The 2026 Free Agency Thread

HTTR said:
If it smells like a duck…
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I'm as down on the receivers as anyone, but Lane hasn't even played his second year yet. For a 4th rounder, lasting his rookie contract is the average. To get a second contract is above average. He's only played one year, there's time for him to carve out his niche as a punt returner who can catch the odd ball once in a while. He is unlikely to carry a team. Washington fans throwing his name around as solution to WR2 are expecting far too much from him.
 
Faithful Fan said:
When was the last time we had good safeties? I’m struggling to think of anybody since Sean Taylor and Ryan Clark. I guess Kam Curl and Jeremy Chinn were pretty good, but it’s been a position of weakness for most of the last decade or more.

That said, I think Cross is an upgrade, and the rest (Martin, Harris, Reaves, etc.) should be serviceable. It’s not saying much, but that group is probably the best we’ve had at the position in a while.
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Chinn was just OK. Kam Curl was generally above average. This had me thinking...

Who doesn't fit as good but have name recognition:
Laron Landry, wasn't good except for his great half-season in 2010 before steroids ruined his body.
Reed Doughty, he belongs in the "better than JAG but not by much, we could do worse than him" category
Landon Collins, was paid to be elite...but was immediately out of place and then moved to Linebacker

So whose left as the best safety we've had besides Kam Curl, Sean Taylor, and Ryan Clark?
DJ Swearinger at FS? 2 seasons combining 8 Interceptions and 20 Passes Defensed, 4 Forced Fumbles.

Honestly...that list was worse than I thought it would be.
 
Your list is good, but Bacarri Rambo should have been at the list for name recognition.

Kareem Moore deserves to be remembered too. Picking off Drew Brees and giving the ball to Robert Meachum so the Saints could score a TD and beat us the year they went to the Super Bowl. It has been 17 years and I still don't forgive him.
 
DWinzit said:
I single high would be sweet but not sure where they'd find one at this point. Besides WR2 there's still concern with at least C and not having a good all around TE even if TE2 or TE3.
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One good thing from what I gather the Flores scheme, and beat guys keep hinting that its what it looks in practice albiet they are supposed to not say, don't play single high much. It's supposedly very split safety heavy, quarters, cover 2.
 

21, not bad. So many have the roster ranked lower.​

​

Ranking 2026 NFL rosters: Best projected starting lineups​

  • Mike Clay
    ,
  • Aaron Schatz
    ,
  • Seth Walder
After an offseason chock-full of trades, free agent signings and draft picks, all 32 NFL teams have their rosters mostly set for the 2026 season. But how do they stack up when compared to each other?

We've tasked NFL analysts Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder with finding that answer. We asked them to individually rank every lineup in the league, then combined their ballots to form the ultimate preseason roster rankings, considering factors such as talent, age and production.

Clay projected every starting lineup, and then he identified each team's position of strength and weakness. Walder picked X factors for each roster, while Schatz chose nonstarters who could end up being key players this season.

Let's get to the list, starting with a franchise that came close to representing the NFC in last season's Super Bowl and has been aggressive all offseason.

21.​

 

2026 NFL offseason grades: Draft, trades, more moves by team​


Seth WalderJun 30, 2026, 06:35 AM ET

Washington Commanders: C+​

Biggest move: Signing Edge Odafe Oweh
Move I liked: Signing S Nick Cross
Move I disliked: Firing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury

Washington opened its offseason by firing both Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. The former dismissal was a curious choice. Although the Commanders massively disappointed by going 5-12 in 2025, the defense was the biggest culprit, ranking 30th in EPA per play.

Of course, quarterback Jayden Daniels' injuries didn't help -- nor did his late-down efficiency crashing back to Earth after a banner 2024 -- but the fact that the Commanders were middle of the pack in offensive EPA per play without Daniels for half the season (and were actually more efficient without him!) is a testament to the offensive coaching. If anyone should have been on the hot seat after 2025, I think it should have been head coach Dan Quinn, not Kingsbury.

As far as personnel, the Commanders made moves to address their older, underperforming defense, headlined by signing Oweh to a four-year, $96 million contract. That looks and seems expensive on the surface, but Oweh is better than he is given credit for: His 16.7% pass rush win rate at edge last season between the Ravens and Chargers ranked 10th best at the position. Washington also added K'Lavon Chaisson on a one-year deal after his solid 2025 season with the Patriots.

