum gone and both Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews on the wrong side of 30, the Ravens’ defense is the biggest reason why they should have a big jump in win total this season. I already mentioned that they should be healthier, after having the third most adjusted games lost to injury last season on that side of the ball. On top of that, they replaced long-time head coach John Harbaugh with a new defensive minded head coach in Jesse Minter, who has gotten the most out of his players whenever he has called plays, something he will continue to do as head coach, and the Ravens also added Trey Hendrickson, the best available free agent edge defender, who upgrades a position that was a significant weakness last season. 

Only one Ravens edge defender had even a 10% pressure rate or better last season and that was Dre’Mont Jones, who only played 9 games for the team, being acquired in a mid-season trade. Jones is gone, but Hendrickson replaces him and he has been one of the best pass rushers in the league over the past few seasons, totaling 74.5 sacks, 79 hits, and a 15.7% pressure rate in 87 games since 2020. He leaves something to be desired as a run defender, he only played in 7 games due to injury last season, and he is now going into his age 32 season and could start to decline, but he doesn’t have a significant injury history outside of last season (four games missed in the previous five seasons) and, even if he declines as a pass rusher, he should still be a significant upgrade for this team in that department. 

The Ravens also used a second round pick on edge defender Zion Young and they have last year’s second round pick Mike Green, who could take a step forward in year two, after struggling both against the run and as a pass rusher (3 sacks, 10 hits, and a 8.5% pressure rate) as a rookie. Tavius Robinson should also see snaps, although hopefully not too many, as he has struggled across 424 snaps per season since being selected in the 4th round in 2023, particularly struggling as a pass rusher, with just a career 6.5% pressure rate. The addition of Trey Hendrickson and Zion Young plus potential improvement from Mike Green should minimize the amount Robinson has to play in an overall improved position group from a year ago.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

The biggest injury the Ravens had on defense last season was interior defender Nnamdi Madubuike, who missed all but two games with a serious neck injury. Madubuike is only an average run defender, but he was one of the best interior pass rushers in the league prior to the injury, totaling 21.5 sacks, 29 hits, and a 11.4% pressure rate in 36 games since the start of the 2023 season, and he is still only in his age 29 season, so getting him back should really help this defense, even if he might not be 100% in his first year back.

In addition to getting Madubuike back from injury, the Ravens also get back Calais Campbell, a free agent addition who played for the team from 2020-2022. Campbell is the oldest defender in the league, going into his age 40 season, but he still played pretty well last season in a rotational role, playing at a slightly above average level both against the run and as a pass rusher across 524 total snaps, totaling 6.5 sacks, 9 hits, and a 9.7% pressure rate as a pass rusher. 

Campbell obviously isn’t what he was in his prime, when he was one of the best players in the league at his position, but the fact that he is still contributing in a meaningful way at his age is incredible. It’s always possible that he declines significantly this year, given his age, but he has kept himself in great shape and has rarely gotten hurt, missing just 15 total games in his career, with none missed since 2022. He was at the very least a worthwhile re-addition for the Ravens and likely will contribute in a meaningful role as a rotational player this season.

Madubuike and Campbell add to a position group that was led last season by Travis Jones, who stepped up in Madubuike’s absence to play at a career best level across a career high 743 snaps. At his best against the run, Jones also totaled 5 sacks, 4 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate last season. He also played at an above average level overall across snap counts of 452 and 599 in 2023 and 2024 respectively and he has totaled 7.5 sacks, 11 hits, and a 8.6% pressure rate in 50 games over the past three seasons, in addition to playing at a high level against the run. Still in his prime in his age 27 season, he should continue being an above average pass rusher and run defender, though probably across a smaller snap count, with Madubuike back and Campbell being added.

The Ravens also get Broderick Washington back from an injury that limited him to 102 snaps in 3 games last season, but he has been a consistently below average rotational player in his career and, in a better position group than a year ago, he shouldn’t play more than deep reserve snaps, barring injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. The Ravens also still have John Jenkins, who ranked 2nd among Ravens interior defenders with 523 snaps played last season. Even going into his age 37 season, he is still a decent run defender at 6-3 327 and will probably continue having a limited role in that capacity, but he has never been a good pass rusher (5.2% pressure rate for his career, 3.9% pressure rate last season) and should not see as many snaps as he did last season, especially given his age. In a deeper and more talented position group than a year ago, he won’t have to.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

One of the Ravens’ best defensive players last season was Roquan Smith, who again played at an above average level, both in coverage and against the run, which he has done for several seasons in a row. He was also relatively healthy, only missing two games, which continues a trend for him, with only eight games missed in eight seasons in the league. He should still be in his prime in his age 29 season in 2026, so he should continue playing at a similar level.

The rest of this linebacking corps was a weakness last season though and should remain one this season. Teddye Buchanan, a rookie 4th round pick, started the first 14 of the first 15 games of the season, playing 652 snaps total, and he played about how you’d expect a 4th round rookie linebacker would in a significant role, faring slightly below average. He then tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season, leaving Trenton Simpson as the starter. Simpson had previously been the starter in 2024 before Buchanan beat him out as a rookie and, as you’d expect out of a player who was replaced by a 4th round rookie, Simpson struggled in both 2024 and 2025, across snap counts of 654 and 406 respectively. 

Simpson was a 3rd round rookie in 2023 and is still only going into his age 25 season, so he could have some untapped upside, but he is probably best as a reserve. Buchanan, meanwhile, would be a candidate to take a step forward in year two under normal circumstances, but recovering from a significant injury complicates his projection. He will probably return to the starting role whenever he is able to return, but that might not be in week 1 and he could continue struggling upon his return. Roquan Smith elevates this position group somewhat, but the rest of the bunch is a concern. 

Grade: B

Secondary

The Ravens’ best defensive player last season was safety Kyle Hamilton and that figures to continue being the case in 2026, even with an improved supporting cast. Hamilton has played at an All-Pro level in each of the past three seasons and is still only going into his age 25 season, so his best days could still be in front of him. The 2022 1st round pick has the potential to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2026, or sometime in the near future. Hamilton will continue to start opposite Malaki Starks, the Ravens’ 2025 1st round pick who was solid in 17 starts as a rookie. He could easily take another step forward in 2026 and become an above average starter. 

Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey remain as the starting outside cornerbacks in sub packages. Wiggins, the Ravens’ 1st round pick in 2024, has been solid in two seasons in the league, across snap counts of 679 and 1,029 respectively. He was a little better as a rookie in a smaller role than he was in 2025, but he could easily bounce back in 2026 or have his best season yet, still only in his age 23 season, with a high upside. Humphrey, meanwhile, is also a former first round pick, back in 2017. He’s mostly been an above average starter in his career (113 starts in 131 games in nine seasons in the league), but he was closer to an average starter in 2025 and now is heading into his age 30 season, so his best days could be behind him. 

The 5th defensive back job in sub packages is up for grabs, with the Ravens losing safety Alohi Gilman this off-season, after he was decent in that role last season. The Ravens signed free agent Jaylinn Hawkins and he started 15 games for the Patriots last season, meaning they could continue primarily using three safeties together in sub packages, but Hawkins was marginal at best last season, which is on par with how he’s played in his career (47 starts in 90 games in 6 seasons in the league), so he is at least somewhat of a downgrade from Gilman. 

The other option is veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who played 558 snaps last season and was decent. He has been an average to above average cornerback in his career (86 starts in 108 games in nine seasons in the league), but he is going into his age 31 season, so he isn’t what he used to be. He also has a pretty significant injury history, missing 34 games in the past six seasons combined. At the very least, he figures to have somewhat of a role in this defense regardless of whether or not he is the primary 5th defensive back and, in a limited role, he is not a bad option. 

The Ravens also added Chandler Rivers in the 5th round of the draft to give them a potential long-term option, though he is unlikely to have a role as a rookie unless multiple injuries happen ahead of him on the depth chart. The downgrade from Alohi GIlman to Jaylinn Hawkins hurts this secondary a little bit, but this unit was the strength of the Ravens’ defense last season and should be almost as good this year as it was a year ago.

Grade: A-

Kickers

Tyler Loop famously missed the week 18 kick that would have sent the Ravens to the post-season last season, but the 2025 6th round pick was all-around not that bad as a rookie, finishing with 1.25 points below average. Possessing a high upside, Loop could take a step forward in his second season in the league and become at least a league average kicker, though that is not a guarantee.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Ravens may or may not get a healthier season from Lamar Jackson in 2026 than they did in 2025 and they also lost talented center Tyler Linderbaum, while Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews are on the wrong side of 30, so their offense is questionable, but their defense should be a lot better with Nnamdi Madubuike healthy and Trey Hendrickson being added, as well as talented defense mind Jesse Minter taking over as head coach. After ranking 11th in schedule adjusted efficiency overall last season, I would expect them to at least be a top-10 team this season, even if everything doesn’t go according to plan, which should translate to a lot of wins, against a relatively weak schedule. If Lamar Jackson can play at or close to his peak form, the Ravens should be in the mix to be the top team in the AFC.

Prediction: 13-4, 1st in AFC North

Carolina Panthers 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Panthers

Quarterback

The Panthers won the NFC South in 2025, but they were arguably one of the worst division winners in NFL history. Not only did they have a losing record at 8-9, winning their weak division by default, but they weren’t even as good as their record suggested, as they needed a 7-3 record in games decided by one score to even get to 8-9, despite a weak schedule. In terms of schedule adjusted efficiency, they ranked just 26th and were below average on both sides of the ball, ranking 25th on offense and 20th on defense. The Panthers made significant upgrades to their roster this off-season, spending aggressively in free agency, and they should be a better team, but that might not translate to more wins, as they are starting from a lower base point than their 2025 record suggests.

Quarterback Bryce Young was as mediocre as this team was as a whole. He isn’t as bad as he was during his disastrous start to his career, when he won just 2 of his first 18 career starts and got benched for veteran journeyman Andy Dalton, but even his improved play in 26 starts since getting his job back has resulted in just 62.9% completion, 6.42 YPA, 38 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. Young was the #1 overall pick in 2023 and is still only going into his age 25 season, so he still has a lot of upside, but he would need to take a big step forward in year four in 2026 to even be a decent starting quarterback.

The Panthers parted ways with the aging Dalton behind Young this off-season and replaced him with free agent signing Kenny Pickett. Pickett is also a former first round pick, but he is already on his fifth team in five seasons in the league and, overall, he has completed 62.4% of his passes for an average of 6.19 YPA, 16 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in 27 career starts. Pickett is also already going into his age 28 season, as he was an old rookie who was drafted in the first round more for his supposed NFL readiness than his upside, so it is unlikely he ever significantly improves. He is not bad as far as backup quarterbacks go, but he isn’t a serious option to take Young’s job and, as mediocre of a starting option as Young is, Pickett would still be a noticeable downgrade if he had to start in case of an injury to Young.

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

Most of the big free agent signings the Panthers made this off-season were on defense, but they also signed Rasheed Walker, the top free agent left tackle. Walker has been a solid starter for the Packers over the past three seasons (48 starts) and should remain one for the Panthers in 2026. Unfortunately, he is not an upgrade over the player he is replacing, Ikem Ekwonu, a solid left tackle in his own right, who is expected to miss most if not all of the 2026 season after tearing his patellar tendon in the post-season last year. A patellar tendon tear is the most serious type of knee tear a player can suffer and even if Ekwonu returns to action this season, he probably will not be a 100% and would probably only return as a reserve, with Walker being added as a replacement.

The Panthers also added an offensive tackle in the first round of the draft, selecting Monroe Freeling. Freeling probably won’t see significant action as a rookie unless there is another injury ahead of him on the depth chart, but Walker was only signed to a 1-year deal, Ekwonu will also be a free agent next off-season, and right tackle Taylor Moton is heading into his age 32 season, so Freeling will start long-term. Moton has been a consistently above average right tackle in his tenure as a starter with the Panthers (128 starts in the past 8 seasons), but at his age there is concern for a potential decline this season, even if he hasn’t started to decline noticeably yet.

The Panthers also will likely get worse play at the center position in 2026 compared to 2025. Cade Mays, who left as a free agent, was a decent starter last season and he will be replaced by free agent signing Luke Fortner. A 3rd round pick by the Jaguars in 2022, Fortner started all 34 games in the first two seasons of his career, but he was one of the worst starting centers in the league, leading to him getting benched ahead of the 2024 season. 

Fortner eventually ended up with the Saints, where he made 10 starts as an injury fill in last season and, while he was better by default than he was in 2022 or 2023, he was still a below average starter, which he is likely to remain in 2026. The Panthers also added center Sam Hecht in the 5th round of the draft and, while he could end up as the starter at some point this season, he is probably not a realistic candidate to start week one and, if he does start at some point as a rookie, he is likely to also be a liability.

The good news is the Panthers will get talented right guard Robert Hunt back from a torn biceps that limited him to two games last season. Hunt is an above average guard when healthy and doesn’t have a significant injury history, missing seven games in five seasons in the league prior to 2025, so he is an obvious bounce back candidate, although his age could be a concern, going into his age 30 season. When healthy and at his best, Hunt forms one of the best guard duos in the league with left guard Damien Lewis, a consistently above average starter in his own right.

Along with the rookie Freeling at tackle and the rookie Hecht at center, depth options for the Panthers on the offensive line include guard Chandler Zavala, a 2023 4th round pick who has struggled across 14 career starts, and Stone Forsythe, a veteran swing tackle with 27 career starts, 13 of which came last season as an injury fill-in with the Raiders, where he was a liability. This offensive line has some concerns, as they figure to get worse play at center than a year ago, while right tackle Taylor Moton and right guard Robert Hunt are on the wrong side of 30, but Hunt should at least be healthier this season than last season, which will be a boost to this line. Overall, this looks like a solid, but unspectacular unit.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

Things remain relatively similar in the receiving corps for Bryce Young and the Panthers this season. Tetairoa McMillan remains as the obvious #1 receiver and could improve further on the 70/1014/7 slash line and 1.84 yards per route run average that won him Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2025, after being selected 8th overall. No other Panthers receiver had better than a 33/394/3 slash line last season, but Jalen Coker, who had that slash line, did so in only 11 games and should at least be healthier in 2026. 

Coker flashed a lot of potential with a 1.72 yards per route run average as a rookie in 2024, but that fell to 1.37, which isn’t that surprising, as Coker originally went undrafted and did not enter the league with a high upside. Coker has still exceeded the expectations of an undrafted free agent, but he would probably be best as a #3 receiver and is only the Panthers’ likely #2 receiver due to the lack of a better option. Xavier Legette was a first round pick in the same draft class as Coker, but he has been a massive bust, looking more like an undrafted free agent than Coker has. 

On 59 more targets in two seasons in the league, Legette has 12 fewer receiving yards than Coker, while averaging just 1.05 yards per route run. He rightfully seemed to be getting phased out of the offense in favor of Coker down the stretch last season, receiving just 27 targets to 36 for Coker in the final 8 games of last season. Legette still has time to turn it around, but he was overdrafted in the first place, barely producing in college outside of one season when he was 22 years old, so it is not a surprise he has been a bust and I would expect him to continue struggling. 

Legette could get phased even further out of the offense because the Panthers used a 3rd round pick in this year’s draft on Chris Brazzell, who could push Legette for the #3 receiver job at some point this season. Brazzell will probably begin the year as the #4 receiver, which would make him a reserve, along with John Metchie, a second round pick in 2022 who never developed, averaging just 1.02 yards per route run across three different teams, and Jimmy Horn, a 2025 6th round pick who was decent across 148 snaps as a rookie (1.32 yards per route run).

The Panthers also didn’t get much out of their tight ends last season. Tommy Tremble (636 snaps) was their primary tight end, but he only finished with a 27/249/2 slash line on 0.91 yards per route run. A 3rd round pick in 2021, that was actually a career high in receiving yardage for Tremble, who has averaged just 0.79 yards per route run in his career. I wouldn’t expect him to suddenly improve this season. Ja’Tavion Sanders had a role as a passing down specialist at tight end (393 snaps, 242 routes), but he also was underwhelming, with a 29/190/1 slash line and 0.83 yards per route run. A 4th round pick in 2024, Sanders also had a 33/342/1 slash line on 1.09 yards per route run as a rookie. He’s still very young, only going into his age 23 season, so he still has upside, but he has a long way to go to be even an average receiving tight end. 

Ironically, it was 5th round rookie Mitchell Evans, mostly a blocking specialist, who was their most efficient receiver at tight end, with a 19/171/2 slash line on 1.30 yards per route run. He only ran 139 routes, as opposed to 253 blocking snaps, and he might not be as effective in a passing game larger role, but he could have earned himself more playing time in passing situations in 2026. The Panthers’ tight ends have some upside, but they are likely to be an underwhelming bunch in the receiving game again. With Jalen Coker likely to be healthier and Chris Brazzell being added in the draft, the Panthers could get more out of their receivers who aren’t Tetairoa McMillan in 2026, but McMillan figures to still be the clear #1 option and he elevates an otherwise underwhelming receiving corps by himself.

Grade: B

Running Backs

Probably the most impactful player the Panthers lost on offense in free agency was running back Rico Dowdle, who led the team in carries, rushing yards, and touchdowns. Dowdle was brought in originally to backup Chuba Hubbard, who had 250 carries as the lead back in 2024, but when Hubbard missed two games early in the year, Dowdle excelled in his absence and took his job, totaling 155 carries to 81 for Hubbard in the 11 games after Hubbard returned from injury.

