An improved position group — and not just an outright offensive or defensive (or special teams!) unit — can help drive a team to the top. These improvements can pave the road to a Super Bowl championship, or at the very least keep the road smoother than it would have been otherwise.
Turning a weakness into a strength, or even into just something resembling average, can swing a season. Not giving opponents, especially playoff opponents, an advantage to pick at and hyperfixate on keeps a season alive and sometimes is the main reason for winning a football game. (Think of the Seahawks’ offensive line from 2024 to 2025, going from travesty to something resembling average as the season wore on.)
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Let’s look at some of the moves, some big, some small, that can help swing the 2026 season.
We’ll start with one of the biggest moves of the offseason.
Rams cornerbacks
Chris Shula’s defense can maximize oddball personnel
The Rams sent their 2026 first-round draft pick for Trent McDuffie and then double dipped on former Chiefs cornerbacks when they signed Jaylen Watson in free agency. Los Angeles has made the most out of its oddball personnel under defensive coordinator Chris Shula, constantly blitzing and dropping defenders, moving players before and after the snap, and inverting roles in an attempt to confuse quarterbacks.
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Shula’s Rams blitz at a healthy clip, majoring in zone blitzes that attempt to trap the quarterback into making a bad decision after getting heated up. They also use simulated and creeper pressures at a high rate — defensive calls that “blitz” an off-ball defender but still using only four pass rushers because of another defender dropping from the line of scrimmage. With the constant switching of roles between cornerbacks, safeties and front-seven players, versatility and intelligence can be attributes just as valuable as size, speed and athleticism.
As well as cornerbacks have played under Shula, getting the most out of Day 3 selections like Cobie Durant and retreads like Emmanuel Forbes Jr. points to strong coaching and game-planning that maximized those players.
The issue that the Rams ran into last season was when they lost the straight talent battle against the league’s better wide receivers. Or “out-blue chipped” as my colleague Charles McDonald likes to say.
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Where Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson fit into Rams’ scheme
This is where McDuffie and Watson come in. Not only are both talent upgrades, but McDuffie has All-Pro ability when playing in the slot and on the outside. And both have experience playing in a defense that likes to blitz and throw a lot of funk at quarterbacks and offensive lines under Steve Spagnuolo in Kansas City. The Chiefs and Rams both have similar rates of split coverage (i.e. running two different concepts on each side) over the past two seasons, with a similar rate of Cover 2, a common coverage call behind inverted or simulated looks to make quarterbacks think they’re getting heated up before catching them with a “softer” coverage look.
The Rams led the NFL in using dime personnel (six defensive backs) with 32.4% of their defensive snaps in 2025, the highest rate by an NFL defense since 2020. Three Rams defensive backs, Quentin Lake, Josh Wallace and Jaylen McCollough, played more than 100 snaps in the slot, and that’s not even including the 89% slot snap rate that midseason acquisition Roger McCreary posted. McDuffie will start on the outside opposite of Watson, but Forbes is still on the roster, and McDuffie can kick inside and be used wherever Shula wants him to make the most impact on the play. It’s not only a scheme and role fit, it’s a gigantic talent upgrade. And Watson is no slouch himself on the outside; he rates as a slightly better than league average cornerback by both eye test and advanced metrics.
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The Rams currently sit as Super Bowl favorites. Their offense is going to lead the charge if Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford want to add another ring onto their fingers (and at SoFi Stadium again, funnily enough). But shoring up their defense was paramount if they want to overcome the Seahawks and other new challengers in the NFC. McDuffie is much more talented than just a stopgap option (which is reflected with his shiny new contract), but it’s as clean of a fit as a team could want when looking outward to upgrade their roster. The Rams just happened to want to do it twice.
Don’t undersell Romeo Doubs’ addition to this offense
“Pass catchers” is just my way to group in the tight ends here, and it’s not just their receiving ability that could boost the Patriots’ offense this season.
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The wide receiver that the Patriots added already, Romeo Doubs, is an upgrade that should slot everyone into more fitting roles. And the wide receiver that the Patriots are reportedly going to add, A.J. Brown, is the ace to base the passing game around.
Doubs has improved tremendously as a route runner and overall player from his days as a one-side-of-the-field-only wide receiver in Nevada’s traditional Air Raid scheme. He developed an excellent chemistry with Jordan Love in Green Bay, particularly on out routes; 13.9% of Doubs’ routes were out routes last year, per Next Gen Stats, which would have ranked first in the NFL. And while Doubs has size (6-2, 204 pounds), he isn’t a burner by any means, more thriving in the intermediate range where he can use his bulk, length, and ball skills to box out defenders and snatch the football.