The Commanders brought in other middle-class, free agent defenders in Cross, CB Amik Robertson and LB Leo Chenal. They also selected linebacker Sonny Styles with the No. 7 pick in the draft.

Offensively, they signed offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to an extension and made a smart move by re-signing backup quarterback Marcus Mariota to a one-year, $7 million deal. But the Commanders could have done more, as they questionably released center Tyler Biadasz (who immediately got a raise by signing with the Chargers) and questions remain about their pass catchers.


Washington is still led by receiver Terry McLaurin, though he's no longer a sure thing given his down 2025 season and age (he will turn 31 in September). The Commanders signed TE Chig Okonkwo in free agency and added WR Antonio Williams in the third round of the draft, but I wanted to see more done in this area. There weren't amazing options in free agency, but the Commanders have money to spend -- as of this writing, they rank third and eighth in 2026 and 2027 cap space, respectively, per OverTheCap.com.


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i

Philadelphia Eagles: A​

Biggest move: Trading WR A.J. Brown
Move I liked: Signing CB Riq Woolen
Move I disliked: Extending DT Jordan Davis

As is often the case, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was busy in the trade market this offseason. That meant the long-awaited and finally consummated Brown deal to the Patriots, netting Philadelphia a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Losing Brown is a short-term knock, but it became clear his time as an Eagle was up and Philadelphia was able to flip him for a first-round selection -- which comes with years of expected value -- before Brown's decline really set in.

The Eagles prepared for the loss of Brown by trading fifth- and sixth-round picks for Dontayvion Wicks and selecting Makai Lemon in the first round of the draft. I particularly like the Wicks acquisition. The former Packer has a 69 open score over the past three seasons -- well above average -- and perhaps has not fully realized his upside.

  • The Eagles made another critical acquisition I was a fan of in trading for edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. High-end veterans have become so inflated on the trade market lately that I rarely believe the acquiring team is the winner in deals like this -- but the Greenard trade was an exception. The Eagles land a player whose sack production was down (only three sacks in 12 games last season) but who consistently wins on a down-to-down basis (his 23.3% pass rush win rate at edge would have ranked fourth had he qualified). He fills a need after Philadelphia lost Jaelan Phillips in free agency, which will likely net them a third-round compensatory pick next year per OverTheCap.com.

The Eagles also had one of my favorite free agency signings of the offseason, nabbing Woolen for one year and $12 million. Woolen is not considered among the game's best corners despite metrics that suggest elite-level play. Over the past four seasons, Woolen ranks first among all cornerbacks with at least 500 coverage snaps in air yards allowed per coverage snap, just ahead of new teammate Quinyon Mitchell and Pat Surtain II.


My lone critique was the three-year, $78 million extension for Davis, which was a bit rich for a nose tackle. Davis is a good player against the run, but I need more pass rush to justify that type of contract.

New York Giants: B+​

Biggest move: Hiring John Harbaugh as coach
Move I liked: Trading DT Dexter Lawrence II
Move I disliked: Signing LB Tremaine Edmunds

Nothing was more significant than the Giants successfully landing Harbaugh. He should be a stabilizing force given his long track record of success in Baltimore, and he rightfully gives fans hope in the franchise's new direction.

But in terms of players, the biggest decision the Giants made was to trade Lawrence to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick. That was a huge win. As much as I -- and probably the Giants! -- like Lawrence as a player, he was coming off a down season, and the value of the No. 10 pick was simply a much better return than the veteran defensive tackle is likely worth.

Thanks to that trade, the Giants had two top-10 picks in the draft. They added linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese -- who surprisingly fell to No. 5 -- and OT Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. Those two young players can be the foundation of the Giants' new core if they play well. New York also made a poor-value trade in moving up to get receiver Malachi Fields on Day 2.

In free agency, the Giants lost receiver Wan'Dale Robinson following his breakout 2025 campaign, leaving them with a weakness at the position -- especially with Malik Nabers uncertain to be back by Week 1 from the knee injury he suffered early last season. The team re-signed Jermaine Eluemunor to keep consistency at right tackle and brought in DT DJ Reader (to fill the hole left by Lawrence), CB Greg Newsome II and Edmunds -- the last of whom was an overpay at three years, $36 million.