Hubbard was pretty good as the lead back in 2024, averaging 4.78 YPC on 250 carries with 3.46 yards per carry after contact, a 54.8% carry success rate, and a 18.4% missed tackle rate. However, that was out of the ordinary for him, as he has averaged 4.15 YPC on 889 carries with 2.90 yards per carry after contact, a 48.9% carry success rate, and a 15.7% missed tackle rate in five seasons in the league. Last season, he averaged just 3.81 YPC on 155 carries with 2.39 yards per carry after contact, a 50.7% carry success rate, and a 9.7% missed tackle rate. I wouldn’t expect him to be as effective in 2026 as he was in 2024, though he will probably be better than he was in 2025. Dowdle will also be missed in the passing game, as he had a 39/297/1 slash line on 1.18 yards per route run, while Hubbard has averaged just 0.85 yards per route run in his career.

The Panthers also lack good, proven depth behind Hubbard, with the only player added to replace Rico Dowdle being veteran free agent AJ Dillon, who has gotten just 15 touches over the past two seasons combined due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Their highest upside option to be Hubbard’s backup is Jonathon Brooks. Brooks was a high risk, high reward pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, as he was a first round talent who tore his ACL in his final collegiate season. The Panthers were cautious with his return and held him out of most of his rookie year, but he still re-tore his ACL after just 9 carries in 3 games upon his return, leading to him missing all of 2025. 

Brooks still has time to turn it around, but it is tough to know what to expect from a player who has barely played in the NFL and who is coming off of back-to-back ACL tears. The Panthers also have 2025 4th round pick Trevor Etienne, who only had 20 carries as a rookie, but could take a step forward and handle a bigger workload in year two. Perhaps the Panthers only signing Dillon in free agency is a sign that they are confident in one or both of their two young, unproven backs. With Hubbard as an underwhelming starter and no good, proven options behind him on the depth chart, this backfield has significant concerns.

Grade: C+

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the biggest additions the Panthers made this off-season were on defense. Their biggest addition in terms of salary was edge defender Jaelan Phillips, who they signed to a 4-year, 120 million dollar deal, making him the 9th highest paid edge defender in the league in terms of average annual salary. Phillips was a risky signing with high upside and high downside and the Panthers are paying him as if he will hit his upside, but sometimes you have to overpay to get talent in free agency and Phillips was one of the best available players on the free agent market this off-season.

A first round pick in 2021, Phillips looked on his way to stardom early in his career, totaling 22 sacks, 32 quarterback hits, and a 12.5% pressure rate in 42 games in his first three seasons in the league, but he tore his achilles late in the 2023 season, subsequently suffered a knee injury in 2024 that cost him most of the season, and initially did not seem to be the same player upon his return in 2025, leading to the Dolphins trading him to the Eagles for a third round pick at the trade deadline, rather than extending him ahead of his pending free agency this off-season. 

Phillips started to show his old form down the stretch with the Eagles though and, despite a slow start, finished the 2025 season with 5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and a 17.7% pressure rate, while playing all 17 games. Phillips has a serious injury history dating back to his collegiate days, so he is a big injury risk, but he is also still only in his age 27 season and should remain an above average edge defender as long as he can stay healthy.

Edge defender was a huge position of need this off-season and Phillips will essentially be replacing DJ Wonnum (688 snaps), who left as a free agent after struggling against the run and as a pass rusher last season (8.0% pressure rate), so in that sense it would be hard for Phillips not to help this team, even if he isn’t at his best or misses some time with injury. Phillips will start opposite 2025 2nd round pick Nic Scourton, who was their only decent edge defender as a rookie. Scourton was at his best against the run, but also added 5 sacks, 6 hits, and a 9.7% pressure rate as a rookie and he could take a step forward in year two.

Fellow rookie Princely Umanmielen, selected in the 3rd round in 2025, did not have nearly as good of a rookie year, limited to 222 snaps and struggling both against the run and as a pass rusher (6.5% pressure rate). He could take a step forward in year two, but has a long way to go to even be a decent rotational player. He and veteran Patrick Jones, who missed all but 4 games last season, will be the Panthers’ top reserve edge defenders this season. Jones is a decent run defender, but only has a career pressure rate of 7.9% and now is coming off of a major back injury, so I wouldn’t expect much from him. The addition of Jaelan Phillips upgrades this position group significantly, but he comes with a significant history of injury.

Grade: B- 

Interior Defenders

Some things changed at the interior defender position for the Panthers this off-season, but things aren’t really that different overall. A’Shawn Robinson, who was solid across 658 snaps last season, left as a free agent, but he was replaced by 2nd round pick Lee Hunter, who might not be as good as Robinson, but also has a higher upside. Tershawn Wharton had back surgery this off-season and is expected to miss the start of next season, but he was limited to 9 games by other injuries last season anyway.

Derrick Brown is still by far their best interior defender and one of the best interior defenders in the whole league. A dominant run defender, Brown has also added 13 sacks, 44 hits, and a 7.5% pressure rate in 84 career games, including 5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 7.8% pressure rate in 17 games last season. Brown missed almost all of the 2024 season with injury and was badly missed, but he seemed to be his old self upon his return in 2025 and he has otherwise missed just 1 game in his other five seasons in the league. The 7th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Brown is still in his prime in his age 28 season and should continue playing at a high level in 2026.

When Wharton is on the field, he is a solid pass rusher with a career 7.1% pressure rate, but also a liability against the run. In his absence, Bobby Brown will be the primary reserve behind Derrick Brown and the rookie Lee Hunter. Bobby Brown is kind of the opposite of Wharton, providing solid run defense, but only pressuring the quarterback at a 3.2% rate in his career. Wharton’s absence could also force the Panthers to use LaBryan Ray more and he is both a liability against the run and as a pass rusher (career 2.7% pressure rate). Derrick Brown elevates this position group significantly by himself, but the rest of this group is a concern.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Along with Jaelan Phillips, the other big addition on this defense this off-season is linebacker Devin Lloyd, who the Panthers signed to a 3-year, 42 million dollar deal. He will replace free agent departure Christian Rozeboom, who was a below average every down player last season (823 snaps). Lloyd figures to be a massive upgrade. A first round pick in 2022, Lloyd struggled as a rookie, but has been a well above average player in each of the past three seasons, including a career best year in 2025 when he was a borderline All-Pro caliber player. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, Lloyd should continue playing at a well above average level in 2026, which will be a big boost for this season.

Trevin Wallace remains as the other starter. He played 624 snaps in 12 games last season and was a liability, as he was across 582 snaps as a rookie in 2024. The former third round pick is still only going into his age 23 season and could have further untapped upside, but thus far he has struggled in his career and that could continue in 2026. Claudin Cherelus remains as the top reserve. He went undrafted in 2023 and has only played 365 snaps in his career, but he has shown a little promise in that limited action. He could be deserving of a larger role in 2026, but he would be a projection to that larger role and might struggle. The Panthers also non-tendered him as a restricted free agent this off-season before bringing him back on a cheaper deal, so they don’t seem to value him as more than a backup. Devin Lloyd boosts this group in a big way, but the rest of the bunch is underwhelming.

Grade: B+

Secondary

The strength of this defense last season was their cornerbacks, with both Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson playing at an above average level. Horn, the 8th overall pick in 2021, has been a well above average player throughout his career, with his biggest concern being durability, as he played just 22 games in his first three seasons in the league, but he has been much healthier the past two seasons, only missing three games total and playing at a borderline All-Pro level. 

Still in his prime in his age 26 season, Horn is probably a bigger injury risk than most players, but as long as he is on the field, Horn should continue playing at a similar level. Jackson, on the other hand, is coming off of a career best year in his 7th season in the league and the former 5th round pick might not be able to repeat that performance. Jackson was solid in 2024, so last season didn’t come out of nowhere, but if he plays in 2026 like he did in 2024 rather than how he did in 2025 it will hurt this defense at least a little bit. 

The Panthers also have an above average starter at safety, Tre’Von Moehrig, a 2021 2nd round pick who has played at that level for three straight seasons and should continue to play at that level in 2026, only his age 27 season. Unfortunately, the rest of this secondary looks likely to be a liability. Fellow starting safety Nick Scott wasn’t too bad last season, but he has been a liability as a starter throughout his career and he is now going into his age 31 season, so he figures to be worse in 2026 than he was in 2025. He could be pushed for his starting job by 2025 4th round pick Lathan Ransom, who was decent across 336 snaps as a rookie, but Ransom is still a projection to a larger role and might get exposed if he has to play more than he did as a rookie.

Chau Smith-Wade struggled across 626 snaps as the third cornerback last season, as he did across 301 snaps as a 5th round rookie in 2024. He could have some untapped upside, only going into his age 23 season, but he would have to improve significantly to be even a decent third cornerback and there is no guarantee that happens. He could face competition for his job from Corey Thornton, a 2025 undrafted free agent who briefly flashed potential as a rookie (127 snaps), before breaking his leg, and Will Lee, a 4th round rookie who probably isn’t ready for a significant role in year one. This is still a solid secondary, but their weaknesses are clear.

Grade: B

Kickers

Ryan Fitzgerald won the Panthers’ kicker job last off-season as an undrafted rookie, but unfortunately he was a liability, missing three extra points and only making two of five field goals from 50+ yards, while ultimately costing the Panthers 4.97 points compared to an average kicker. The Panthers didn’t add any competition for him this off-season, suggesting they expect him to get better in his second season in the league, but that is not a guarantee.

Grade: C+

Conclusion

The Panthers got better this off-season, particularly on defense, but they are starting from a lower base point than their 8-9 record from a year ago suggests, as they finished last season 26th in schedule adjusted efficiency. They also face a much tougher schedule this year than a year ago, especially when compared to their division rivals, and ultimately I have them favored in just two games all season on my calculated lines. They will probably win more than just those two games, but they have a tough path to repeating as NFC South champions unless things go far better than expected.

Prediction: 5-12, 4th in NFC South

Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Falcons

Quarterback

Two years ago, the Falcons took an interesting approach to resolving a major need at quarterback. They signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, 180 million dollar deal with 100 million guaranteed, even though he was in his mid-30s and coming off of an achilles tear, and then they used the 8th overall pick on Michael Penix, even though he was considered a relatively NFL ready prospect who would be 24 years as a rookie and 26 years old in his third season in the league, which seemed like the earliest he would be starting in a best case scenario for the team. 

The best case scenario did not happen, however. Cousins disappointed and was ultimately benched 14 games into his Falcons tenure. Penix took over for the final 3 games of the 2024 season and kept the job into 2025, making Cousins a very expensive backup. Penix, however, was pretty underwhelming and, perhaps more concerning, suffered multiple injuries, something that was a concern for him in college too. Most notably, he suffered a torn ACL that ended his 2025 season in week 11, putting Cousins back into the starting lineup.

Now Penix goes into his third season in the league having started just 12 games, while completing 59.6% of his passes for an average of 7.24 YPA, 12 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, and he is already in his age 26 season with a concerning injury history. The Falcons still let go of Cousins this off-season, unable to come to terms on a cheaper contract with him, with most of his guaranteed money already paid out. Cousins was replaced with ex-Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who came on a minimum deal because the Dolphins released him despite being on the hook for almost his whole salary in 2026 regardless of whether or not he was on the roster.

Tagovailoa had some moments in Miami, but largely due to his supporting cast around him. Last season, with a diminished supporting cast, he completed just 67.7% of his passes for an average of 6.93 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Tagovailoa also has a concerning injury history, most notably his concussion history. There is a reason the Dolphins opted to pay him to go away this off-season, as keeping him on the roster for 2026 could have guaranteed his 2027 salary had he suffered a significant injury, which is much bigger concern with him than most quarterbacks. 

It sounds like Penix and Tagovailoa will have a legitimate quarterback competition and that Tagovailoa could start week 1 even if Penix is healthy enough to play. Either way, the chances that they get more than low end starter play out of either is not particularly high and whoever wins the starting job could easily get benched and/or injured, making it likely that both quarterbacks will ultimately see time this season.

The outcome wasn’t what they wanted, but the Falcons were right to be aggressive at the quarterback position two off-seasons ago, as they were legitimately a quarterback away from being a contender. Even with a subpar quarterback room, the Falcons haven’t been bad the past two seasons, going 16-18. Now two years later, the Falcons being a quarterback away from being contenders largely remains the case, despite a few departures from their supporting cast, but it seems unlikely they will get significantly better quarterback play than the past two seasons and, as a result, it seems unlikely they will win significantly more games. Once again, a subpar quarterback room holds back an above average overall roster.

Grade: C+

Running Backs

A big part of their above average roster is running back Bijan Robinson, who is arguably the best all-around running back in the league. Selected 8th overall in 2023, Robinson has averaged 4.85 YPC with 25 touchdowns on 805 carries in his career, with 3.37 yards per carry after contact, a 25.3% missed tackle rate, a 52.7% carry success rate, and 1.39 yards per route run. He’s also never missed a game due to injury in his career and is only going into his age 24 season, so he is as risk free as running backs come, in addition to having elite talent. He should have a similar season in 2026 as he did in 2025, when he rushed for 1,478 yards and 7 touchdowns on 287 carries (5.15 YPC) with a 79/820/4 slash line on 103 targets. 

Even with Robinson being an elite lead back, the Falcons ran the ball enough last season for backup Tyler Allgeier to have 143 carries. Allgeier left as a free agent this off-season, but the Falcons replaced him with a former starting running back in Brian Robinson, who has averaged 4.12 YPC and 17 touchdowns on 662 carries in four seasons in the league, with 2.92 yards per carry after contact, a 18.0% missed tackle rate, a 50.5% carry success rate, and 1.10 yards per route run. As far as true #2 running backs go, he is one of the better ones in the league and he figures to have a similar role to Allgeier, behind Bijan Robinson, one of the best all-around running backs in the league.

Grade: A

Receiving Corps

The Falcons also have an elite wide receiver in Drake London, who has averaged 2.15 yards per route run in four seasons in the league, since going 8th overall in 2022. His most productive season came in 2024, when he had a 100/1271/9 slash line and averaged 2.32 yards per route run, good for 11th in the NFL that season. Last season, London missed five games, but still had a 68/919/7 slash line, which extrapolates to 96/1302/10 over 17 games, and averaged 2.34 yards per route run, again good for 11th in the NFL. Still only in his age 25 season, with a limited injury history (one game missed in three seasons prior to last season), London is an obvious bounce back candidate in 2026.

The rest of this wide receiver group is a big concern though. Darnell Mooney was solid as the #2 wide receiver in 2024, totaling a 64/992/5 slash line with 1.88 yards per route run, but Mooney was never really healthy in 2025 and fell to a 32/443/1 slash line on 0.97 yards per route run, leading to his release this off-season. In his place, the Falcons signed Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus to contracts worth 15 million over 2 years and 4.5 million over 2 years respectively and then used a third round pick on Zachariah Branch.

Even as a third round rookie, Branch might be the best option of the bunch, which says more about Dotson and Zaccheaus then it does about Branch’s NFL readiness. Dotson was a first round pick in 2022, but has been a massive bust, averaging just 0.83 yards per route run in four seasons in the league, with an average of 380 receiving yards per season. Dotson is still only in his age 26 season, but he is running out of time to make good on his upside and he would need to improve significantly to be even an average wide receiver. Zaccheaus, meanwhile, has averaged 1.22 yards per route run in his career, including 0.93 yards per route run with a 39/313/2 slash line last season.

With London missing time with injury and Mooney struggling, tight end Kyle Pitts took on a bigger role in the passing game last season and that seems likely to remain the case this season, after the Falcons paid Pitts 15.045 million to keep him on the franchise tag. Pitts finished last season with a 88/928/8 slash line on 118 targets with 1.71 yards per route run. Pitts never lived up his draft slot after being taken 4th overall by the Falcons in 2021, which made him the highest drafted tight end in NFL history, but, despite his ups and downs, he still has the 8th most catches and the 4th most receiving yards by a tight end since entering the league, while averaging 1.64 yards per route run. Still only in his age 26 season, he should remain an above average receiving tight end in 2026.

Pitts will be backed up by free agent addition Austin Hooper. Hooper is going into his age 32 season and hasn’t been a regular starter in several seasons, but he still averaged 1.34 yards per route run in a part-time role last season, in line with his career average of 1.37. He could decline in 2026, but even if he does, he is not a bad #2 tight end. The Falcons also still have Charlie Woerner, a blocking specialist who has averaged just 0.50 yards per route run with just 26 catches in 98 games in six seasons in the league. Drake London is a true #1 wide receiver and Kyle Pitts is an above average receiving tight end, but the Falcons’ lack of depth at wide receiver behind London is a significant issue.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

The Falcons also have an elite offensive lineman, as right guard Chris Lindstrom has played at an All-Pro level in each of the past five seasons. He’s also been very durable, missing just one game in six seasons in the league. Still in his late prime in his age 29 season, I would expect him to continue playing at an elite level in 2026. Unfortunately, the rest of this offensive line has seen better days. Former center Drew Dalman left as a free agent last off-season. Former right tackle Kaleb McGary missed all of last season with injury and opted to retire this off-season, ahead of what would have been his age 31 season. Left tackle Jake Matthews is still there, but he is going into his age 34 season.