The Patriots’ lackluster offensive performances in the playoffs shone a light on how few true needle-moving players this offense had. And that’s before getting into the sometimes-archaic offensive attack under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and offensive line coach Doug Marrone.
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Doubs isn’t a burner, but he did have four offensive plays where he reached 20 or more miles per hour. The Patriots’ top wide receivers — Stefon Diggs, Pop Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Kayshon Boutte — combined for five total last season. (Last year’s third-rounder Kyle Williams does have long speed, although his role was highly limited to straight go routes from the outside during his inaugural NFL campaign.) Doubs’ top speed of 21.15 MPH would have easily ranked first on the team, and Brown reached over 21 MPH in 2024, something no Patriots receiver did over that time period.
Diggs is gone, and while the remaining Patriots receivers aren’t outright slouches, they perhaps spent last year playing in roles that were larger than suited. Doubs will now slot in as someone who’s been effective against man coverage; only Diggs had better underlying metrics against man coverage from the outside last season, and he was asked to do it at about double the rate and on targets that averaged almost 3 yards further down the field. Boutte was one of the NFL’s most improved players and actually led the league in catch rate over expected (21.2%; more on CROE in a moment). He’s also not a burner, but was still an effective target on the outside for Drake Maye.
Maye was excellent for stretches last season before being overwhelmed as the Patriots’ true talent deficiency showed its warts. He has no qualms with throwing into tight spaces or tight windows, with his completion percentage on tight window throws hitting the third-highest mark since Next Gen Stats began tracking the number in 2018. His 41 tight window completions trailed only the 43 from Dak Prescott, a fellow tight window aficionado. And I think it’s easy to argue that Maye completed those with significantly lesser talent.
Potential A.J. Brown addition would really allow the pass catching core to thrive
Brown is a proven difference maker against any type of coverage and in multiple offenses. I don’t want to get ahead of myself before he’s officially on the roster, which should happen around June 1. But while Doubs has been effective on outbreakers and stop routes, Brown fills out the rest of the route tree with his downfield ability and whenever he wants to tap into the Fountain of YAC in which he bathed himself at the beginning of his career.
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It remains to be seen if Brown’s drop in speed last year was because of injuries, age or disinterest, or maybe a combination. But perhaps fresh surroundings will help inject another surge in performance while playing with Maye. Even a slightly diminished Brown will be easily the most talented receiver on the Patriots’ roster. And his downfield and explosive play potential on inbreakers will fit in perfectly with Maye’s aggression, while also pushing the rest of New England’s pass catchers into better roles as complementary pieces.
Mack Hollins, for example, as a dirty work blocker and auxiliary target is a much more appetizing proposition than running high-leverage routes in the Super Bowl. And tight end Hunter Henry — who commendably scraps as a run blocker even though it isn’t his calling card — can take on a receiving role more reflective of his current ability, instead of a featured act meant to put you over the top.
Patriots’ TE room better suited to Josh McDaniels’ play-calling preferences
McDaniels has loved using heavier personnel groupings throughout his time as an NFL play caller, with five seasons of using two or fewer wide receivers on over 50% of his offense’s snaps, including in 2025 when New England’s 50.2% rate ranked ninth in the NFL. The Patriots beefed up their tight end room in free agency by signing Julian Hill from the division rival Dolphins.
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I’ve been a fan of Hill, an undrafted player out of Campbell, in his young career. He’s a gritty blocker that is a solid enough athlete to be not a total nothing as a pass catcher. He should be asked to play a key role in getting the Patriots’ outside run game going to create more explosives in an offense that felt too mucky, outside a few home runs from 2025 second-round selection TreVeyon Henderson.
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The Patriots had the highest rate of outside runs getting stuffed (a gain of zero or negative yards) last year on early down runs. A whopping 27% of those outside runs resulted in a gain of nothing or worse, a startling amount that had me double-checking the filters I was using on Next Gen Stats. The Raiders’ abysmal run game was the only ground “attack” that was close.
New England wasn’t done in adding to the tight end room, selecting Eli Raridon from Notre Dame in the third round of this year’s draft. I was high on Raridon; he ranked as a top-50 player for me on my last big board, and think that he projects as another true “Y” tight end that can make a living as a blocker in-line next to the offensive tackle. His blocking tape was truly great at the college level, and when combined with his size (6-6, 248) and athleticism, it makes me optimistic to what he can grow into. Especially with the flashes of explosive receiving ability he had in college, too.
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On top of that, the Patriots went out and signed another favorite of mine from another divisional rival when they plucked the always useful Reggie Gilliam from the Bills. Gilliam can line up at fullback or as a wing tight end, and has proven to be a solid checkdown option in the pass game. He was truly the rug that tied the room together at times for the Bills’ offense. And that sheer usefulness should, give McDaniels more options and personnel groupings on the play-calling menu.