Adding Reese gives the Giants a surplus at edge, which should make Kayvon Thibodeaux available for trade. They haven't found a deal for him yet, but that doesn't mean they won't before the start of the season.

Nothing will affect the Giants' win total in the short term more than second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart's development. But this offseason was more about setting up a foundation for the medium to long term.

Dallas Cowboys: C+​

Biggest move: Keeping WR George Pickens on the franchise tag -- and only the franchise tag
Move I liked: Keeping Pickens on the franchise tag
Move I disliked: Trading DT Osa Odighizuwa

The ripple effects of Dallas' decision to trade Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 season were still being felt this offseason. That was most apparent when the Cowboys were among the teams vying for Maxx Crosby. They didn't get the Pro Bowl edge rusher, who landed back in Las Vegas.

But losing Parsons was also likely a factor in the Cowboys' decision to trade a fourth-round pick for edge rusher Rashan Gary -- an overpay considering Gary is a vastly diminished relative to his pre-torn-ACL self and still will make $16 million per year.

The Parsons effect was also felt at defensive tackle. The Cowboys had used some of their extra draft capital from the deal to trade for Quinnen Williams in midseason, creating a bit of a surplus at interior lineman with Kenny Clark and Odighizuwa. Dallas' solution was to trade Odighizuwa to San Francisco for a third-round pick. The Cowboys chose the wrong D-tackle to deal, as Odighizuwa is younger and makes less than Clark, plus is arguably better than the veteran at this stage of their respective careers. The Cowboys would have gotten less draft capital for Clark, but I don't think they fared particularly well with the Odighizuwa deal and wonder if they didn't trade Clark, who was part of the Parsons deal, due to the optics.



 
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Ranking WR, TE, RB groups for 2026: Best and worst NFL teams​

  • Bill Barnwell

You don't need a dominant set of playmakers to win the Super Bowl, but it sure helps to have a few along the way. Ask the Seahawks, who had Jaxon Smith-Njigba put the finishing touches on a career season by going for 153 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game. During a stop-start Super Bowl, the Seahawks were able to kick field goals and build an early lead on the back of Kenneth Walker III, whose explosive gains in the middle of a 135-yard day were enough to earn the lead back Super Bowl MVP honors.

Of course, Walker is now on the Chiefs, joining key playmakers such as A.J. Brown, Mike Evans and Jaylen Waddle in moving to new teams this offseason. Teams like the Bears and Saints, full of young standouts, are hoping to break through on the backs of their playmakers. And stalwarts like the Rams and Bengals can and will expect elite play from their skill position players.

But who has the best set of playmakers in football? In a perennial arms race to make life easier for quarterbacks around the NFL, which team has done the most to stock the cupboard with dominant runners and pass catchers?

Today -- as I do every year -- I will try to answer that question by stacking offensive playmaker groups around the NFL from No. 32 to No. 1. Keep in mind that this is not a ranking of NFL offenses. I'm attempting to evaluate each team's playmakers independent of their surroundings. In other words, if each team had the same quarterback, offensive line, playcaller and offensive architect, along with identical health and bouncing-ball luck, which one would then have the best offense?

27. Washington Commanders​


It was a disappointing year for top wideout Terry McLaurin, who held out before the season for a new contract and didn't sign until mid-August. The veteran got off to a slow start, then suffered a quad injury in Week 3 and missed most of the next two months. He finished the season having caught just 10 passes from Jayden Daniels all campaign. The Commanders naturally hope that McLaurin will be back to his usual self with a full season alongside Daniels in 2026, but he's also turning 31 in September. There's a wider range of outcomes for McLaurin this upcoming season than his résumé might suggest.

​

And if McLaurin is not a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver, well, there isn't a lot to get excited about elsewhere. Third-round pick Antonio Williams profiles as a potential playmaker in the slot, but the players around him -- including Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson -- don't have great track records of NFL production. The Commanders might be more of a 12- or 13-personnel team in 2026, but Chig Okonkwo didn't show sustained receiving ability across multiple schemes or with different quarterbacks in Tennessee, and 2024 second-rounder Ben Sinnott has 16 catches across 33 pro games so far.​