Dalman was replaced by former backup Ryan Neuzil. A former 2021 undrafted free agent, Neuzil made 8 starts in place of an injured Dalman in 2024 and was decent and he continued that decent play into 2025 (17 starts), though he was still a downgrade from Dalman, who was a borderline All-Pro. McGary was originally replaced by former swing tackle Elijah Wilkinson, who was a liability in 17 starts last season. With McGary not returning, the Falcons replaced him with free agent addition Jawaan Taylor, who is also likely to be a liability. He has made 111 starts in seven seasons in the league, but he has mostly been below average in those seven seasons. Making matters worse, with Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix both being left handed, Taylor will be the blindside protector.

On the left side, Jake Matthews hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet and he has been extremely durable, not missing a game since his rookie year in 2014, which helps his chances of aging gracefully, but it is possible he declines at least somewhat this season, which further hurts this offensive line. He will start next to Matt Bergeron, whose development from a decent starter as a 2023 2nd round pick to an above average starter over the past two seasons has been a bright spot for this offensive line. Still very much in his prime in his age 26 season, Bergeron should remain an above average starter in 2026.

For depth options, the Falcons have veteran swing tackle Storm Norton and veteran interior lineman Corey Levin. Levin has had some moments in his career, but only across 7 starts in 9 seasons in the league and he is now heading into his age 32 season, while Storm Norton has also had his moments, across 22 starts in 9 seasons in the league, but he is also going into his age 32 season and missed all of last season with injury. This offensive line isn’t what it used to be, but this is still a solid offensive line, elevated by the presence of elite right guard Chris Lindstrom. 

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

The Falcons had a decent defense last season, ranking 14th in schedule adjusted efficiency, but there are some reasons for concern. James Pearce led the team with 10.5 sacks last season, adding 3 hits and a 12.5% pressure rate, though he did struggle against the run. Pearce was a first round pick in 2025 and in a normal situation I would expect him to be better in 2026, perhaps both as a run stopper and a pass rusher, but Pearce was involved in a serious legal situation this season and is likely to face some sort of suspension by the league, which will be a blow to this defense.

The draft pick the Falcons used to select Pearce was acquired by trading away their first round pick this year to the Rams, which ended up being 13th overall, which left them without a premium pick to add to this roster this off-season. The Falcons’ own first round pick in 2025 was used on another edge defender, Jalon Walker, who also had a solid rookie season, finishing with 5.5 sacks, 4 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate, while playing at an above average level against the run. He should at least take a step forward in year two, but the Falcons would be better off if they had both Walker and Pearce together for the whole season, which seems unlikely given how Pearce spent his off-season off the field.

Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd were solid pass rushers as reserves last season too, combining for 5.5 sacks, 13 hits, and a 13.0% pressure rate, but neither were retained so, In Pearce’s likely absence, replacement options include Samson Ebukam, Azeez Ojulari, and Cameron Thomas, who are all underwhelming options. Ojulari was a 2nd round pick in 2021 and is still only in his age 26 season, but he has just a 10.4% pressure rate in his career, has played in just 49 games in five seasons in the league, and played just 67 snaps total last season, frequently being a healthy scratch. Cameron Thomas has only averaged 243 snaps per season and a 9.4% pressure rate in four seasons in the league, since being selected in the 3rd round in 2022.

Ebukam used to be an above average starter, with his best season coming in 2023, when he totaled 9.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.7% pressure rate, but he tore his achilles and missed all of 2024 and then was not the same upon his return in 2025, providing mediocre play against the run and as a pass rusher (9.8% pressure rate) across 416 snaps. Ebukam could be better in 2026, another year removed from the injury, but he is also in his age 31 season, so it seems unlikely he will ever bounce back to his old form. This figures to be a significantly worse position group than a year ago with James Pearce likely facing a significant suspension and useful reserves Leonard Floyd and Arnold Ebiketie not being retained.

Grade: B-

Interior Defenders

The Falcons’ top-2 interior defenders in terms of snaps played last season, David Onyemata (633 snaps) and Ruke Orhorhoro (599 snaps) are no longer on the roster. Onyemata was decent last season, but Orhorhoro was a liability and his loss could be addition by subtraction. Unfortunately, the player they traded him for, Maason Smith, is unlikely to be significantly better. Smith was a second round pick in 2024, but has been a liability on snap counts of 384 and 311 in his two seasons in the league respectively. He still has theoretical upside, only going into his age 24 season, but he has a long way to go to even be a decent rotational player.

Smith figures to play a significant role alongside Brandon Dorius, who is their top returning interior defender from last season in terms of snaps played (465), and Zach Harrison, who was limited to 7 games by injury last season, but played 34.1 snaps per game when healthy. Dorius was second on the team with 8.5 sacks last season, but his peripheral pass rush stats were not as good, as he had just 1 hit and a 8.3% pressure rate, nor was his run defense, which was mediocre. Harrison is probably their all-around best interior defender option, providing decent run defense and a 9.1% pressure rate in three seasons in the league since being selected in the 3rd round in 2023, but he has only averaged 285 snaps per season thus far in his career, playing a reserve role in his first two seasons before missing much of last season, so he is a projection to a larger role.

Deep reserve options for the Falcons include Lacale London, who has been decent, but only across 475 snaps in six seasons in the league, including a career high 270 snaps in 2025, 6th round rookie Anterio Thompson, free agent addition Chris Williams, who has mostly struggled on snaps counts of 367 and 219 over the past two seasons, and Dashawn Hand, who has been a decent rotational player in his career, but is now going into his age 31 season. This is overall an underwhelming position group.

Grade: C+

Linebackers

The Falcons lost Kaden Elliss this off-season and he was a solid every down player across 1,102 snaps last season. In his absence, the Falcons will either start free agent addition Christian Harris or Troy Andersen, who missed all of last season with injury. Both will be significant downgrades. Harris has been a liability in four seasons in the league, while only starting 27 of 46 games he has played, while Andersen, who has only played 907 total snaps in four seasons in the league, largely due to injuries, and has generally been below average when he has played. Andersen is probably their best option by default, but neither one is a good option. The Falcons also added Kendal Daniels in the 4th round of the draft, but he is unlikely to be ready to start as a rookie.

Fortunately, Divine Deablo, who was actually the Falcons’ best linebacker last season and a big part of their defensive success, remains on the roster. A 3rd round pick in 2021, Deablo took a little bit to develop, but he has turned into an above average starter in the past two seasons, particularly excelling in coverage. Last season, he was best among eligible linebackers in receptions per coverage snap and in pass breakup percentage. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, I would expect more above average play from him in 2026, but the concern is his injury history. 

Not only did Deablo miss four games last season, but he hasn’t played all 17 games since his rookie season, while missing 18 total games in five seasons in the league and never exceeding 771 snaps played in a season. It is possible the Falcons get more games and snaps out of him in 2026 than 2025, which would help this defense, but that is far from a guarantee. Deablo elevates this position group by himself, but not enough for this to be better than a below average position group overall, given the state of the rest of the group.

Grade: C+

Secondary

The Falcons’ secondary is the strength of their defense. Top cornerback AJ Terrell has been a consistently above average starter for several seasons, while starting all 93 games played in 6 seasons in the league. Meanwhile, top safety Jessie Bates has been a borderline All-Pro caliber safety for several seasons, while starting all 130 games played in 8 seasons in the league. With Terrell only going into his age 28 season and Bates going into his age 29 season, both should continue playing at the level they have played in recent years. Xavier Watts remains as the starter next to Bates and he was solid as a 17-game starter last season, despite only being a 3rd round rookie. Now going into his second season in the league, he could easily be better in 2026 than 2025. 

Terrell, Bates, and Hughes give the Falcons a good top-3 in the secondary. However, cornerback was a position of weakness other than AJ Terrell last season, with Mike Hughes (689 snaps) and Dee Alford (581 snaps) struggling in their roles last season. The Falcons used a second round pick on Avieon Terrell, who could be an upgrade by default at one of those spots as a rookie, but that would still leave one spot being a liability. 

Alford is no longer on the roster, but Hughes remains and, if he continues starting, he would likely continue struggling, as he has throughout his career (49 starts in 99 games in 8 seasons in the league). The Falcons do also get Billy Bowman back from a torn achilles that ended his rookie season after 300 snaps in 6 games, but the 4th round pick also struggled as a rookie and is unlikely to be significantly better in year two, given that he is coming off of a major injury. This secondary has top end talent, but there are still concerns.

Grade: B+

Kickers

The Falcons upgraded the kicker position this off-season in a big way, signing Nick Folk. Folk is going into his age 42 season, which is obviously a concern, but he has been one of the best kickers in the league throughout his career and he has not slowed down in his old age. No kicker has contributed more than the 28.92 points added over average in the past three seasons combined. Even if he isn’t quite as good in 2026, he should still remain an above average option.

Grade: A-

Conclusion

The Falcons finished last year 15th in schedule adjusted efficiency, slightly better than their 8-9 record. However, they lost some key players on defense this off-season and have an old roster, ranking 4th in snap adjusted age in 2025 and 7th in average age of their roster currently. Given that, they might not even win the 8 games they won last season. The obvious caveat is they would improve, perhaps significantly, if they got good quarterback play for the first time in years, but that seems unlikely.

Prediction: 7-10, 1st in NFC South

Denver Broncos 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Broncos

Quarterback

The Broncos finished last season 14-3, but they benefitted significantly from having the second easiest strength of schedule in the league in terms of opponents’ record and their schedule was even easier than that. When they faced the Bengals, they faced third string Jake Browning. One of the times faced the Chiefs, they faced third string Chris Oladokun, and one of the times they faced the Chargers, the Chargers were resting many of their starters, including quarterback Justin Herbert, with their playoff seed locked up. Despite their easy schedule, they only won by more than eight points three times all season, with two of those games coming against the aforementioned Bengals and Chargers. Games against the Titans, Jets, Giants, Raiders, Commanders and Raiders again resulted in victories by 8 points, 2 points, 1 point, 3 points, 1 point, and 7 points respectively. 

Now going into 2026, they face an above average schedule and they are unlikely to have the same record in close games (11-2 in games decided by 8 points or fewer, after going 1-6 in such games in 2024), so they will have to play better to even come close to winning 14 games again. They did make a big addition to their receiving corps by trading for Jaylen Waddle, but doing so cost them their first round pick and other picks, which they could have used elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, their defense lost some key players and their roster overall is one of the oldest in the league, ranking 6th in snap adjusted age last season and 8th in average age of their roster as of right now. They also were relatively healthy in the regular season last year, ranking 8th best in adjusted games lost to injury and 5th best in total expected points lost to injury, which might not happen again this year, especially given the age of their roster.

Quarterback Bo Nix is relatively young, only going into his age 26 season, but he has ranked 29th out of 36 eligible quarterbacks and 28th out of 33 eligible quarterbacks in yards per attempt over the past two seasons respectively, with a total yards per attempt average of 6.54 in two seasons in the league. It is possible he takes a step forward in year three, but he came into the league relatively experienced and NFL ready, while lacking a high ceiling, so it seems unlikely he will improve drastically. 

Backup Jarrett Stidham hasn’t attempted a regular season pass in two seasons, but he did have to start in the AFC Championship last season when Nix broke his ankle, a game in which he predictably struggled. In six seasons in the league, Stidham has just four regular season starts and his passer rating is 78.3, meaning he is probably a below average backup quarterback, but the Broncos didn’t seem interested in trying to find an upgrade on him this off-season. This is a below average quarterback room overall.

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

The oldest position group on this offense is their offensive line, which has three starters who will be in their age 30 season or older this season. That is a concern, as they have been one of the best offensive lines in the league in recent years, ranking 8th in pass block win rate last season, 4th in run block win rate last season, and 1st in both categories in 2024, while only allowing Bo Nix to be sacked just 46 times in 34 career starts. 

Left tackle Garret Bolles was the best of the bunch last season, playing at a borderline Pro-Bowl level. He’s been a consistently above average starter throughout his career (133 starts in nine seasons in the league) and last season was arguably his best. Unfortunately, he is now going into his age 34 season and, even if he doesn’t decline significantly, which is a possibility, it seems unlikely he will repeat arguably the best season of his career again in 2026.

Right tackle Mike McGlinchey has been a consistently solid starter in his career (115 starts in eight seasons in the league) and has yet to show any signs of decline thus far, but that could change in his age 32 season in 2026, which could cause him to only be a middling starter. Left guard Ben Powers, meanwhile, has only been a middling starter at best in his career (76 starts in seven seasons in the league) and, now going into his age 30 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he became a liability in 2026.

Right guard Quinn Meinerz is probably their best overall offensive lineman, playing at an above average level since entering the season as a 3rd round pick in 2021 and specifically playing at an All-Pro level in three straight seasons, which is good because he is still very much in his prime in his age 28 season and should continue being a dominant player. He will start next to Luke Wattenberg, another returning starter who rounds out this unit at center. A 5th round pick in 2022, Wattenberg became a starter in 2024 and has been a decent starter in 28 starts over the past two seasons.

Despite all of their aging starters, the Broncos only used a 4th round pick on offensive line depth, adding guard Kage Casey in the 4th round. Along with Casey, reserve options include 2023 undrafted free agent guard Adam Palczewski, who made 10 of his 13 career starts last season in place of an injured Ben Powers and struggled, center Alex Forsyth, a 2023 7th round pick who has been decent in six career starts, and swing tackle Matt Peart, who has mostly struggled in ten starts in six seasons in the league. The Broncos return all five starters from an offensive line that has played well over the past two seasons, but age is a concern, with three of the five on the wrong side of 30 and limited young depth behind them on the depth chart.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

As I mentioned, the Dolphins added Jaylen Waddle to their receiving corps this off-season, at the price of a first round pick, among other lesser picks. Originally selected 6th overall in 2021, Waddle has averaged 2.11 yards per route run and a 81/1098/6 slash line per 17 games in his career, while only missing 7 games due to injury in five seasons in the league. Last season, he performed similarly to his career averages, with a 64/910/6 slash line in 16 games and a 2.19 yards per route run average, and he’s only going into his age 28 season, so I don’t expect him to start declining for at least a couple seasons. He’s also produced those numbers despite only getting 119 targets per 17 games in his career, frequently operating as a #2 receiver behind Tyreek Hill.

Waddle might not get significantly more targets than that in his first season with the Broncos though. He will probably operate as the #1 receiver, but the Broncos still have Courtland Sutton, who has operated as the #1 receiver in recent years and will probably be more of a 1b to Waddle’s 1a rather than a true #2 receiver. Over the past seven seasons, Sutton has averaged a 71/971/6 slash line per 17 games and 1.71 yards per route run. He’s never been a true #1 receiver and he is now going into his age 31 season and could start to decline in 2026, so it made sense to add Waddle opposite him, but Sutton will still remain heavily involved in this offense.

Where Waddle will really upgrade this receiving corps is by pushing incumbent #2 wide receiver Troy Franklin into a much smaller role. Franklin received 109 targets last season, but only turned them into a 65/704/6 slash line and 1.45 yards per route run. A 4th round pick in 2024, Franklin also had just a 0.99 yards per route run average as a rookie. He’s still only going into his age 23 season, so he could still have further untapped potential, but a good receiving corps wouldn’t have him any higher than the third wide receiver. 

Franklin might not even be the third wide receiver this season, with 2025 3rd round pick Pat Bryant also in the mix for snaps. Bryant’s 1.22 yards per route run average last season was lower than Franklin’s, but he was much more efficient on a per target basis (7.71 vs. 6.82) and possesses a higher upside than Franklin, so he might be the favorite for the job, which would push Franklin into the #4 receiver job. It is also possible that both receivers see a limited action and rotate with each other. The Broncos also have Marvin Mims, a 2023 2nd round pick who has shown some upside (1.68 yards per route run in his career), but is best as a gadget player and returner, which is what he will be in 2026.

Another reason why Waddle was needed is because the Broncos got very little out of their tight ends last season. Receiving specialist Evan Engram turned 76 targets into a 50/461/1 slash line and 1.27 yards per route run and is now going into his age 32 season, yet another aging starter on this offense. Adam Trautman remains as a blocking specialist. He only had 0.92 yards per route run and a 20/195/1 slash line on 23 targets, in line with his career 0.96 yards per route run average, but because he is a better blocker he actually led all Broncos tight ends with 652 snaps, to 458 for Engram, a split that figures to continue into 2026. Jaylen Waddle upgrades this receiving corps, but they still have some issues in this group.

Grade: B

Running Backs

JK Dobbins led this team in carries with 153, taking them for 772 carries and 4 touchdowns, good for an impressive 5.05 YPC average. That is actually below Dobbins’ 5.20 YPC average for his career and he also has averaged 3.18 yards per carry after contact, a 19.2% missed tackle rate, and a 51.2% carry success rate across 582 career carries. The problem is he has been incredibly injury prone in his career, missing multiple games in all six seasons in the league, with 54 total missed games, including 7 last season. Dobbins received 15.3 carries per game last season when healthy and he played well enough to be re-signed to a 2-year, 16 million dollar deal this off-season, so he could get a similar workload when healthy this season, but he is also likely to miss more time at some point.

With Dobbins out last season, RJ Harvey received 13.7 carries per game, compared to 5.0 carries per game when Dobbins was active. Harvey was not as effective, averaging 3.70 YPC, with 2.66 yards per carry after contact, a 17.1% missed tackle rate, and a 45.2% carry success rate, but he was a 2nd round rookie and could be more effective in year two. He’s also a useful pass catcher, with a 47/356/5 slash line and 1.36 yards per route run, compared to 0.32 yards per route run last season for Dobbins, who only averages 0.58 yards per route run in his career. Even if he takes a step forward as a runner though, I would expect Harvey to only be a change of pace back and passing down complement to Dobbins as long as Dobbins is healthy.

