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Prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft
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Explore PFF Mock Draft SimulatorEight NFL teams remain in contention to win the Super Bowl, which means 24 have moved on to the offseason. As such, those teams will now look forward to the 2026 NFL Draft to improve their championship odds for next season and beyond. Here are the top draft priorities for each team that is out of postseason contention.
Arizona Cardinals: Figure out the quarterback situation
The Cardinals seem likely to cut ties with Kyler Murray, whom they made the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, so they will likely be intrigued by whichever quarterbacks decide to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is seemingly the favorite to be picked first overall by the Raiders. Otherwise, the Cardinals are awaiting the official decisions of Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson. Those two could be options in the first round, or Arizona could opt to examine someone like Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss or LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier on day two.
Either way, the Cardinals are likely to complement their new coaching hire with a new quarterback.
Atlanta Falcons: Add pass-catching depth
Aside from star Drake London, the Falcons did not have a qualified wide receiver finish the season with a 60.0 PFF receiving grade. Tight end Kyle Pitts is also hitting the market as a free agent, so Atlanta is extremely light on proven pass catchers. The team also possesses just five draft picks, none of which are in the first round.
Luckily for Atlanta, wide receiver is a position that seems to increase in depth with every draft class, and several tight ends project to be selected on day two of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock full access to the 2026 PFF Big Board and the world's most advanced football database!Baltimore Ravens: Improve in the trenches
The Ravens need to add talent to the trenches on both sides of the ball if they hope to contend for a championship. Their offensive guard group ranked 26th in PFF overall grade this season. Baltimore also placed 29th in PFF pass-rush grade, so the defensive line could be an area of focus early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell could be two of several edge defenders who stand out to Baltimore in the first round.
Carolina Panthers: Continue building the defensive front seven
Carolina’s defense significantly improved upon its dreadful 2024 performance, but there is still plenty of work to do to build an elite unit. Linebacker is a potential starting point.
Panthers linebackers ranked 29th in PFF overall grade and PFF run-defense grade this season. Expect the team to do plenty of homework on players like Ohio State’s Sonny Styles and Georgia’s C.J. Allen. The front office will also likely make further additions to the defensive line throughout the offseason.
Cincinnati Bengals: Add talent to the defensive front seven
Cincinnati’s defense ranked among the worst units in football this season, primarily due to the front seven. The Bengals' defensive line ranked 26th in PFF overall grade, while their linebackers placed 32nd.
With Trey Hendrickson likely to depart in free agency, the Bengals don’t currently have a proven pass rusher on their roster. They also need to decide if one or both of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter is a long-term solution at linebacker.
No position within the front seven should be off the table with any of Cincinnati’s draft selections.
Cleveland Browns: Stockpile talent at wide receiver and offensive line
The Browns ranked last in the NFL in PFF pass-blocking grade and 31st in PFF receiving grade this season.
Several of their veteran offensive linemen are likely to depart this offseason, while none of their qualified wide receivers earned a PFF receiving grade above 60.0. That is at least partially attributable to the team’s poor quarterback situation, but the Browns do need to add talent to both units — and are positioned to do so with two first-round picks — for their offense to try to match the production of their excellent defense.
Dallas Cowboys: Improve the defensive back seven
The Cowboys' defensive line improved as the season progressed. However, they finished dead last in PFF coverage grade this season and found themselves playing in, and losing, too many shootouts. Their linebacker, cornerback and safety units all ranked among the bottom two teams in the NFL in PFF overall grade.
Dallas should approach the early portion of the 2026 NFL Draft with a “best player available” mindset while bolstering the defense.
Detroit Lions: Stabilize the offensive line
Detroit’s offensive line struggled late in the season due to a combination of youth and injuries. The interior is a particular area of concern.
Tate Ratledge’s flexibility to play guard or center gives the Lions a bevy of options in the 2026 NFL Draft. There aren’t a ton of interior offensive line options who will be worthy of the Lions' 17th overall pick, but they should attack that position of need within the first three rounds.
Green Bay Packers: Add depth on defense
Green Bay generated the third-worst PFF pass-rush grade in the NFL from Week 14 to the end of the campaign. Edge defender Micah Parsons’ season-ending injury completely stymied their pass rush late in the season.
The Packers also need to find another viable starter alongside Edgerrin Cooper at linebacker and could stand to add talent to their relatively average cornerback unit. Parsons will return next season and likely be the superstar he’s always been, but Green Bay needs to fill out its defense to contend for a championship.
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Assuming Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward are both healthy next season, the Colts’ coverage unit should improve. They can’t make the same assumption for a defensive line that included only two qualified players, Laiatu Latu and DeForest Buckner, who earned at least a 65.0 PFF overall grade this season.
The Colts also don’t have a first-round pick due to their trade acquisition of Gardner, so they’ll need to make prudent choices in the later stages of the draft to improve the line.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Find ways to improve the run game
The Jaguars' season ends with the team ranked 26th in PFF rushing grade. Their offensive line slotted in at a more mediocre 17th in PFF run-blocking grade, but there is certainly room for improvement.
Running back Travis Etienne Jr. is an upcoming free agent, while most of their offensive linemen are on short-term contracts. Jacksonville should pounce at the chance to add talent to its running back and offensive line units in this class, particularly since the team doesn’t have the luxury of a first-round pick.