The Patriots took advantage of an easy schedule to make a run to the Super Bowl last year, and the (projected) Brown signing will grab headlines. But I do think the Patriots made some real quality moves to help fill in the cracks of their offense on top of the headline-grabbing move that is about to come. The holes and weaknesses they were able to overcome last year are at the very least shored up with quality players rather than patchwork answers. A real tip of the cap by using every means possible to both raise the ceiling and floor of their offense and team.
Chargers tight ends (with a dollop of Mike McDaniel)
Run game could look as explosive as Dolphins’ was under McDaniel
First off: This is another section about a potential AFC playoff team adding tight ends to help out their outside run game.
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Second off: The thought of Justin Herbert with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has me like Milhouse playing Bonestorm for the first time.
It’s even more than Herbert, too. The thought of Omarion Hampton’s explosive-play ability with a sprinkling of Keaton Mitchell’s NOS-like speed for good measure with McDaniel has me giddy. It’s also the thought of (hopefully healthy) Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt pulling out in space on tosses and sweeps and reverses and screens.
The Dolphins ran the third-most runs to the outside over the past two seasons, constantly getting De’Von Achane and other speedsters with momentum in space to turn on the jets and create explosive after explosive. And while Oronde Gadsden II had real moments as a receiver in his rookie year, he’s currently a TINO (Tight End in Name Only) whose forays into blocking leave a lot to be desired.
Omarion Hampton (8) could shine in Mike McDaniel’s new Chargers offense. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
While there has been handwringing over the Chargers not adding a true high-end guard this off-season — though I did like the Tyler Biadasz signing, and did like Jake Slaughter as a prospect, though more at center than guard — boosting their tight end room can bring a real upgrade to their run game, too. And it’s no mistake that the Chargers not only brought over McDaniel favorite Alec Ingold as the Swiss Army Knife fullback to help make the offense go, they signed two tight ends that can more than hold their own in-line in Charlie Kolar and recent addition David Njoku.
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Both players will provide an advantage and help a run game that ranked 28th in success rate on early down outside runs over the past two seasons (32.4% compared to the Dolphins’ 39.6%). Hampton has the speed to take advantage of the huge opportunities that McDaniel should be able to provide with his run game designs; just watch Hampton’s 12-carry, 128-yard performance against the Giants in Week 4 last year to get an idea of what this might look like every week. Only 5.8% of the Chargers’ early down designed runs have resulted in an explosive gain over the past two seasons, which ranks 29th in the NFL. It might not hit the 10.7% mark the Dolphins have achieved over that same time period (which ranks second), but I would not be shocked if the Chargers’ explosive run mark was closer to that 10% number than the league average of 7.6%.
Chiefs running backs
Kansas City desperately needs some RB production
This one is pretty simple. The Chiefs’ running backs for the past couple of seasons could get exactly what was blocked for them — but all too often not an inch more than that.
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So Kansas City sorted the available running back options in this year’s free agency class by speed and went out and signed Kenneth Walker III, fresh off his playoff run with the Seahawks capped by a Super Bowl MVP performance.
The run game not creating anything outside of Patrick Mahomes scrambles has been a real issue over the past couple of seasons as the Chiefs offense has felt tighter and tighter with the pass catchers not being up to snuff and no one able to blow the whole thing open. Only 3.9% of the Chiefs designed run plays have resulted in an explosive gain (12 or more yards) over the past two seasons, easily last over that time period and further constricting an offense that has felt suffocating recently.
The 2025 Chiefs offense ranked 755th out of 768 NFL offenses in explosive designed runs since 2002. And that 4% mark was an improvement over their 2024 number of 3.8%, which ranked 758th.
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Chiefs’ offensive line can provide for an effective run game
The Chiefs’ offensive line has talent, and they’ve been able to consistently provide the push needed for an effective run game despite Andy Reid’s propensity for the pass and a bottom-end running back room. Josh Simmons has Pro Bowl ability, while Kingsley Suamataia, who just turned 23, greatly improved last year into a starting-quality player with even more upside to tap into. Creed Humphrey is a Protector of the Year-type player, Trey Smith can be inconsistent but also has stretches of high-end play, and Jaylon Moore should be able to step in at the right tackle spot after signing last year.
While I’ve previously mentioned teams upgrading their blocking tight end situation, the Chiefs weren’t one of those teams, instead choosing to focus on upgrading their defense and trotting out the same players as before, with even “new” coaches being retreads of prior Chiefs staffs.