Harvey also might not get as much of a workload as a runner in Dobbins’ likely absence as he did last season, with the Broncos also adding Jonah Coleman in the 4th round of the draft. A decent all-around back, Coleman probably won’t have much of a role as long as Dobbins and Harvey are healthy, but he figures to have a significant role if either one of them gets hurt. This is a decent backfield with good depth, but they are unspectacular overall.

Grade: B-

Interior Defenders

The Broncos had a great defense last season, ranking 2nd in schedule adjusted efficiency, but, as I mentioned earlier, they did lose some players this off-season. The most important departure is interior defender John Franklin-Myers, who excelled as an interior pass rusher last season, totaling 7.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate, while playing adequate run defense. Fortunately, the Broncos do still at least have Zach Allen, an even better interior pass rusher, who has totaled 20.5 sacks, a league leading 87 hits, and a 11.9% pressure rate in 50 games in the past three seasons combined, though his run defense has been below average. 

In Franklin-Myers absence, additional playing time will be available for veteran holdovers DJ Jones (431 snaps), Eyioma Uwazurike (409 snaps), and Malcolm Roach (402 snaps). The Broncos also used a 3rd round pick on Tyler Onyedim and have last year’s 3rd round pick Sai’vion Jones, who only played 33 snaps as a rookie, but could be involved in a rotational role in year two. DJ Jones has been a solid rotational player in his career, both as a run defender and pass rusher (6.7% pressure rate), while averaging 499 snaps per season in the past 6 seasons, but he is also yet another 30+ year old on this roster, going into his age 31 season in 2026, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he declined and struggled, especially if forced into a larger role by Franklin-Myers’ departure.

Malcolm Roach is only going into his age 28 season, but he has been marginal at best on 374 snaps per season over the past four seasons. Uwazurike is also only going into his age 28 season, but has struggled across 637 career snaps in four seasons in the league. Unless one of the two unproven young players, Onyedim and Jones, can step up in a big way, the Broncos don’t have anyone on the roster who can come close to replacing what they lost when Franklin-Myers departed. Zach Allen significantly elevates this group by himself, but this group is not as good as they were a year ago, due to the departure of Franklin-Myers, as well as DJ Jones continuing to age.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

Along with Zach Allen, the Broncos also still have a pair of talented pass rushers on the edge in Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. Bonitto was one of the best pass rushers in the league last season, totaling 14 sacks, 17 hits, and a 18.3% pressure rate. In total, the 2022 2nd round pick has 35.5 sacks, 41 hits, and a 16.4% pressure rate in 49 games over the past three seasons combined and he’s still in his prime, in his age 27 season. He’s only average against the run, but his efficient pass rush more than makes up for that. That should continue into 2026.

Cooper is not quite as good as a pass rusher, but he has still totaled 27 sacks, 28 hits, and a 12.9% pressure rate in 51 games over the past three seasons combined, while being a little bit better of a run defender than Bonitto. A solid all-around player, the 2021 7th round pick is also still in his prime, going into his age 28 season, and should continue playing at a similar level in 2026. He and Bonitto are one of the best edge defender duos in the league.

The Broncos also have solid depth at the edge rusher position. Jonah Elliss, a 2024 3rd round pick, struggled on 436 snaps as a rookie, but took a big step forward across 319 snaps in his second season in the league in 2025, especially excelling as a pass rusher, with 2.5 sacks, 3 hits, and a 13.2% pressure rate. Dondrea Tillman, an undrafted free agent in 2024, has been solid in both of his two seasons in the league, on snap counts of 243 and 419, providing solid run defense and totaling 9 sacks, 8 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate. The Broncos also have Que Robinson, a 2025 4th round pick who barely played as a rookie because of the talent ahead of him on the depth chart (151 snaps), but who looked decent and who provides even further depth. This is a deep and loaded position group.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Another player the Broncos lost this off-season is linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Injuries limited him to 324 snaps in 8 games, which is why the Broncos released him to save 9 million this off-season, but he was still by far their best linebacker when healthy and, without him, this linebacking corps is a concern. Making matters worse, both Alex Singleton (1,029 snaps) and Justin Strnad (575 snaps), their top-2 linebackers with Greenlaw gone, are both on the wrong side of 30, going into their age 33 and their age 30 season respectively. Both have been average starters at best in their career, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or both declined to a below average level in 2026, given their age.

It is surprising the Broncos didn’t add a young linebacker behind them relatively early in the draft, but they also didn’t have a lot of picks to work with after the Waddle trade. With Greenlaw gone and no significant additions made, the third linebacker job will either go to Jordan Turner, a 2025 undrafted free agent who only played 23 snaps as a rookie, Karene Reid, a 2025 undrafted free agent who only played 4 snaps as a rookie, Drew Sanders, who went in the 3rd round in 2023, but has only played 278 snaps in three seasons in the league due to injury and ineffectiveness, or 7th round rookie Red Murdock. With an underwhelming starting duo and no proven depth, this is a below average position group.

Grade: C+

Secondary

The Broncos’ secondary remains largely the same as a year ago, with their top-7 in terms of snaps played all returning. The star of the group is cornerback Patrick Surtain, who is consistently one of the best players in the league at his position and still only going into his age 26 season. The Broncos also have a talented safety duo in Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga, who both played well above average in 2025. 

The concern with those two safeties is their injury history, as Jones has missed time in every season in the league except his rookie season in 2020, with 17 total games missed in six seasons in the league, while Hufanga missed 17 games between 2023 and 2024 with a torn ACL, though he did play all 17 games in 2025 and didn’t seem to have any negative long-term effects. Going into their age 28 and 27 seasons respectively, both should remain above average as long as they can stay on the field. If either of them miss time, the Broncos would likely turn to Devon Key, who has been marginal at best in the past two seasons across the only 327 snaps of the 2021 undrafted free agent’s career. He would be an obvious downgrade.

Behind Surtain at cornerback, the Broncos have fellow outside cornerback Riley Moss and slot specialist Ja’Quan McMillan, who are both decent, but unspectacular. Moss, a 3rd round pick in 2023, has made 31 starts over the past two seasons, after only playing 25 snaps as a rookie. McMillan, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2022, but has averaged 760 snaps over the past three seasons, 88.0% of which have come on the slot. 

The Broncos also have great depth with 2025 1st round pick Jahdae Barron, who only played 335 snaps as a rookie because he wasn’t really needed. He flashed potential as a rookie and, barring significant injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, will remain an overqualified backup in 2026, before likely taking over as a starter next season, with McMillan and Moss both going into the final year of their contract. This is a well above average secondary overall.

Grade: A

Kickers

Will Lutz was slightly below average as the Broncos’ kicker last season, costing the Broncos 2.74 points compared to an average kicker. He has overall been a slightly above average kicker in his career, accounting for 11.95 points above an average kicker since entering the league in 2016, but he has been a below average kicker in three of the past four seasons, costing his teams 8.78 points compared to an average kicker over that stretch, dating back to his return from a 2021 groin injury that cost him the entire season. The Broncos still believe in him, not adding any competition for him this off-season, but it is very possible he remains below average in his age 32 season in 2026.

Grade: B-

Conclusion

The Broncos went 14 games last season, but they had a very easy schedule and won a lot of close games last season, two things that are unlikely to continue into 2026. They also have one of the oldest rosters in the league, and as a result, several key players could decline, plus they are unlikely to be as durable as a year ago, when they were one of the least injury affected teams in the league. They also lost some talent on defense that they did not replace, a concern for a defense that was the strength of the team last season, which tends to be less consistent year-to-year than offensive performance anyway. They did add Jaylen Waddle via trade, which helps their receiving corps, but all the draft capital they gave up to acquire him hurt their ability to supplement their aging roster with talented young players. Given all of that, I expect a significant drop off in their win total in 2026.

Prediction: 8-9, 3rd in AFC West

Green Bay Packers 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Packers

Quarterback

After back-to-back post-season appearances in 2023 and 2024, the Packers made an aggressive trade to try to get themselves to the next level, giving away first round picks in 2026 and 2027 to acquire Cowboys edge defender Micah Parsons, one of the best defensive players in the league. The Packers then gave Parsons a 4-year, 186 million dollar extension, making him the highest paid edge defensive player in the league in terms of average annual salary at the time, ahead of what would have been his contract year in 2025.

Things got off to a great start, as the Packers began the season 9-3-1 and were leading the eventual AFC #1 seed Broncos week 15 in Denver, but disaster struck when Parsons suffered a torn ACL midway through that game. The Packers would go on to lose to the Broncos and did not win a game the rest of the season, finishing 9-7-1 and collapsing after building a 21-3 halftime lead in the first round against division rival Chicago. 

Parsons was the most important player the Packers lost to an injury last season, but he wasn’t the only key player that suffered a season ending injury, as tight end Tucker Kraft, their leading receiver at the time of his injury, had his season ended in week 9 by a torn ACL, top interior defender Devonte Wyatt had his season ended in week 13 by a fractured ankle, and top offensive lineman Zach Tom had his season ended in week 15 by a partially torn patellar tendon. Despite all of their injuries, the Packers still finished the season ranked 7th in schedule adjusted efficiency, better than their record would suggest.

It is easy to say the Packers were better than their record last season and will be even better this season when key players return from injury, but it is not that simple for a few reasons. For one, all of those injuries are serious enough that they could cost those players time at the start of the 2026 season and/or limit them upon their return. Secondly, injuries are part of the game and, while the Packers’ injury disproportionately affected their most important players, it is also unreasonable to assume they won’t have any injuries this season. On top of that, the Packers had several key free agent losses and they didn’t have a first round pick to use to replace those departed players. 

Quarterback Jordan Love also missed a couple games down the stretch last season and he is an above average starter when on the field, completing 64.5% of his passes for an average of 7.57 YPA, 80 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions in 47 starts since taking over as the starter at the start of the 2023 season. Last season was probably his best season, as he completed 66.3% of his passes for an average of 7.70 YPA, 23 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, good for a 101.2 passer rating that ranked 6th in the NFL. However, he wasn’t really missed in the couple games he missed last season because backup Malik Willis completed 85.7% of his passes for an average of 12.06 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, while rushing for 5.59 YPC and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries.

Willis signed with the Dolphins as their starting quarterback this off-season, so the Packers will be in a tougher situation if Love misses time this season, something he has now done in two of three seasons as a starter. Veteran Tyrod Taylor was signed to replace Willis this off-season and he has plenty of experience, with 62 career starts, but he hasn’t been a regular starter since 2017 and is now going into his age 37 season, so he figures to be a big downgrade from Love if forced into the lineup. If Love stays healthy though, he has the upside to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

The unit where the Packers lost the most this off-season is their offensive line, with left tackle Rasheed Walker leaving as a free agent and center Elgton Jenkins being let go in a cost saving move. The Packers also didn’t really do anything to replace them, with their only off-season offensive line addition being 5th round rookie Jager Burton, who is unlikely to make a positive impact in year one. Instead, the Packers will replace Walker and Jenkins with 2024 1st round pick Jordan Morgan and 2025 2nd round pick Anthony Belton.

Both players have obvious upside, given where they were drafted, but neither have shown it yet. Morgan has made 13 starts in two seasons in the league, all but three of which came at guard, and has mostly been a liability. Belton, meanwhile, struggled in seven starts as a rookie in 2025, all but one of which came at guard. Not only will both have to start in 2026, but one of them will have to replace Walker at left tackle, the most important position on the offensive line. Morgan and Belton becoming starters also significantly hurts their offensive line depth, leaving the rookie Burton and Darian Kennard (5 career starts) as their likely top reserve options.

Jenkins will be the easier of the two to replace, not only because he plays a less valuable position at center, but because, while Walker was a solid starter in 16 starts, Jenkins was underwhelming in 9 starts in an injury plagued season. Whichever of Morgan or Belton does not start at left tackle will play right guard, with Sean Rhyan moving from right guard to center. Rhyan has been underwhelming in 28 career starts, 21 at guard, 7 at center, and, while a move to center full-time could benefit him, he could also struggle to adjust. Left guard Aaron Banks is a little better, but he has been average at best across 57 career starts.

The loss of Walker and Jenkins makes the health of Zach Tom even more important because, not only do the Packers lack good depth on the offensive line now, but Tom is also now by far their best offensive lineman. Only a 4th round pick in 2022, Tom had developed into one of the best right tackles in the league over the past two seasons before the injury. He did not miss a game with injury in his first two seasons as a starter in 2023 and 2024, so he isn’t injury prone, but a partially torn patellar tendon is a tough injury to return from and it is very possible Tom is not 100% in his first season back after the injury. He is still the saving grace on an offensive line that is now otherwise very underwhelming.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

The Packers also lost wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who led the team in catches (55), yards (724), targets (85), and tied for the team lead in touchdowns (6), while averaging 1.73 yards per route run. Meanwhile, Dontayvion Wicks, who had a 30/332/2 slash line on 46 targets with 1.39 yards per route run, was traded to the Eagles ahead of the final year of his rookie deal. Like on the offensive line, the Packers have a recent high draft pick, 2025 1st round pick Matthew Golden, in line to take over a bigger role in his absence. 

Like on the offensive line, Golden has a lot of upside, but has yet to show it at the NFL level, finishing his rookie season with a 29/361/0 slash line and 1.35 yards per route run on 44 targets. He has the potential to take a big step forward in his second season in the league though. The Packers should also get healthier years out of Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, who were limited to snap counts of 416 and 169 in 10 games and 7 games respectively. Watson, Reed, and Golden should play the vast majority of snaps in three wide receiver sets as long as they are healthy.

Reed, a second round pick in 2023, has averaged 2.09 yards per route run in his career, while Watson, a second round pick in 2022, has averaged 2.14 yards per route in his career. They have only averaged 40.1 snaps per game and 35.8 snaps per game in their careers, leading to their career highs in single season yardage being 620 and 857 respectively, but both should play much bigger roles in a more consolidated receiving corps in 2026 and both have the potential to have very productive seasons, even if they aren’t quite as efficient in larger roles as they were in smaller roles. Watson in particular has a huge upside and his 2.51 yards per route run average in 2025 ranked 5th in the NFL among wide receivers.

With Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs gone, the top reserve role will likely go to Savion Williams, a 2025 3rd round pick who has potential, but who played just 91 snaps as a rookie and didn’t show much in limited action. He will see an expanded role in his second season in the league, but figures to be a clear 4th on the depth chart, as opposed to recent years when the Packers have had 4-5 receivers they rotated heavily, capping everyone’s potential for production.

With several wide receivers cannibalizing each other’s production, tight end Tucker Kraft was the team leader in receiving last season at the time of his injury, with a 32/489/6 slash line in just 8 games. His 2.33 yards per route run average ranked 2nd in the NFL among tight ends. Kraft, a 2023 3rd round pick, had never played at that level before, with slash lines of 31/355/2 and 50/707/7 on 1.20 yards per route run and 1.61 yards per route run respectively in his first two seasons in the league and, now coming off of a major injury, it is a significant question mark whether or not Kraft can come close to being that efficient over a full season in his first season back from injury, but he has a lot of talent and is only going into his age 26 season, so he at least has a high upside.

In Kraft’s absence last season, the Packers gave an expanded role to Luke Musgrave, who was actually drafted higher than Kraft in the same draft (2nd round), but he continued to underwhelm, finishing with a 24/252/0 slash line on 1.19 yards per route run, after averaging 1.16 yards per route run in 2023 and 2024 combined. He will likely remain the nominal #2 tight end and could still have theoretical upside, but Kraft is an obvious upgrade returning from injury. This is a young group with a high variance of potential outcomes, but there is a lot of upside here.

Grade: B

Running Backs

The Packers also lost running back Emanuel Wilson, which isn’t a huge loss because he was their #2 running back, but he did receive 125 carries last season and 103 carries the season before, which is more than most #2 running backs, and the 2023 undrafted free agent has been pretty effective across 242 career carries, averaging 4.48 YPC, 2.94 yards per carry after contact, a 18.1% missed tackle rate, and a 59.1% carry success rate. With Wilson gone, the Packers’ options for backup running backs are Marshawn Lloyd, a 2024 3rd round pick who came into the league with upside, but who has been limited to 10 total snaps in two seasons in the league due primarily to injuries, and Chris Brooks, a passing down specialist with 82 career carries in three seasons in the league.

Lead back Josh Jacobs is an above average starter who has averaged 17.5 carries per game in 105 career games, while averaging 4.24 YPC, 3.09 yards per carry after contact, a 22.2% missed tackle rate, and a 51.4% carry success rate. However, the Packers are a run heavy team that gives a lot of carries to their running backs, so they will need a #2 running back capable of being used more than the average backup, especially since Jacobs has missed time with injury in five of seven seasons in the league and now is going into his age 28 season, an age where running backs start to decline, especially ones with a history of significant workloads (2,109 touches in seven seasons in the league).

In a best case scenario, Lloyd can stay healthy and prove why he was a third round rookie originally by stepping into Wilson’s old role effectively, leaving Brooks as the passing down specialist, but in a worst case scenario, Brooks will have to step into a role he is probably not equipped for or Jacobs will have to be among the league leaders in carries, which he might not have the durability to do effectively at this stage of his career. Depth is a significant concern at a position group that is headlined by an above average, but aging lead back.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

On defense, the Packers lost a pair of edge defenders, Rashan Gary, who was sent to the Cowboys in a move that netted them a mid-round pick and saved them 19.5 million, and Kingley Enagbare, who signed with the Jets as a free agent. Enagbare was mediocre last season across 468 snaps, totaling 2 sacks, 6 hits, and a 9.9% pressure rate, but Gary was solid across 653 snaps, totaling 7.5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.0% pressure rate and, with neither being replaced and Parsons coming off of a significant injury that could cost him time at the start of the season, there are reasons for significant concern at the edge defender position.