Of course, the missing player here might be Brandon Aiyuk, with plenty of speculation that the former 49ers receiver will join the Commanders once he is inevitably cut by the 49ers, given his ties to Daniels and former Niners executive Adam Peters. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened, and Aiyuk would be an upgrade on the likes of Burks and Jefferson on the outside. But it would also be smart to set expectations appropriately. Aiyuk hasn't played since the middle of the 2024 season and won't even have practiced before joining the Commanders. It seems reasonable to expect that we won't see anything close to Aiyuk's best until the second half of 2026 or even 2027.

 
clskinsfan said:
The QB's impact those stats so much. And lets not forget the OL got pretty banged up at times last year. Plus Cosmi coming off of an ACL. I dont think we have a top 5 OL by any means. But it is a top 12-15 unit imo.
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Probably. That isn't the only ranking that has the O line ranked poorly. NFL.com had it if I recall 26.

Doesn't mean anything. But lol its interesting that some units that some of us think are really good -- that love isn't shared by all in the national media, in any form.

Should be an interesting season, this team is considered by the national media as bad as what they thought pre 2024 season.
 
it is all interesting stuff but any analysis or prediction that talks about last year will probably be somewhat to very inaccurate due to the coordinator change.

For better (2025) or worse(2024), we have hit a reset button of sorts. Personally, win or lose, I think it was right to move on, and take a different swing.

Our rankings can be very different but not strictly due to personnel - the scheme is due to be very different and coaching/prep as well.
 
skinsinparadise said:
One good thing from what I gather the Flores scheme, and beat guys keep hinting that its what it looks in practice albiet they are supposed to not say, don't play single high much. It's supposedly very split safety heavy, quarters, cover 2.
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I honestly had not heard that and I guess that's good. I wonder if the reason is due to the personnel on the roster and the lack of a single high
 
DWinzit said:
I honestly had not heard that and I guess that's good. I wonder if the reason is due to the personnel on the roster and the lack of a single high
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Nothing to do with this personnel, I am referencing Flores scheme in Minny didn't go single high much
 
What SIP said.

This graphic is from 2024, so take it with a bit of a grain of salt here. You can see Cover 3 & Cover 1 are below league averages compared to more 2 High safety looks like Cover 2 and Quarters.

1783526479423.png




[Link] Here's an article talking about the 2025 Vikings Defense from FTN. It breaks down how often they simulate pressure, how effective it was, how often they sent 5 or 6 guys, etc. (Reminder, defensive DVOA is better when negative, 0 = average, positive is bad)

Something to note, the Vikings rushed only 4 guys the lowest amount in the league, by over 10%!
 
My guess is national media isn’t factoring in Conerly’s improvement or the continuity. Probably even more importantly though, I don’t know that they’re factoring the change from shotgun to under center, which opens up different run looks, which makes it harder for defenses to tee off, and gives the back a head of steam.

That’s not to mention more play action (olineman almost universally prefer run blocking), marrying run/pass concepts, moving guys around to create matchup issues, all the way down to small things like being able to communicate in the huddle.

Wouldn’t surprise me if all of those changes result in our oline grading out like a top 10 unit.

Of course, we’re still dealing with lackluster weapons, a first time coordinator, guys learning a new scheme, and question marks regarding Allegretti, LG, and whether Conerly continues to improve… so who knows how it all shakes out. I’m optimistic though.
 
I think a fair amount of those are penciling in Jayden Daniels to get hurt again too. Nick Shook (whoever he is) probably has us moving on from (an injured) Jayden and drafting Arch Manning or whoever. 4 wins could be in the "you grab the top QB territory".
 
edit: moving to the proper thread
 
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Always Commander Never Captain said:
I think a fair amount of those are penciling in Jayden Daniels to get hurt again too. Nick Shook (whoever he is) probably has us moving on from (an injured) Jayden and drafting Arch Manning or whoever. 4 wins could be in the "you grab the top QB territory".
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Yeah. I'm no optimist but don't think we win less than 9 if Daniels stays healthy.
 
Henry said:
Yeah. I'm no optimist but don't think we win less than 9 if Daniels stays healthy.
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Jayden does give us a chance in every game if healthy, but that’s an awfully big if coming off a season in which he suffered multiple injuries and could barely finish a game.

The schedule is also brutal, especially the first half of the season. Even being optimistic, I have a hard time finding more than 8 wins, so I think the over-under is at 7.5 for good reason.

Sorry to be a downer, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.
 
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