How Kenneth Walker III fits into Chiefs’ offense
This is where Walker comes in. Walker is an explosive player who can have inconsistent vision, sometimes relying too much on his speed, but those forays are worth tolerating because of the explosive plays he can create.
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Mapping out below the rushing success rate and explosive designed run numbers for just RBs in 2025, and you can see how Walker’s ability to create should be a welcome addition of explosive chaos for an offense desperately needing it. Walker is the red dot, and while his success rate is almost the same as the Chiefs’ last year, his explosive run rate ranked second among the 21 NFL running backs with 200 or more rushes last year. And his 10% rate still ranked fifth among the 49 running backs with 100 or more rushes.
Walker will also open up the Chiefs’ screen game, with Brashard Smith and fifth-round selection Emmett Johnson offering big-play ability that area, too.
The Chiefs still need more, especially at the pass catcher spots, but their OL and run game has a chance to be a real driver to success for them until Mahomes returns from injury. Even using Justin Fields on what used to be packages for Travis Kelce as a de facto wildcat quarterback will add more venom to what’s been a toothless aspect of the Chiefs’ offense.
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Other improved NFL units to watch
Vikings offense
I wrote about Kyler Murray’s fit with the Vikings a couple months ago. The crib notes version: It’s a fit I like, with parts I might even say I really like, even if it’s not exactly perfect. They also added Jauan Jennings, an ideal fit for their two other starting wide receivers as a power slot that adds run blocking chops. Jennings is at the very least on the podium for best blocking wide receiver in the game right now, and can also play on the outside if needed. The Vikings’ run game was the best it’s been under Kevin O’Connell in 2025, and they even added a Day 2 offensive tackle in Caleb Tiernan that has swing versatility to insulate themselves so that the entire season won’t get derailed by offensive tackle injuries.
Vikings defensive line
On the defensive side, I love the swings Minnesota took with Caleb Banks and Dominique Orange. Banks has game-wrecking upside and while he still needs to work on finishing plays, his ability to disrupt will give him at least a tangible role earlier as he gets healthy and further refines his game. That ability to move in a big frame also applies to Orange. Orange was often asked to slant and move on defensive games as part of Iowa State’s standard defensive plan. While it was a great way to highlight his light feet, it wasn’t the best way to rack up box score stats. In Brian Flores’ scheme, it’s easy to project how the Vikings are going to use Orange, and the flashes he’s shown to hold up on standard rush paths are also a glimpse at a plus-starter upside if he makes the most of his ability.
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Bengals defensive line
The Bengals adding Dexter Lawrence and Boye Mafe will provide heaps and heaps of disruption to both the inside and outside of their defensive front. Jonathan Allen will also be able to do the same for batches of snaps as he enters the back stretch of his career. All three players can blow up the offense’s play right away, but all three can be inconsistent on finishing plays (or even going rogue at times when hunting those explosive plays in the backfield). If they had a steadier presence behind them at linebacker, I might be able to wave some of this away. But they don’t have a steady presence behind the defensive line. I don’t want to be too down here, because I do like aspects of what the Bengals have cobbled together on the defensive side of the ball. There’s just a real chance of them still being boom and bust against the run. Perhaps that’s enough to give their offense chances at the ball. The Bengals have a lot of possible outcomes this season. Their front seven kind of epitomizes what I think this team is: oftentimes explosive, sometimes frustrating.
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Cowboys linebackers and defensive backs
The Cowboys’ back seven could only get better, and it did this offseason through the draft and the middle-class moves they made in free agency. All the players added are clean fits for new coordintor Christian Parker’s defense to boot. Caleb Downs is going to be the cog in the middle and Jalen Thompson will help shore things up as well. Cobie Durant isn’t a great fit for everyone, but he fits well in zone-heavy schemes that let him use his awareness and ability to play the ball. Even a hybrid fit draft pick like Jaishawn Barham makes sense as an off-ball linebacker and edge defender based on the situation and look.
Titans defensive line and linebackers
The Titans’ front seven is definitely grabbing my attention this season. There’s an array of maulers and mashers up front, with a fun dynamic duo of linebackers in Cedric Gray and Anthony Hill Jr. behind them. That’s worthy of getting a screen every Sunday (and only Sunday for the Titans this season).
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Browns and Texans offensive lines
Last but not least, I appreciated the Browns and Texans being so proactive with their offensive lines. Both overhauled their units, at times thanks to each other. And both should give their teams some things they desperately need. First, versatility for both. Second, for the Browns, something to assess the rest of their offense (and if Deshaun Watson is still worth anything at all). And finally for the Texans, a way to improve one of the league’s worst run games over the past few seasons and a real shot at winning the AFC.
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