Fortunately, Parsons is one of the best edge defenders in the league when healthy and has been since his rookie season. His run defense is only average, but he has totaled 65 sacks, 80 hits, and a 18.8% pressure rate in 77 career games, including 12.5 sacks, 15 hits, and a 18.1% pressure rate in 14 games last season, and he is still only going into his age 27 season. Even if he is at less than his best, he would probably be a well above average edge defender and, even if he misses some time at the start of the season, he could still play more than the 14 games he played last season.

With Gary and Enagbare gone and Micah Parsons coming off of a major injury, the Packers will be counting on Lukas Van Ness in a big way. A first round pick in 2023, Van Ness was a disappointment in his first two seasons in the league, playing a total of 793 nondescript snaps, while pressuring the quarterback at just a 8.9% rate. However, Van Ness showed a lot more potential in 2025, albeit across only 263 snaps in 9 games in an injury plagued season. He especially played well as a pass rusher, with 1.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 15.2% pressure rate, and he played at a solid level against the run as well. 

It was a limited sample size and Van Ness could regress in 2026, but he is still only going into his age 25 season and has always had a lot of talent, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was an above average starter. The Packers somewhat surprisingly picked up his 5th year option for 2027 this off-season, guaranteeing him 13.752 million, so they clearly still believe in his potential and they could be rewarded for continuing to take a chance on him. 

Behind Parsons and Van Ness, the Packers have Barryn Sorrell, a 2025 4th round pick who struggled across 178 snaps as a rookie, and Dani Dennis-Sutton, a 4th round pick in this year’s draft who would likely struggle if he had to play a significant rookie year role. This position group has a lot of upside if Parsons and Van Ness both stay healthy and play to their potential, but there is a good chance that doesn’t happen and the Packers’ alternative options are below average.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

The one big free agent addition the Packers made this off-season was interior defender Javon Hargrave, who they signed to a 2-year, 23 million dollar deal. Hargrave is going into his age 33 season and isn’t quite as good as he was in his prime, but he still played pretty well in 2025, making up for his below average run defense with 3.5 sacks, 3 hits, and a 10.5% pressure rate as a pass rusher. He could continue declining in 2026, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade at the interior defender position, where every other interior defender struggled other than Devonte Wyatt, whose 2025 season ended prematurely due to a fractured ankle.

The Packers also could get a healthier season out of Wyatt, who was limited to 10 games last season. Wyatt is similar to Hargrave, struggling against the run, but totaling 16 sacks, 12 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate in 57 career games. Wyatt could struggle to return to form, coming off of a significant injury, and his struggles against the run in his career have limited the 2022 1st round pick to an average of 26.6 snaps per game in his career, but he was averaging 37.9 snaps per game last season before he got hurt and, even if he isn’t 100%, he should be an upgrade over the players who filled in for him down the stretch last season when he was out.

In Wyatt’s absence, the Packers were led in snaps played at the interior defender position by Karl Brooks (618 snaps) and Colby Wooden (587 snaps), who both struggled. Wooden is gone and, while Brooks remains, he should play a smaller role this season. Brooks also has some bounce back potential because, while he has always struggled as a run defender, his pressure rate of 6.4% in 2025 was a career low, as the 2023 6th round pick totaled a 9.2% pressure rate in the first two seasons of his career. The Packers also added further depth at the interior defender position by using a 3rd round pick on Chris McClellan, though he was a reach who is likely to struggle as a rookie. This position group still has some issues, but they should be better than a year ago.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Packers also didn’t retain linebacker Quay Walker and, while he was mediocre last season, he played 900 snaps in 14 games and his replacement Zaire Franklin figures to be a downgrade. Franklin has played an average of 1,121 snaps per season over the past four seasons, but he was never more than an average linebacker, he struggled mightily in 2025, and now is heading into his age 30 season and is likely to continue struggling.

Fortunately, their other starting linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is one of the best linebackers in the league, playing at an above average level against the run and in coverage across 489 snaps as a second round rookie in 2024 and then continuing to play at a high level across 1,046 snaps in 2025. Still only in his age 25 season, it is possible his best days are still ahead of him and he has the upside to be an All-Pro caliber player. Isaiah McDuffie remains as the third linebacker, a role in which he has played 571 snaps per season over the past three seasons and has mostly struggled. Edgerrin Cooper elevates an otherwise below average group by himself.

Grade: B

Secondary

The Packers’ secondary largely remains the same this season as it was last season. Nate Hobbs was released for cap reasons, but he only played 358 middling snaps in 11 games in an injury plagued 2025 season, so he won’t be missed much, especially since the Packers added Benjamin St. Juste in free agency and Brandon Cisse in the second round of the draft to replace him. St. Juste and Cisse will compete for roles with holdovers Keisian Nixon (1,014 snaps), Carrington Valentine (780 snaps), and Javon Bullard (724 snaps). None of them are above average starters, but the Packers legitimately go five deep with starting caliber cornerbacks, depth that could easily come in handy this season.

Nixon was the de facto #1 cornerback last season, leading the team in cornerback snaps, but he was only a marginal starter. He also played at a similar level across snap counts of 808 and 1,018 in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In a deeper cornerback room this year, he isn’t guaranteed to remain a starter or to play as many snaps. Carrington Valentine was mostly an injury replacement for Nate Hobbs last season, but he was the Packers’ best cornerback, continuing to show the potential he showed across 546 snaps in 2024. The 2023 7th round pick isn’t more than a solid starter, but he has proven he belongs in the starting lineup and should have a good chance to remain there, even in a deeper cornerback room.

Javon Bullard is also probably locked into his job, not because he is more than an average starter, but because he is the best pure slot specialist on the roster. Bullard is also a 2024 2nd round pick who is only going into his age 24 season, so he could have further untapped upside. Benjamin St. Juste comes over from the Chargers, where he only played 356 snaps last season, but the 2021 3rd round pick is pretty experienced, starting 47 of the 70 games he has played in his career and performing about average. St. Juste will compete for a starting role, as will the rookie Cisse, who gives them an outside cornerback with upside that they didn’t have previously, but who might spend his rookie year as a deep reserve.

Things remain the same at safety, which is a good thing. Xavier McKinney is one of the best safeties in the league and has been for three seasons. Still only going into his age 27 season, I would expect that to continue in 2026. Evan Williams is not as good, but the 2024 4th round pick has developed into a solid starter, showing potential across 473 snaps as a rookie and proving that was not a fluke across 903 snaps last season. This is a solid secondary, even if they lack a true #1 cornerback.

Grade: B+

Kicker

The Packers’ kicking game was a weakness in 2025 and pretty much single handedly cost them the game in the first round of the playoffs. Brandon McManus had been a solid kicker for them for years, but he was playing through injury in 2025 and, as a result, was arguably the worst kicker in the league, costing the Packers 12.83 points compared to an average kicker last season. Lucas Havrisik was the kicker for three games last season and he was about league average, but even with last season included, he has cost his teams 0.78 points per game over his career, so he isn’t a good starting option either. 

To remedy this, the Packers used a 6th round pick on kicker Trey Smack and cut McManus, leaving Smack to compete with Havrisik, a job Smack should be considered the heavy favorite to win. It is tough to know what to expect from rookie kickers, but Smack was a good enough college kicker to deserve to be drafted, hitting 82.8% of his field goals in his collegiate career, including 10-13 from 50 yards or more. He should have a good chance to at least be an average kicker as a rookie, which will be a big boost to the Packers, given how terrible their kicking game was last season.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Packers were better than their record in 2025, despite numerous injuries to key players. This season they should be healthier and it is easy to see how they could be better. However, many of the players who were injured last season suffered significant injuries that could affect them into 2026. The Packers also lost numerous players this off-season and didn’t have a first round pick to use to replace them. The Packers should still be in playoff contention this season, but I wouldn’t call them true Super Bowl contenders.

Prediction: 10-7, 2nd in NFC North

Arizona Cardinals 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Cardinals

Quarterback

In 2024, the Cardinals finished at 7-10, but their offense ranked 6th in schedule adjusted efficiency, with their big problem being their defense, which ranked 27th. After numerous off-season additions on defense, the Cardinals went into 2025 as a sleeper team. However, their offense fell to 18th in schedule adjusted efficiency in 2025, largely as a result of injuries, most notably quarterback Kyler Murray, who missed 12 games, and feature back James Conner, who missed 14 games, while their defense failed to improve significantly, ranking 26th in schedule adjusted efficiency, also largely due to injuries. In total, the Cardinals finished the 2025 season with the most adjusted games lost to injury of any team in the league and those injuries largely affected key players on both sides of the ball.

Going into 2026, it is reasonable to expect better injury luck and the Cardinals had some bounce back potential if they played their off-season right. However, the moves they have made have not set them up for success next season. They opted to move on from quarterback Kyler Murray, tired of his consistent injuries. Murray was guaranteed 36.8 million in 2026, which the Cardinals are eating to avoid paying him another 36.335 million in 2027, 19.5 million of which would have guaranteed had he been on their roster in 2026.

Murray’s 2026 guarantees along with other moves the Cardinals made this off-season that left behind dead cap put the Cardinals in a tough salary cap situation this off-season, as they ranked 5th in the NFL with 73.3 million in dead cap on the books, while their active cap spending ranks 4th lowest in the NFL. They did not make significant additions in free agency and are left with a quarterback room of Jacoby Brissett, a veteran journeyman backup who started in Murray’s absence last season, Gardner Minshew, an equally low upside veteran journeyman backup, and 3rd round pick Carson Beck, who at least gives this quarterback room some upside, but who also probably isn’t their long-term solution at the quarterback position. 

James Conner remains on the roster and is set to return from his injury, but, given that he is going into his age 31 season and coming off of a major injury, it is fair to question what the Cardinals can expect from him this season. The Cardinals don’t seem convinced he can return to form, making him cut his salary from 8 million to 3 million to stay on the roster, signing ex-Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier to a 2-year, 12.25 million dollar deal in free agency, one of the few significant signings they made this off-season, and then using the 3rd overall pick on running back Jeremiyah Love. It’s very possible that neither Conner nor Allgeier see much action this season because of the addition of Love, a move I will get more into later.

The Cardinals’ defense should be at least somewhat better this season, due to better health, but they are likely to remain below average. The Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon, which wasn’t a bad decision in of itself, but the Cardinals were not a hot destination for head coaching candidates, leading to them hiring Mike LaFleur, who was the offensive coordinator for the Rams last season, but did not call plays. LaFleur will call plays in Arizona and his play calling history consists of two very underwhelming seasons with the New York Jets in 2021 and 2022. He also brings in Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator and, while he won’t call plays, Hackett has been one of the worst offensive coordinators in the league in recent years, most recently holding that title in 2023 and 2024, also with the New York Jets.

Jacoby Brissett is considered the heavy favorite to start at quarterback. He has made 65 career starts in 10 seasons in the league and has largely been unimpressive, completing 61.9% of his passes for an average of 6.57 YPA, 76 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions. Last season, he completed 64.9% of his passes for an average of 6.94 YPA, 23 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in 12 starts and, while the Cardinals’ problems were not all his fault, he went just 1-11. Now going into his age 34 season, I wouldn’t expect him to suddenly get any better in 2026.

Gardner Minshew is a similar veteran option, making 47 career starts and completing 63.1% of his passes for an average of 6.88 YPA, 68 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions. He is only going into his age 30 season, so he is younger than Brissett, but he has been especially bad over the past few seasons, completing 63.1% of his passes for an average of 6.80 YPA, 27 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions in 25 starts since 2022, and, like Brissett, he is who he is at this stage of his career, which is a backup caliber quarterback. 

Minshew figures to open the year as the backup and it is possible the Cardinals would go to the rookie Beck before Minshew if they want to give Beck a chance to prove what he has in what should be a lost season, before the Cardinals have to make a decision on whether or not to draft a quarterback with what should be another high draft pick in a better quarterback class in 2027. Overall, this is one of the worst quarterback rooms in the league, which is one of the biggest reasons why this is likely to be one of the worst teams in the league.

Grade: C+

Running Backs

As I mentioned, the Cardinals used the 3rd overall pick on running back Jeremiyah Love. The Cardinals were in a tough spot picking 3rd. Their two biggest needs, quarterback and offensive line, would have been reaches at 3, with the next quarterback coming off the board at 13 and no offensive linemen coming off the board until 9. The Cardinals’ best option was probably to draft linebacker Arvell Reese to fill a lesser need, but instead the Cardinals opted to take Love, who some felt was the best player in the draft, but who played a position of relative low value and who didn’t fill a need, with Tyler Allgeier and James Conner already on the roster.

There is one benefit to drafting a running back and that is the fact that running backs tend to be the most NFL ready of any position and can make a big immediate impact as a result. However, they are also the most injury prone position and they have a relatively short career span. On top of that, as a result of their short careers and injury proneness, they tend to be one of the least valued positions from a salary standpoint. Part of the benefit of having a player on a rookie deal is that they are much cheaper than their counterparts would be in free agency and if the Cardinals had taken a linebacker or an offensive lineman at 3, they could have gotten them for much less than a comparable player on the open market. 

The salary of the 3rd overall pick would have ranked 33rd among offensive tackles, 19th among guards, and 12th among linebackers in terms of average annual salary. However, rookie salaries are not based on positional value, so Love is already the 8th highest paid running back in the league in terms of average annual salary, meaning he will have to be an elite running back right away to give the Cardinals any sort of excess value while on his rookie deal. 

Taking a running back would make some sense for a team that is ready to win now, given how short their careers are and how NFL ready they usually are coming out of college, but every other move the Cardinals made this off-season suggests they are taking a long view and rebuilding, so Love does not fit the Cardinals’ overall team building strategy. Also, while Love is an upgrade over what the Cardinals had at running back before and figures to get a heavy workload as a rookie, both as a runner and a receiver, he isn’t so much better than the Cardinals’ other running backs to justify being taken 3rd overall.

Based on their salaries, Allgeier figures to be the favorite for the #2 running back job over Conner. Allgeier has experience backing up a highly drafted running back, rushing for 1,035 yards and 3 touchdowns on 210 carries (4.93 YPC) as a rookie in 2022, only to be replaced by Bijan Robinson and be limited to just 466 carries over the last three seasons combined as a result. Allgeier has averaged 4.25 YPC with 3.27 yards per carry after contact, a 22.5% missed tackle rate, a 51.6% carry success rate, and 1.06 yards per route run in his career and had proven he deserved to be a starter somewhere again, which is probably what he thought he would be when he signed in Arizona, before the Love selection pushed him back into a backup role.

Conner, meanwhile, was actually one of the most effective running backs in the league in 2023 and 2024, averaging 4.81 YPC across 444 carries, with 3.60 yards per carry after contact, a 27.5% missed tackle rate, a 50.7% carry success rate, and 1.23 yards per route run. There is a good chance he wouldn’t be anywhere near that good in 2026, coming off a major injury and going into his age 31 season, but he could have still been effective in tandem with Allgeier. Now it is unclear what, if any, role he will have in this offense unless Love or Allgeier get hurt. It is possible the Cardinals look to trade him before the start of the season, but that trade probably wouldn’t net them much of a return.

The Cardinals also have 2024 3rd round pick Trey Benson, who was originally drafted to potentially replace Conner long-term. Benson only had 63 carries as a rookie behind Conner though and then, when he got a chance to prove himself in Conner’s absence last season, he also got hurt and finished last season with just 29 carries. He has averaged 4.90 YPC on those 92 career carries with 3.41 yards per carry after contact, a 26.1% missed tackle rate, a 44.6% carry success rate, and 1.03 yards per route run, so he has shown potential and between that and his draft position he might get to stay on the roster in 2026 as a 4th back, but he won’t have any role unless multiple backs ahead of him on the depth chart get hurt and it might be in both sides’ interest for the Cardinals to explore a trade for him, though that trade likely wouldn’t net the Cardinals much in return either. This is a deep backfield, but the Cardinals probably committed too much of their limited resources to a relatively low value position.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

All of the Cardinals’ running backs could be held back from their potential by the Cardinals continued issues at quarterback and on the offensive line. The Cardinals did use their second round pick on an offensive lineman, taking Chase Bisontis, who will probably start right away at right guard and be an upgrade by default over Isaiah Adams, a 2024 3rd round pick who has struggled across 16 career starts, 11 of which came last season, but as a rookie Bisontis alone won’t save this offensive line from having issues and he isn’t even necessarily guaranteed to start as a rookie.

Their biggest issue is right tackle, where the Cardinals only added 7th round pick Jayden Williams through the draft, leaving veteran Elijah Wilkinson as their only real starting option. Wilkinson has mostly been a reserve in his career, starting 62 games in 9 seasons in the league and, while he did start all 17 games for the Falcons last season, it was only because expected right tackle Kaleb McGary got hurt and Wilkinson struggled, as he has as a starter for most of his career. Making matters even worse, Wilkinson is now going into his age 31 season and could be even worse in 2026 as a result. He is unlikely to be an upgrade over Jonah Williams and Kelvin Beachum, even though both of them struggled at right tackle last season.