Kansas City Chiefs: Add more explosiveness on offense
Kansas City ranked 25th in explosive pass rate and 31st in explosive run rate, excluding quarterback scrambles. With the help of an improved offensive line and more explosive skill players, the Chiefs need to find a way to create more big plays for their offense.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love could be of interest to Kansas City at the ninth overall pick, although a new right tackle — such as Miami’s Francis Mauigoa or Utah’s Spencer Fano — could intrigue the front office, as well.
Las Vegas Raiders: Decide on the next franchise quarterback
The Raiders hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and it seems likely that they will have a new starting quarterback at the outset of next season. Their decision could virtually be made for them if Oregon’s Dante Moore elects to stay in school.
Regardless, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is the most likely candidate for the job. Mendoza enters the College Football Playoff national championship game with an elite 91.0 PFF passing grade and an FBS-leading 41 passing touchdowns this season.
Los Angeles Chargers: Rebuild the interior offensive line
The Chargers’ offensive line was a problem area all season. They were the lowest-graded unit by a wide margin, and quarterback Justin Herbert was sacked six times in the team’s season-ending loss to the Patriots.
Tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater will return from injuries next season, but there is far less clarity at the three interior spots. Los Angeles is projected to have the most salary cap space in the NFL and is likely to utilize that money to add veteran help, but the team should also look toward this draft class to find long-term solutions.
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While Miami enters the offseason with major questions surrounding its quarterback situation, the team won’t succeed until it improves in the trenches. The Dolphins' offensive line ranked 30th in PFF overall grade this season, while their defensive line placed 31st.
The Dolphins will hope their young players on both sides can develop into productive assets, but the search for additional talent should not end, particularly with a new coaching staff entering the fold.
Minnesota Vikings: Add young talent to the secondary
Minnesota boasts a few solid contributors in its secondary, including cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers. However, safety Harrison Smith may have played his last down of football, and the Vikings ranked just 18th in PFF coverage grade this season.
Armed with four picks inside the top 100 of the 2026 NFL Draft, Minnesota should have plenty of opportunities to add talent at both cornerback and safety.
New Orleans Saints: Improve the run game
The Saints currently rank 31st in both PFF rushing grade and PFF run-blocking grade. Their interior offensive line battled a litany of injuries this season, and their running backs were unable to consistently generate explosive plays.
There likely isn’t an interior lineman worthy of the eighth overall pick, but that could be an area of focus later in the draft. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who earned an elite 93.7 PFF rushing grade this season, could be a more tempting option with that top-10 selection.
New York Giants: Continue to build around Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart played reasonably well this season despite a crumbling supporting cast. Wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo should be healthy come next season, but New York needs to continue to add to its offense to support Dart.
Perhaps a wide receiver like Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson or Ohio State’s Carnell Tate could be in the team’s crosshairs in the first round.
New York Jets: Assess their options at quarterback
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is likely to be selected first overall by the Raiders. That will leave the Jets, owners of the second overall pick, to examine other options, such as Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson, in their perpetual search for a franchise quarterback.
If none of those players is of great appeal to them, New York could opt to aid a defense that ranked 26th in PFF overall grade this season.
Philadelphia Eagles: Add offensive depth
The Eagles could stand to add depth to nearly every position unit on offense. Offensive tackle could be an option in the draft as they prepare for the eventual retirement of right tackle Lane Johnson.
Whether or not the team intends to keep wide receiver A.J. Brown, Philadelphia would benefit from additional wide receiver depth beyond Brown and DeVonta Smith. Dallas Goedert is also entering free agency, so tight end could be a priority in the draft, as well.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Assess the class at QB, WR and OT
The Steelers could be in the market for a new quarterback if Aaron Rodgers chooses to retire this offseason. Pittsburgh also desperately needs to add depth at wide receiver and should at least look into a potential upgrade at left tackle.
All that said, the general goal for the Steelers this offseason should be to create a sustainable passing game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Add young talent at linebacker
Franchise legend Lavonte David may be retiring this offseason. With or without David in the fold, Tampa Bay needs to improve its linebacker unit, which ranked 28th in the NFL in PFF overall grade this season.
Expect potential first-round talents Sonny Styles (Ohio State) and C.J. Allen (Georgia) to be in the mix often when projecting the Buccaneers’ 15th overall selection.
Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock full access to the 2026 PFF Big Board and the world's most advanced football database!Tennessee Titans: Add skill players on both sides of the ball
The Titans got some nice contributions from their rookie class on both sides of the ball this season. Wide receivers Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, along with tight end Gunnar Helm, proved to be at least useful pass catchers this season.
However, Tennessee shouldn’t stop there in its search for receiving talent early in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Titans also need help in the secondary after fielding a cornerback unit that earned the fifth-worst PFF coverage grade in the NFL.
Washington Commanders: Improve the defense by any means necessary
The Commanders' undoing this season was their porous defense, along with their slew of big-name injuries. They ranked 25th in the NFL in PFF run-defense grade and 30th in PFF coverage grade. They have major needs at edge defender and throughout the secondary.
Washington should apply a “best player available” approach in this year’s draft when it comes to improving the defense.