The Cardinals did add veteran Isaac Seumalo in free agency on a 3-year, 31.5 million dollar deal and he has been a solid starter throughout his career (104 career starts), but he is also on the wrong side of 30, going into his age 33 season, and could decline in 2026, perhaps significantly. He might be an upgrade over departed veteran Evan Brown, who was only a marginal starter in 2025, but that is not a guarantee, given Seumalo’s age.

At center, the Cardinals have another older offensive lineman, Hjalte Froholdt, who is going into his age 30 season. Froholdt was the Cardinals’ second best offensive lineman last season and has been a solid starting center for them for three seasons and he isn’t totally over the hill yet, but any decline from him in 2026 would further hurt an offensive line that is already very questionable, with three starters 30 years of age or older and a rookie second round pick starting.

The Cardinals’ best offensive lineman remains left tackle Paris Johnson, the 6th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, who has developed into an above average starting left tackle over the past two seasons. Still only in his age 25 season, I would expect him to remain at least an above average starter for several more years and he could even improve further. He elevates the overall grade of an otherwise underwhelming offensive line by himself.

Aside from Isaiah Adams, who will likely be benched at right guard for the rookie Bisontis, the Cardinals’ reserve options are Matt Pryor, who has mostly struggled across 40 career starts at guard and tackle and is now heading into his age 32 season, Oli Udoh, a below average swing tackle option who has struggled in 22 career starts, and Jon Gaines, a hybrid guard/center option who went in the 4th round in 2023 and wasn’t too bad in the first 5 starts of his career down the stretch last season. Overall, the Cardinals’ offensive line is likely to be a weakness.

Grade: B-

Receiving Corps

The Cardinals’ receiving corps was the strength of their offense last season. In fact, they were one of just four teams to have two receivers surpass 1000 yards receiving, with tight end Trey McBride and wide receiver Michael Wilson finishing with slash lines of 126/1239/11 and 78/1006/7 respectively. However, a big part of why they were so productive is because this team was so pass heavy last season, ranking 1st in pass attempts with 649, as opposed to last in run attempts with 366. With Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allegeier being added and James Conner and Trey Benson returning from injury, the Cardinals figure to try to run a lot more this season than they did last season, which should lead to reduced production from both McBride and Wilson.

Last season was a career high for McBride in receiving, but his 1.78 yards per route run average was actually only 6th among tight ends and was behind both his 2.03 yards per route run average in 2023 and his 2.14 yards per route run average in 2024, when he had slash lines of 81/825/3 and 111/1146/2 respectively. McBride also averaged just 7.33 yards per target last season, down from 7.79 between 2023 and 2024. Wilson set a new career high in yards per route run last season with 1.59, but that isn’t that much higher than the 1.22 yards per route run he averaged between 2023 and 2024 and the increase was largely the result of higher usage rather than improved efficiency, as his 7.98 yards per target was down from his 8.63 yards per target between 2023 and 2024.

If McBride and Wilson have similar efficiencies in 2026 as they did in 2025, I would expect both of them to see their production decrease as they are likely to run fewer routes and see fewer targets in 2026. The good news is McBride is still clearly one of the best tight ends in the league and still very much in his prime in his age 27 season, while Wilson is only in his age 26 season and has been a relatively efficient target throughout his three seasons in the league, since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2023.

The Cardinals other outside wide receiver Marvin Harrison had a down year statistically, going from a 62/885/8 slash line in 2024 to a 41/608/4 slash line in 2025, but that was largely because he missed 5 games. His yards per route run was about the same in 2025 (1.58) as it was in 2024 (1.63) and, in games where both he and Wilson played, Harrison had 73 targets to just 58 for Wilson. Harrison was also the more efficient target between him and Wilson, averaging 8.33 yards per target, up from 7.63 in 2024. Harrison was also the 4th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is still only going into his age 24 season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if Harrison outproduces Wilson in 2026 like he did in 2024 if both stay healthy like they did in 2024.

Even with Harrison missing five games last season, the Cardinals didn’t have another wide receiver behind Harrison and Wilson with more than 206 yards (Greg Dortch) and no other wide receivers averaged more than 1.06 yards per route run (Zay Jones). The Cardinals let both Dortch and Jones go this off-season and signed veteran Kendrick Bourne to try to upgrade the #3 receiver spot. Bourne isn’t a massive upgrade or anything, but he has a career 1.49 yards per route run average and averaged 1.53 yards per route run last season. He is going into his age 31 season and, as long as McBride, Wilson, and Harrison are healthy, he figures to not have a big role in this offense, but he is a better insurance policy than they had last season. The Cardinals also used a 5th round pick on Reggie Virgil, although that was more for the long-term and I don’t expect him to be any higher than 4th on the depth chart in year one.

At tight end, the Cardinals have Elijah Higgins, who has been a decent #2 tight end, averaging 1.13 yards per route run, while being a decent blocker. The Cardinals also have Tip Reiman, who the Cardinals brought in with a 3rd round pick in 2024, but he struggled mightily on 451 snaps as a rookie, before missing all but 98 snaps in four games with an ankle injury last season. He will probably never develop into a useful receiver and has averaged just 0.38 yards per route run in his career, but he does have some upside as a blocker if he is past the injury that prematurely ended his 2025 season. This is a pretty impressive group, led by Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Marvin Harrison, with better depth options than a year ago.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

As I mentioned earlier, the Cardinals’ defense was expected to be better in 2025 than 2024 because they made some off-season additions, but they were not better because of all of the injuries they had. One player who exemplifies both sides of that is interior defender Walter Nolen, whose selection in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft could have boosted this defense significantly, but he didn’t really because he was limited to 169 snaps in six games. The good news is Nolen showed a lot of promise in his limited action, with a 15.2% pressure rate and decent run defense on top of that. That is a very small sample size and I wouldn’t expect him to be that good over a full season, but he clearly has a huge upside in his second season in the league if he can stay healthy.

The Cardinals also added veteran interior defenders Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson last off-season. Campbell played well across 524 snaps, but Tomlinson struggled across 555 snaps and neither were brought back this off-season. To replace them, the Cardinals signed veterans Roy Lopez and Andrew Billings, who will compete for roles with holdovers Darius Robinson and Dante Stills. Overall, they are an underwhelming bunch.

Roy Lopez is probably the best of the bunch. He has only played 469 snaps per season over his career, with a maximum of 557 snaps in a season, but he is a decent rotational player who is capable against the run and as a pass rusher (7.0% pressure rate over the past four seasons). Darius Robinson was a first round pick in 2024 and still has upside, but his career is off to a disastrous start, as he was limited to 184 snaps in 6 games as a rookie and then struggled mightily across 507 snaps in 15 games last season. In total, he has just a 3.2% pressure rate in his career, while also struggling mightily against the run. Even if he takes a step forward in year three, he has a long way to go to even be a capable rotational player.

Billings and Stills, meanwhile, figure to be liabilities. Billings was a solid player in his prime, but struggled in 2025, playing below average both as a run stopper and pass rusher (5.4% pressure rate) across 510 snaps, and he is now going into his age 31 season, so he figures to continue struggling. Stills, meanwhile, has been a below average player across snap counts of 533, 532, and 548 in three seasons in the league since being drafted in the 6th round in 2023. The Cardinals have one high upside interior defender in Walter Nolen, but he is still very unproven and the rest of this position group is underwhelming.

Grade: B-

Edge Defenders

One player the Cardinals added last off-season who actually stayed healthy and lived up to expectations was edge defender Josh Sweat, who had 12 sacks, 6 hits, and a 13.2% pressure rate, while providing solid run defense. Sweat has consistently been an above average player in recent years and has totaled 45 sacks, 48 hits, and a 12.4% pressure rate in 82 games over the past five seasons combined, while only missing three games total over that stretch. Still only in his age 29 season, he should continue playing at a similar level in 2026.

Zaven Collins (543 snaps), Baron Browning (519 snaps), and Jordan Burch (504 snaps) all played significant roles for the Cardinals last season at the edge defender position and they should remain in the edge defender rotation, along with BJ Ojulari, who missed 9 games with injury last season, but played 25.5 snaps per game when on the field. Collins was the Cardinals’ second best edge defender, playing at an above average level against the run and adding 1.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 13.2% pressure rate as a pass rusher. Collins has been above average as an edge defender in each of the past three seasons, averaging 593 snaps per season, while totaling 10 sacks, 13 hits, and a 11.6% pressure rate in 51 games. Still only in his age 27 season, I would expect more of the same from him in 2026.

Baron Browning has been a decent edge defender in each of the past four seasons, averaging 478 snaps per season over that stretch. He is a below average run defender, but has totaled 13.5 sacks, 16 hits, and a 13.3% pressure rate in 52 games as a part-time player in those four seasons. Burch and Ojulari are not as good of options, but both have upside. Burch was a 3rd round pick in 2025 and struggled both against the run and as a pass rusher (6.8% pressure rate), but he could be better in year two. BJ Ojulari went in the 2nd round in 2023, was decent across 409 snaps as a rookie, but then missed a year and a half with a torn ACL and struggled upon his return. However, he is still only going into his age 24 season and could bounce back in 2026, another year removed from his injury. This is a solid, but unspectacular position group overall.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Cardinals’ linebacking corps was bad last season and is likely to be better this season, but mostly by default. Mack Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither began the year as the starters last season and then, after Wilson suffered a season ending injury that limited him to 521 snaps in 8 games, Cody Simon, a 4th round rookie, took over. Davis-Gaither, who was one of the worst linebackers in the league last season, left as a free agent this off-season, which is addition by subtraction. To replace Davis-Gaither, the Cardinals signed Jack Gibbens, who is a solid run stuffer but struggles in coverage. 

Gibbens will probably play a situational role, while Wilson and Simon are likely to be their top-2 linebackers. Wilson is a marginal starter at best, while Simon was mediocre as a rookie, but could be somewhat better in year two. This is still not a good linebacking corps, but Gibbens being added, Wilson coming back from injury, Simon going into his second year in the league, and Akeem Davis-Gaither no longer being on the roster are all positive developments. 

Grade: C+

Secondary

The Cardinals also had a lot of injuries in the secondary. Expected top cornerback Garrett Williams missed five games early in the year, was not the same upon his return, playing at an average level after playing at an above average level in 2024, and then ultimately his 2025 season ended in week 16 due to a torn achilles. Williams, a 3rd round pick in 2023, also missed time as a rookie with a torn ACL, so he has suffered a lot of injuries in a short period of time, which could cause him to not be at his best upon his return, whenever that may be, given how late in the season his achilles tear was.

Will Johnson, who was a second round rookie in 2025, also missed five games due to injury last season and durability concerns were the reason he fell to the second round originally, despite being a top-15 talent. Johnson had his moments as a rookie, but ultimately was just a marginal starter, failing to consistently show why he was a heavily regarded prospect even when he was on the field. He could take a step forward in year two, but that is not a guarantee and he could wind up missing more time too.

With Johnson and Williams missing time, Max Melton (423 snaps) and Denzel Burke (679 snaps) saw bigger than expected roles at cornerback. Melton was a second round pick in 2024, but he has struggled mightily across 988 career snaps. Burke also was below average in 2025, but he was better than Melton by default, despite only being a 5th round rookie. Burke and Melton will compete for the #3 cornerback role with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas, who both suffered season ending injuries before the 2025 season even started.

Both Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas were marginal players at best even before their injuries, so I wouldn’t expect much from either in 2026. Melton has the most upside of the bunch, but Burke, who probably has the lowest floor, might be the slight favorite for the #3 job at this point. With Williams likely to miss time with injury this season and Johnson a strong candidate to miss time as well, it is likely that multiple of these cornerbacks will see significant snaps this season, regardless of who actually wins the #3 cornerback job.

The Cardinals’ best defensive back last season was probably Jalen Thompson, but he left in free agency. To replace him, the Cardinals will either promote #3 safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and they will start free agent addition Andrew Wingard. Taylor-Demerson, a 4th round pick in 2024, has been decent in limited action thus far in his career, on snap counts of 258 and 452 over the past two seasons respectively, and he could be a decent starter long-term, though he is a projection to a larger role. Wingard, meanwhile, was decent as a reserve earlier in his career, but he struggled mightily across 962 snaps last season and is now going into his age 30 season, so he is probably best as a reserve. 

There is a good chance that whoever starts in place of Thompson is not as good as Thompson was last season. Budda Baker, meanwhile, remains as the other starting safety and he has been a solid starter for most of his career, but he declined a little bit in 2025 and is now going into his age 30 season, so he could easily continue declining, which would further hurt a secondary that already lost its best player from a year ago and that has a questionable cornerback group. Overall, this group looks like they will be a major liability this season.

Grade: C

Kickers

Chad Ryland was a decent kicker in 2024, adding about 1.81 points above an average kicker, but he slipped down to 6.45 points below an average kicker in 2025, 6th worst in the NFL. Ryland was also one of the worst kickers in the league as a rookie in 2023, when he cost his team 15.46 points compared to an average kicker. In total, his 20.10 points below average since entering the league are second worst in the league over that stretch. He is still relatively young, only going into his age 27 season, and he has shown he is capable of being a decent kicker, but it is probably more likely than not that he is below average again in 2026.

Grade: C

Conclusion

The Cardinals should be healthier this season than they were a year ago, when they went 3-14, but they let go of several veteran players this off-season in an attempt to rebuild and, even if they are healthier, they still will have one of the worst rosters in the league, with particular weaknesses at quarterback, on the offensive line, at the interior defender position, in the linebacking corps, and in the secondary. They should be in the mix for the #1 pick in 2027.

Prediction: 4-13, 4th in NFC West

Minnesota Vikings 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Vikings

Quarterback

Two off-seasons ago, the Vikings made the decision not to retain veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins as a free agent. Cousins had been their starting quarterback for six seasons and had a regular season record of 50-37-1, while making three Pro Bowls, but he only won one post-season game over that span. With Cousins going into his age 36 season at the time and coming off of a torn achilles, they felt they had reached their ceiling with Cousins and that it was not worth it to match the 4-year, 180 million dollar deal the Atlanta Falcons gave him, one that guaranteed him 100 million guaranteed.

Instead, the Vikings used the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on quarterback JJ McCarthy. Not re-signing Cousins proved to be the right move in hindsight, but McCarthy ended up missing his whole rookie season with injury. The Vikings’ season seemed doomed, but they shocked everyone by winning 14 games with expected backup quarterback Sam Darnold, who had a breakout season with a 66.2% completion percentage, 7.92 YPA, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Darnold was only on a one-year deal though and, rather than giving Darnold the big contract they avoided paying Cousins, they opted to stay the course with McCarthy coming back off his injury. With the money they saved by not paying Darnold, the Vikings invested in areas of need on the offensive and defensive lines. With a supporting cast that was even better than their supporting cast the year before, it was not hard to see how the Vikings could remain at least a playoff team if McCarthy lived up to the billing as the 10th overall pick.

Instead, McCarthy’s 2025 season went about as disastrously as it could have. Injuries to his ankle, head, and hand cost him a total of seven games and he was so bad when he did play that he wasn’t really missed when injured, even though replacement quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer also struggled. In total, the Vikings’ three quarterbacks combined for a passer rating of 75.3 in 2025, which ranked 30th out of 32 teams. 

Despite that, the Vikings still won 9 games and ranked 18th in schedule adjusted efficiency, as their supporting cast largely lived up to the billing. Their offense ranked just 26th in schedule adjusted efficiency because of their quarterback play, but their defense ranked 5th. It’s not hard to see how the Vikings could have been legitimate contenders in 2025 had they gotten even league average quarterback play and, going into 2026, it was not hard to see how they could have gotten right back into contention with an upgrade at quarterback if they kept the rest of their roster intact.

The Vikings found that upgrade in former Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and they got him for the league minimum because the Cardinals were still paying his full salary for 2026, releasing him in order to get out of further guarantees in 2027 that would have triggered had he been on the roster this off-season. That meant the Vikings could have kept the rest of their roster largely intact if they wanted to. Instead, the Vikings opted to shed salary and part with several veterans, which will hurt their post-season chances significantly. 

Murray is an upgrade at the quarterback position and a great value on a minimum salary, but he comes with some risks. The biggest concern with him is durability, as he has missed multiple games in four of the last five seasons, with 30 total games missed over that span. Murray has been an underwhelming passer in the past few seasons, completing 67.4% of his passes for an average of 6.60 YPA, 51 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions, so his success as a quarterback is largely dependent on his rushing ability and his athleticism. 

Murray has averaged 6.00 YPC on 532 carries with 32 touchdowns in 87 games in 7 seasons in the league, but the problem with that is it risks more injuries and the more injuries he suffers the more his athleticism could decline as he gets older. There is a reason why the Cardinals opted to cut ties with him. Murray gives the Vikings a floor at the quarterback position that they didn’t have last season, but it is unclear what kind of ceiling he has.

Both JJ McCarthy and Carson Wentz remain on the roster and will compete for the backup job. McCarthy still is only going into his age 23 season and has theoretical upside, but Wentz was the better quarterback last season, with a 85.8 passer rating to 72.6 for McCarthy. Wentz hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2021 and is now going into his age 34 season, but he is still a decent backup option at this stage of his career and should probably be considered the favorite for the backup job. The addition of Murray upgrades this quarterback room, but they are still below average overall.

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

The majority of the players the Vikings lost this off-season were on defense, which probably will not be as good as it was a year ago. However, their offensive supporting cast does remain mostly the same, as they bring back 13 of their top-15 in terms of snaps played on offense from a year ago. With better quarterback play expected and a similar offensive supporting cast, their offense should be better this season, although if their defense is worse by a similar amount as their offense is better, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to any more wins. 

The bigger of the two losses on offense is center Ryan Kelly. This one was not their choice, as Kelly opted to retire ahead of his age 33 season due to his history of concussions. Kelly’s concussions limited him to just 329 snaps in 8 games last season, so losing him isn’t a huge difference, but Kelly played at an above average level when on the field and they didn’t do anything to replace him, with former backups Blake Brandel and Michael Jurgens expected to compete for the starting role in Kelly’s absence.

Neither would be a good option. Brandel has more experience, starting 31 games in six seasons in the league, including 26 over the past two seasons, seeing action at both guard and center, but he has mostly struggled regardless of where he has played. In his age 29 season in 2026, Brandel is who he is at this stage of his career and figures to be a liability if he starts this season. Jurgens, on the other hand, is younger, only going into his age 26 season and his third season in the league, but he has also struggled across 309 career snaps and he was only a 7th round pick, so he didn’t come into the league with high expectations. Brandel is probably the better option by default, but it is very possible that both options see starts in 2026 and both struggle.

If there is a reason for optimism on this offensive line, it is a potential return to form by left tackle Christian Darrisaw, another year removed from the torn ACL that ended his 2024 season in the middle. Before the injury, Darrisaw consistently played at an All-Pro level, but upon his return in 2025, Darrisaw looked like a shell of himself, only playing at an average level at best and missing another seven games with lingering knee issues. 

It isn’t a guarantee he will be past his injuries in 2026, but if he is, he is still only going into his age 27 season, so he has obvious bounce back potential. If he is even close to his old form, that will be a big boost for this offense compared to a year ago. The Vikings are at least preparing themselves for the possibility that Darrisaw continues to deal with knee issues in 2026, signing Ryan Van Demark from the Bills and using a 3rd round pick on Caleb Tiernan to give them some added depth at the tackle position. 

Van Demark has shown flashes of potential in his career, but he has only made 6 starts and he is a 2022 undrafted free agent who is already going into his age 28 season, so it is far from a guarantee that Van Demark could translate those flashes of potential into a season-long starting role if needed. He is not a bad swing tackle option and Tiernan has potential as well, but Justin Skule, who started 9 games last year and signed elsewhere this off-season, wasn’t a bad swing tackle either and obviously the best case scenario would be for Darrisaw to return to form and neither Van Demark or Tiernan needing to see significant action.

The rest of this offensive line will remain the same from a year ago, at least in terms of personnel. Left guard Donovan Jackson is another reason for optimism on this offensive line, as he was decent in 14 starts as a rookie, but was not as good as you’d expect a first round pick to be, something that could change in 2026, as he has the potential to take a step forward, potentially a big step forward. He could also be healthier, after missing three games as a rookie.

A reason for concern is right tackle Brian O’Neill, who has consistently been an above average player in 120 career starts, but is now heading into his age 31 season. He hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet, but that could change this season, which would hurt this offensive line. The Vikings’ additions of depth at the tackle position could have just as much to do with O’Neill’s age and his expiring contract after the 2026 season as it does about the concerns with Darrisaw’s durability. 

Right guard Will Fries will likely continue playing at a similar level as he did in 2025, when he was a marginal starter. Fries has been a marginal starter in every season since he first became a starter with the Colts in 2022, with the exception being 2024, when he flashed a lot more potential than he ever had, but only in five games before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the season. 

That impressive five game stretch was enough for the Vikings to make Fries one of the highest paid guards in the league with a 5-year, 87.72 million dollar deal as a free agent last off-season, but thus far Fries has shown that five game stretch to be a fluke. It is possible he is better in 2026 another year removed from his injury, but it is also possible that he has never been capable of playing at that level for a full season, injury or not. This offensive line has some uncertainty, but they at least have the potential to be better than a year ago.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

The less consequential of their two losses on offense this off-season is wide receiver Jalen Nailor, who finished with just a 29/444/4 slash line and 1.06 yards per route run last season. Nailor’s production was probably reduced by the Vikings’ poor quarterback situation, but he still finished a distant third among Vikings wide receivers in both total yardage and per route run yardage. The Vikings also probably upgraded on him by signing Jauan Jennings to a 1-year, 8 million dollar deal with incentives worth up to 13 million. 

A sparingly used wide receiver over the first four seasons of his career, Jennings was forced into a larger role in 2024 when the 49ers had many wide receiver injuries and, in his first significant role, he finished with a 77/975/6 slash line and 2.26 yards per route run, more than doubling his yardage total from his first four seasons combined (963). Jennings was not nearly as good in 2025, with a 55/643/9 slash line and 1.39 yards per route run, but he played through a lot of injuries early in the season and got better as the year went on. 

Jennings overestimated his value as a free agent and had to settle for a 1-year deal after turning down more lucrative multi-year deals earlier in the off-season, which is how the Vikings were able to get him for so cheap. His production will probably be capped by being the third wide receiver on an offense with a below average quarterback room, but he should still be an upgrade over Nailor. 

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison remain as the Vikings’ top-2 wide receivers. Both players had disappointing years in 2025 by their standards due to the quarterback situation. Jefferson had a 84/1048/2 slash line on an average of 1.88 yards per route run, after averaging 109/1641/9 per 17 games and 2.64 yards per route run in his first five seasons in the league prior to 2025, while Addison had a 42/610/3 slash line on 1.36 yards per route run, after slash lines of 70/911/10 and 63/875/9 on yards per route run averages of 1.50 and 1.74 in his first two seasons in the league in 2023 and 2024. Jefferson is still in his prime in his age 27 season, while Addison might not have reached his prime yet in his age 24 season. Both could easily have a bounce back season this year, though their quarterback situation is still below average and could keep them from their full statistical potential.

Top receiving tight end TJ Hockenson also had a disappointing year last year, with a 51/438/3 slash line on 1.05 yards per route run. The quarterback situation was part of the problem, but it is also possible Hockenson still was not 100% after a late 2023 torn ACL. Hockenson returned from that injury midway through 2024, but did not look like his old self, averaging 1.52 yards per route run, after averages of 1.60 and 1.89 in the previous two seasons, despite having a good quarterback under center in 2024. Hockenson is another year removed from the injury in 2026 though, and should also benefit from improved quarterback play. It remains to be seen if he will ever reach his old form again, but he is still relatively young in his age 29 season, so he has clear bounce back potential.

Hockenson is backed up by Josh Oliver, one of the best #2 tight ends in the league. An elite blocker, Oliver has also shown potential as a receiver in limited usage over the past three seasons, only catching 59 passes, but averaging 1.41 yards per route run. He will continue playing a similar role to the 473 snaps per season he has averaged since joining the Vikings three seasons ago. Also worth noting is #4 wide receiver Tai Felton, who was mediocre (1.19 yards per route run) while playing 46 snaps last season, but who was a third round pick in 2025 and has some long-term potential. With Jennings replacing Nailor and TJ Hockenson potentially being closer to 100% another year removed from his injury, this receiving corps should be better in 2026 than it was in 2025 and everyone should be more productive with a better quarterback situation.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

The Vikings strongly considered moving on from veteran running back Aaron Jones this off-season, but ultimately brought him back on a 5.56 million dollar salary, negotiated down from his originally scheduled 10 million dollar non-guaranteed salary. Jones was second on this team in carries last season with 132, but that was mostly because he played only 12 games, while Jordan Mason, who led the team with 159 carries, played in 16 games. In games where both played, Jones outcarried Mason 114-85.

Jones is now going into his age 32 season though, while Mason is going into his age 26 season and, with Jones’ salary cut down to about the same as Mason’s (5 million), it seems likely there will be closer to a 50/50 split when both backs are healthy this season. Mason is also the more durable back, missing just 7 games in four seasons in the league, while Jones has missed 23 in nine seasons in the league and, in addition to being significantly younger, Mason was also already by far the better runner last season, with the edge in yards per carry (3.41 vs. 2.67), yards per carry after contact (4.77 vs. 4.15), missed tackle rate (19.5 vs. 8.8%), and carry success rate (56.0% vs. 50.0%). Even with Jones being retained, Mason seems likely to lead this team in carries, yards, and touchdowns again this season.

Where Jones has the big edge is as a receiver, averaging 1.24 yards per route run in his career, compared to 0.46 for Mason, including a 1.07 to 0.32 edge in 2025. That figures to remain the case in 2026 and could lead to Jones having the edge in overall yards from scrimmage. The Vikings also added young depth to their running back room, using a 6th round pick on Demond Claiborne. He will start the season as the third running back at best, but he could see a significant role if Jones or Mason miss time and he could see a significant role in 2027 and beyond with both Jones and Mason set to hit free agency this off-season. This isn’t a bad backfield, but it isn’t a great one either.

Grade: B-

Interior Defenders

As I mentioned earlier, the Vikings lost several key defenders this off-season. In total, four of their top-12 in terms of snaps played last season are gone, without adequate replacements for most of them. The interior defender position was hardest hit, with Jonathan Allen (809 snaps) and Javon Hargrave (537 snaps) both getting released this off-season. Allen and Hargrave were heading into their age 31 and age 33 seasons respectively in 2026, were set to have 8.75 million and 15 million of non-guaranteed money on the books, and both left something to be desired as run defenders last season, but they were also both above average interior pass rushers, with pressure rates of 8.3% and 10.5% respectively, a significant part of why the Vikings’ defense was so effective last season.

The Vikings attempted to replace them in the first round of the draft with Caleb Banks, but that was likely a reach. Banks has great physical tools and a great upside as a result, but his tape frequently doesn’t line up with his measurables and he dealt with numerous injuries in his collegiate career, including a broken foot that will sideline him for at least part of the off-season. As a result of his durability issues and his overall lack of elite performance as a collegiate player, he only played a total of 929 snaps in five seasons at the University of Florida and it seems unlikely that he will be an adequate replacement for either Allen or Hargrave, let alone both, in year one.

The Vikings will also give bigger roles to Levi Drake Rodriguez, a 2024 7th round pick who was underwhelming across 461 snaps in the first significant action of his career last season, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, a 2025 5th round pick who was underwhelming across 250 snaps as a rookie last season. Both could have untapped potential that they haven’t shown yet, but neither was a high draft pick, so they didn’t come into the league with high expectations or upside and have yet to do anything to show that they were drafted too low.

The one piece of good news at the interior defender position for the Vikings is they still have Jalen Redmond, who was arguably their best interior defender a year ago, playing 793 snaps, totaling 6 sacks, 3 hits, and a 9.5% pressure rate, and playing at an above average level against the run as well. Redmond went undrafted in 2023 and didn’t play a snap as a rookie, but he flashed a lot of potential across 208 snaps in 2024 and translated that to a larger role in 2025. He is a one-year wonder as an every down player and, already in his age 27 season, he may have reached his ceiling, but he could easily remain at least a solid every down interior defender for another season. He is the saving grace of an overall underwhelming position group.

Grade: B-

Edge Defenders

The Vikings also moved on from Jonathan Greenard via trade with the Eagles this off-season, saving 19 million and picking up a pair of third round picks in the process. Greenard ranked third among Vikings’ edge defenders in snaps played last season, but that was mostly because he missed five games with injury and, despite that, he still led the team with 47 total pressures, finishing the year with 3 sacks, 9 hits, and a 17.4% pressure rate. 

With the Vikings doing nothing to replace him, he leaves behind an edge defender room that has a solid starting duo of Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel, but that completely lacks depth behind them. Turner and Van Ginkel are heading in opposite directions career wise. Turner was a first round pick in 2024, showed promise across 302 snaps as a reserve during his rookie season, and then took a step forward in a larger role (702 snaps) in year two, totaling 8 sacks, 7 hits, and a 14.6% pressure rate with adequate run defense to boot. Still only in his age 23 season in 2026, Turner could just be scratching the surface on his talent and could easily continue improving in year three. He will likely be the Vikings’ top edge defender in 2026.

Van Ginkel, on the other hand, is going into his age 31 season and has shown signs of decline recently. He still had 7 sacks, 8 hits, and a 14.5% pressure rate in 2025, but he missed five games with injury and was a liability as a run defender. He could easily decline further in 2026, but will be needed to play a huge snap count with Greenard gone. No other pure edge defender had over 100 snaps last season outside of their top-3 guys and, while Jalen Redmond lined up on the edge on occasion last season when injuries hit, he was better on the interior and will be needed there even more this season with Allen and Hargrave gone.

Reserve options at edge defender for the Vikings include 2024 undrafted free agent Bo Richter, who has played 83 career snaps, Tyler Batty, a 2025 undrafted free agent who played 42 snaps as a rookie, and Chaz Chambliss, a 2025 undrafted free agent who played 25 snaps as a rookie. In limited action, those three combined for one total pressure in 2025. The Vikings also used a second round pick on Jake Golday, who played some edge defender in college and could be a little bit of a hybrid for them, but he is undersized for an edge player at 240 pounds and only rushed the passer 354 times in five seasons in his collegiate career. The Vikings’ lack of depth brings down their overall grade at the edge defender position significantly.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

Things remain the same at the linebacker position, with the exception of the addition of Jake Golday, who will likely play sparingly as a rookie, barring injuries, because this position group is already pretty deep. Blake Cashman was an above average every down linebacker for the third straight season in 2025, playing at his best against the run, but holding up in coverage as well. The concerns with Cashman are his age and his injury history, as he is going into his age 30 season and has never played every game in a season, including 10 games missed over the past three seasons combined. There is a strong likelihood that he either misses more time with injury this season and/or declines somewhat due to his age. 

Fellow starter Eric Wilson’s age is an even bigger concern, set to go into his age 32 season. Wilson was decent across 965 snaps last season, most among Vikings linebackers, but previously was a backup who played 1,013 total snaps from 2021-2024 and, given his age, it seems unlikely he will repeat his most productive season in recent years. Ivan Pace, the expected third linebacker, is younger, only going into his age 26 season, and he is a good option as far as #3 linebackers go. He will probably hold off Golday for the #3 job, even with Golday being a relatively high draft pick. This is a deep position group, but one with significant concerns.

Grade: B

Secondary

The other player the Vikings lost on defense last off-season was Harrison Smith, although that wasn’t their fault, as Smith is expected to retire ahead of what would have been his age 37 season in 2026. Smith was arguably still their best safety last season though, providing average to above average play both in coverage and against the run while playing 793 total snaps in 15 games. The Vikings have replacement options with upside, 2023 4th round pick Jay Ward, who has flashed potential across 314 career snaps, and 3rd round rookie Jakobe Thomas, but it is very possible that both are downgrades from Smith. Theo Jackson, a 2022 6th round pick who was decent across a career high 529 snaps last season, will also likely play a bigger role in Smith’s absence.

The Vikings like to play with three safeties on the field frequently in sub packages. Josh Mettelus, led Vikings safeties with 867 snaps last season, despite missing three games due to injury, and was decent. He was also decent across 1,063 snaps in 2023 and 990 in 2024 and, in his age 28 season in 2026, I would expect more of the same from him. He and Jackson will likely start together in base packages, with Ward and Thomas competing for sub package roles. 

The Vikings also added cornerback depth in free agency with the addition of James Pierre, after their nominal #3 cornerback Fabian Moreau played just 198 snaps last season. Pierre’s presence and Smith’s departure could lead to the Vikings playing fewer three safety sets and more three cornerback sets in sub packages. Pierre is heading into his age 30 season and has never played more than 415 snaps in a season in his career, but he excelled across 377 snaps last season, allowing just 14 catches on 33 targets with 9 pass deflections. That kind of came out of nowhere, as he had 7 pass deflections across 89 targets in his career prior to last season, and it seems unlikely he will continue playing at that level in 2026, especially given his age, but he could still be a useful player in a part-time role.

Byron Murphy and Isaiah Rodgers remain as the two starters at cornerback. A 2nd round pick in 2019, Murphy has started 96 of 104 games played in his career and has mostly been at least an average starter, but he has really come into his own with the Vikings over the past two seasons, with back-to-back above average seasons. Still only in his age 28 season, I would expect more of the same from him in 2026. Rodgers, meanwhile, was also an above average starter across a career high 963 snaps in 2025, after previously showing a lot of potential across snap counts of 525, 434, and 329 in 2021, 2022, and 2024 respectively (he missed 2023 due to a gambling suspension). He is still a one-year wonder as a full-time starter, but he could easily remain a solid starting option, also still only in his age 28 season. The Vikings’ secondary is the strength of their defense.

Grade: B+

Kicker

After a decent rookie year in which he was a league average kicker, Will Reichard, a 2024 6th round pick, had a great year in 2025, leading the league with 12.99 points added above average, hitting all 31 extra points, all 22 field goals less than 40 yards, and hitting 11 of 13 from 50+, tying for the league lead in 50+ yard field goals made, including a 62-yarder. Kickers are inconsistent and Reichard is a one-year wonder in terms of playing at that level, but he could easily have another very good season in 2026 and for years to come.

Grade: A

Conclusion

The Vikings’ offense should be better in 2026 due to an upgrade at quarterback, but their defense, which was the strength of the team in 2025, seems unlikely to be as good after losing several key contributors this off-season. Overall, the Vikings appear to have a below average roster. They are well coached on both sides of the ball, with head coach Kevin O’Connell in charge of the offense and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, a former head coach in his own right, in charge of the defense, but that might not be enough for this team to increase their win total from nine and get into the post-season.

Prediction: 9-8, 4th in NFC North

Chicago Bears 2026 NFL Season Preview

stevenlourie 2026 NFL Season Previews, Bears

Quarterback

The Bears went 11-6 last season, but they had two things go their way that are unlikely to continue in 2026, a league best +22 turnover margin, a statistic that tends to be very inconsistent year-to-year, and a 7-4 record in games decided by 7 points or fewer, another statistic that tends to be very inconsistent year-to-year. In terms of schedule adjusted efficiency, which is much more predictive, the Bears ranked just 19th in the league last year at -0.91. Additionally, the Bears lost some key players on both sides of the ball this off-season, without adequately replacing some of them. 

Things aren’t all bad for the Bears going into 2026, however. For one, the Bears had one of the youngest offenses in the league, ranking 7th in snap weighted average age, and got better on that side of the ball as the season went on. On top of that, they should be healthier on defense, where they had the 7th most adjusted games lost to injury in the league last season, which seemed to disproportionately affect their best players. With talented players coming of age on offense and better health on defense, the Bears could easily finish better in schedule adjusted efficiency in 2026 than they did in 2025, though possibly not by a wide enough margin for them to match or exceed last season’s win total.

The most important young player on the Bears roster is quarterback Caleb Williams, the #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams struggled as a rookie, completing 62.5% of his passes for 6.30 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, while rushing for 6.04 YPC and no touchdowns on 81 carries, but he took a step forward in his second season in the league with an improved supporting cast and a new offensive minded head coach in Ben Johnson, completing 58.1% of his passes for 6.94 YPA, 27 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, while rushing for 5.04 YPC and 3 touchdowns on 77 carries. 

Most importantly, Williams went from being sacked 68 times in 2024 to 24 times in 2025, partially due to an improved offensive line, but in large part due to significantly improved pocket presence. Williams still has room for improvement, especially when it comes to accuracy, as he had the 2nd lowest completion percentage over expected last season, but he is still only going into his age 25 season and could easily take another step forward in his third season in the league in 2026.

Williams will continue being backed up by Tyson Bagent, a 2023 undrafted free agent who has mostly struggled in limited action (4 starts, 149 pass attempts), completing 66.4% of his passes for an average of 6.15 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Bagent is well liked by the coaching staff because of his football intelligence, but he is very limited, even for a backup. He would be a major liability for this offense if he had to play significant action in 2026.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

The biggest off-season loss for the Bears was center Drew Dalman, who shockingly retired ahead of what would have been only his age 28 season in 2026, after playing at an All-Pro level in 2025. To replace him, the Bears traded for veteran Garrett Bradbury and used a second round pick on Logan Jones, both of whom figure to be a massive downgrade from Dalman. Bradbury has started 105 games in seven seasons in the league, but has been marginal at best, while Jones has the upside to be a starter long-term, but was a bit of a reach in the second round and would likely be a liability if he started in year one. 

Further complicating things is the fact that left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, a 2025 2nd round pick who impressed in 6 starts down the stretch as a rookie, suffered a torn patellar tendon in the post-season and is likely to miss at least a big chunk of the regular season in 2026. In his absence, the Bears have several options, all of whom would be significant downgrades. Braxton Jones, who was the Bears starting left tackle before Trapilo, is probably the favorite for the job, but he has mostly been a liability in his career as a starter.

Theo Benedet also made starts last season, in between when Braxton Jones got hurt and when Trapilo took over the job, but the 2024 undrafted free agent was a liability in 8 starts, after not playing a snap as a rookie. Kiran Amegadjie was a 2024 3rd round pick, but he has only played 126 snaps in two seasons in the league and has struggled when on the field. The Bears also took a flyer on Jedrick Wills, a free agent signing who started 57 games at left tackle for the Browns after being selected by them in the first round in 2020. However, he was middling at best as a starter in Cleveland and frequently injured towards the end of his tenure, leading to him being out of the league entirely in 2025, after only playing 13 starts total in 2023 and 2024 combined. Whoever starts until Trapilo returns is almost definitely going to be a downgrade.

On top of that, left guard Joe Thuney is going into his age 34 season. Thuney has not shown any signs of decline yet and remained one of the best guards in the league in 2025, but there is no guarantee that continues. He would likely remain at least an above average guard even if he does decline this season, but any decline from him would just be another area of concern for a Bears offensive line that is unlikely to be as good as last year even if Thuney continues playing at the same level. 

Right guard Jonah Jackson remains, but he was the weak link on this offensive line last season, only playing at about a league average level. That is par for the course for Jackson, who has been about a league average starter across 78 starts in six seasons in the league. With Dalman gone, Trapilo hurt, and Thuney getting older, right tackle Darnell Wright could easily be the Bears’ top offensive lineman in 2026. 

The 10th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Wright has been an above average starter since entering the league and has also improved in every season in the league, culminating in a 2025 season in which he was one of the best right tackles in the league. Still only in his age 25 season, Wright should remain one of the best right tackles in the league for years to come. This offensive line is unlikely to be as good as it was last season, when they ranked 5th in run block win rate and 1st in pass block win rate, but this is still not a bad offensive line at the very least.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

The Bears also lost DJ Moore this off-season, but they got a second round pick in return for him, got out of his 24.5 million dollar salary, and his absence will allow younger, more efficient receivers to take on bigger roles in this offense. Moore used to be a consistent 1000+ yard receiver, but he never had good chemistry in Caleb Williams and was starting to be phased out of the offense down the stretch last season, finishing the season with just a 50/682/6 slash line and 1.22 yards per route run on 85 targets. 

The two pass catchers with the highest upside are a pair of second year players, 2025 1st round pick Colston Loveland and 2025 2nd round pick Luther Burden. Loveland led the team in receiving last season with a 58/713/6 slash line, despite not playing the majority of the snaps until midway through the season and only receiving 82 targets. In the final 10 games of the season, Loveland had 47 catches for 597 yards and 6 touchdowns, which extrapolates to a 80/1015/8 slash line over 17 games, and his 1.86 yards per route run average ranked 5th among tight ends. Loveland could easily be one of the most productive tight ends in the league in 2026, in his second season in the league and first full season playing a majority of the snaps.

Burden, meanwhile, only played 402 snaps last season, but he saw his playing time increase as the season went on and finished with a 47/652/2 slash line on just 60 targets, while averaging 2.69 yards per route run, 3rd among wide receivers, only behind Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In the final 8 games of the season, when he still only played 36.4 snaps per game, he had 34 catches for 481 yards and 1 touchdown on just 45 targets, which extrapolates to a 72/1022/2 slash line over 17 games. With Moore gone, Burden has a clear path to an every down role and, while he might not be quite as efficient in a larger role, he has a huge upside and could easily end up leading this team in receiving. 

Burden will start opposite another young receiver Rome Odunze, the 9th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Odunze has not been as impressive in his career as Loveland and Burden, putting up a 54/734/3 slash line and 1.18 yards per route run on 101 targets in 2024 and a 44/661/6 slash line and 1.61 yards per route run on 90 targets in 2025, and he is likely to be the third option in this offense in 2026, but he is still only going into his age 24 season and has the talent to take a step forward in his third season in the league. Between Odunze, Loveland, and Burden, the Bears’ top-3 pass catching options are all 24 or younger with huge upsides.

The third wide receiver job could go to another young pass catcher too, as veteran free agent addition Kalif Raymond is set to compete with 3rd round rookie Zavion Williams and 2025 undrafted free agent Jahdae Walker. Williams and Walker have upside, but Williams was a reach in the third round and is very raw, while Walker only played 86 snaps as a rookie. Raymond is probably the favorite for the job, but he has never exceeded 616 receiving yards in 10 seasons in the league and now he is going into his age 32 season and coming off seasons of 17/215/2 and 24/289/1 in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Whoever wins the job will likely be a liability and it is possible all three players see action in limited roles.

The Bears could run more two and three tight end sets this season to mask their lack of depth at wide receiver. Cole Kmet is an experienced former starter, which is the reason why Loveland did not play much early last season. His career 1.19 yards per route run average is a bit underwhelming, but he is a solid #2 tight end. The Bears also used a third round pick on tight end Sam Roush to give them even more depth at the tight end position. This is a bit of a top heavy position group and it lacks experience, but they have a lot of upside.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Another rookie who contributed on this offense in 2025 was running back Kyle Monangai, a 7th round pick who played sparingly early in the season, but earned close to a 50/50 split with lead back D’Andre Swift down the stretch, with 101 carries to 123 for Swift in the final nine games of the season. Their effectiveness levels were pretty similar too, as Monangai averaged 4.63 YPC, 2.95 yards per carry after contact, a 14.8% missed tackle rate, and a 50.9% carry success rate, while Swift averaged 4.87 YPC, 3.01 yards per carry after contact, a 17.5% missed tackle rate, and a 54.7% carry success rate. With Monangai going into his second season in the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this being even closer to a 50/50 split in 2026.

Swift has mostly been a marginal starting running back in his career, averaging 4.47 YPC on 1,069 carries in six seasons in the league, which isn’t bad, but he has also consistently played behind good offensive lines and has only averaged 2.61 yards per carry after contact and a 16.3% missed tackle rate in his career. That being said, he forms a decent duo with Monangai, though both could be less efficient this season with the offensive line unlikely to be as effective.

Regardless of how the carry split breaks out, Swift will remain the primary passing down back, after having a 34/299/1 slash line and 1.02 yards per route run on 48 targets last season, while Monangai had a 18/164/0 slash line and 0.75 yards per route run on 30 targets. Swift has averaged 1.23 yards per route run in his career, while Monangai has no history of success in the passing game, with just 38 catches in his entire collegiate career. This is an underwhelming backfield, but Swift and Monangai are not a bad duo and help keep each other fresh on an offense built around the running game.

Grade: C+

Interior Defenders

As I mentioned earlier, the Bears defense should be better than they were last season because they should have better health, but they ranked 28th in schedule adjusted efficiency on defense last season, so, even if they are better this season, they still have a lot of concerns. The interior defender position was a position of weakness for them in 2025 and they didn’t do anything substantial to upgrade the position this off-season.

Gervon Dexter was their best interior defender and he had a solid season, struggling as a run defender, but making up for it by totaling 6 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.6% pressure rate. A second round pick in 2023, Dexter has been a similar player throughout his career, with 13.5 sacks, 32 hits, and a 10.1% pressure rate in 49 career games, while consistently playing below average as a run defender. Still only going into his age 25 season, there is still time for Dexter to get better against the run, but that is not a guarantee.

Grady Jarrett struggled as the starter next to Dexter in 2025, both as a run defender and a pass rusher (5.2% pressure rate). Jarrett used to be an above average interior defender in his prime, but now going into his age 33 season, his best days are clearly behind him. He figures to continue to struggle, but because the Bears lack a better option, he is likely to continue seeing around the 610 snaps he played last season. 

The Bears did add veterans Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street in free agency to give them some new reserve options, but both are unlikely to be upgrades and will likely be liabilities. Gallimore was a third round pick in 2020, but he has averaged just 333 snaps per season in six seasons in the league with the 467 snaps he played last season being a career high. He has also struggled throughout his career, especially struggling against the run, but also only managing just a career 5.8% pressure rate. 

Street has had a similar career, struggling across an average of 256 snaps per season in eight seasons in the league, with snap counts of 267, 280, and 216 over the past three seasons. The Bears do have Shemar Turner, a hybrid interior/edge player who they selected in the 2nd round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he only managed to get on the field for 74 snaps as a rookie, which is a bad sign, considering how much the Bears needed defensive line help. He also didn’t get a single pressure as a rookie and struggled against the run. He could take a step forward in year two, but I wouldn’t count on him suddenly developing into a starting caliber player. Outside of Gervon Dexter, this is a very underwhelming position group and Dexter isn’t nearly good enough to save this group by himself.

Grade: C+

Edge Defenders

Things aren’t much better at the edge defender position, where the Bears also didn’t do anything substantial to upgrade this off-season. Montez Sweat is a solid all-around player, totaling 57 sacks, 72 hits, and a 11.8% pressure rate in 109 career games, while holding up as a run defender as well, but he is going into his age 30 season now and could start to decline. Austin Booker started opposite Sweat last season when healthy, playing 52.0 snaps per game in 10 games, but he managed just 4.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 9.0% pressure rate and wasn’t much better against the run. A 5th round pick in 2024, Booker was even worse across 283 snaps as a rookie and, while he could still have some untapped potential, it is not a guarantee he is any better in 2026.

The Bears are expected to get Dayo Odeyingbo back from a torn achilles that ended his 2025 season after 369 snaps in 8 games and the Bears gave him a 3-year, 48 million dollar deal last off-season expecting him to start opposite Sweat, but that was an overpay at the time and it is unlikely Odeyingbo will be improved in his first season back from a major injury. A second round pick in 2021, Odeyingbo has shown flashes and is still only going into his age 27 season, but he has managed just 17.5 sacks, 33 hits, and a 8.2% pressure rate in 69 career games while playing inconsistently against the run. I would expect him to be a liability coming off of an injury.

Shemar Turner is also expected to have a role on the edge situationally, in addition to seeing some snaps on the interior, but he would have to improve significantly to be an asset at either position after a tough rookie year. Daniel Hardy is another deep reserve option, but the 2022 7th round pick has shown very little across 126 career snaps. With minimal improvements made to a position group that was a weakness last season, this position group figures to remain a weakness in 2026.

Grade: C+

Linebackers

The Bears’ linebacking corps was one of the units hit hard by injury last season, with starters TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds limited to 568 snaps in 10 games and 813 snaps in 13 games respectively. Edwards should be healthier in 2026 and, while Edmunds was let go for salary reasons, the Bears arguably upgraded on him by signing Devin Bush to replace him in free agency. Edwards has been an above average linebacker both in coverage and against the run in his career and, outside of last season, he doesn’t really have an injury history, playing in every game from 2022-2024. The concern is he is now going into his age 30 season, but even if he declines a little bit, he should remain at least a solid linebacker and even at slightly less than his best it will be better to have him for all or most of the season in 2026 than only having him for about half the season in 2025.

Bush, meanwhile, was a disappointment early in his career as a 2019 1st round pick, but injuries were a big part of the reason for his early career struggles and he has broken out as an above average starter over the past two seasons, playing well both in coverage and against the run, while only missing one game between the two seasons. Still only going into his age 28 season, he should remain at least a solid linebacker in 2026, which makes him better than Edmunds, who was only about a league average starter even when healthy last season.

With Edwards and Edmunds missing time in 2025, reserves Noah Sewell (408 snaps) and D’Marco Jackson (260 snaps). Sewell was a major liability, but Jackson surprisingly played very well in limited action. It came in a very limited sample size and, in total, the 2022 5th round pick has played just 336 total snaps in his career, so he is a projection to a larger role, but he has at least earned the third linebacker and top reserve spot over Sewell and he deserves the 2-year, 7.5 million dollar deal the Bears gave him to stick around this off-season. As far as third linebackers go, he has more upside than most and, overall, I would call this an above average linebacking corps.

Grade: A-

Secondary

Cornerback is another position where the Bears were significantly hurt by injury. Expected top-2 cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon played just 282 snaps in 7 games and 117 snaps in 3 games respectively due to injury. Johnson was one of the best cornerbacks in the league in 2023 and 2024 and, still only in his age 27 season, he could easily return to form in 2026. Gordon, meanwhile, is a solid slot cornerback who is also only going into his age 27 season.

Johnson and Gordon will play in three cornerback sets with Tyrique Stevenson, who was below average across 588 snaps last season, after the 2023 2nd round pick was below average across snap counts of 830 and 810 in the first two seasons of his career. Stevenson is still only going into his age 26 season and could still get better, but he could also easily remain below average this season. In the absence of Johnson and Gordon last season, Stevenson mostly played alongside Nahshon Wright (1,040 snaps) on the outside with CJ Gardner-Johnson (565 snaps) on the slot.  

Both were largely underwhelming, with Wright intercepting 5 passes, but getting beat deep frequently and Gardner-Johnson also frequently getting beat in coverage. However, their loss this off-season does thin out their depth, which would be a problem if one of their top-3 cornerbacks got hurt again. The Bears’ top reserve cornerback options are 4th round rookie Malik Muhammad and Terell Smith, a 2023 5th round pick who flashed potential across 584 snaps over the first two seasons of his career, before missing all of 2025 with a torn patellar tendon, missing his chance to show what he can do in a larger role.

The Bears also lost both starting safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker this off-season, but they did do a decent job of replacing them. Byard was a solid starter, but he will be replaced by Dillon Thieneman, who was a steal with the 25th overall pick. Thieneman might not be as good as Byard was right away, but he also has the upside to be better than Byard was. Brisker, meanwhile, was underwhelming last season and will be replaced by another underwhelming veteran in Coby Bryant. With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon returning from injuries, the Bears’ secondary should go from a liability to at least a decent unit this season.

Grade: B

Kicker

Cairo Santos will be the Bears’ kicker for the 7th straight season and Santos’ 13th straight season in the league. Santos has largely been a league average kicker in his career, adding just 9.21 points above average across 154 career games. His age is becoming a bit of a concern, going into his age 34 season, but kickers often age pretty well, so he could easily remain an average starting kicker in 2026.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Bears are unlikely to win as many close games or have as much success in the turnover margin in 2026 as they did in 2025 and they lost some key players this off-season, most notably center Drew Dalman, but they have a lot of young talent on offense that could take a step forward this season, while their defense should be healthier this season than it was last season. They could still struggle to win as many games as they did last season though and they are not a guarantee to make it back to the post-season.

Prediction: 9-8, 3rd in NFC North