With most major NFL offseason moves complete, it’s a good time to single out a favorite move for each team.
This exercise is always easier for some teams than for others, so some of these “favorites” are relative to what’s available. But we’ve got all 32 teams covered, from Arizona to Washington. And this year, unlike in 2025 at this time, Aaron Rodgers is signed.
Arizona Cardinals
Adding excitement to a roster that team that didn’t have any
The Cardinals’ decision to select running back Jeremiyah Love at No. 3 gives the organization something it hasn’t had since the early days of Kyler Murray: a reason to watch the offense. The Cardinals need star power and got it with Love. The lectures about positional value can wait for another day.
Atlanta Falcons
Taking advantage of the Dolphins’ poor investment
Adding quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for $1.2 milllion per year, which ranks 60th among NFL quarterbacks and 20th among players Atlanta added this offseason, was a bargain for a team with its own dubious quarterback spending history. There’s a great chance the Falcons will be in the market for another quarterback soon, but at least the team is gaining flexibility at the position after its disastrous investment in Kirk Cousins.
Baltimore Ravens
Doing the next best thing to promoting Mike Macdonald
The Ravens were coming off a 13-win season when they watched Macdonald, their defensive coordinator, take over as the Seahawks’ coach entering 2024. They ideally would have kept Macdonald for themselves, but the timing wasn’t ideal. When the time came to replace John Harbaugh, they pivoted to another defense-minded former Ravens assistant, Jesse Minter. The move gives the Ravens the closest available comp for Macdonald, two years later.
Buffalo Bills
Adding Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator
New coach Joe Brady noted he’s never worked with Leonhard, an indication Brady was interested in hiring the best person, not just a close friend. But the two share many connections through their former boss, Sean Payton, so this wasn’t an unknown hire, either. Leonhard had a market last offseason, but Payton held on to him, promoting Leonhard to assistant head coach. Now, Leonhard returns to Buffalo, where he played from 2005 to 2007, and Buffalo gets a new scheme on the defensive side.
Carolina Panthers
Pushing hard to improve the defense without getting older
The Panthers dove headfirst into free agency by spending $30 million per year for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and $14 million annually for linebacker Devin Lloyd. That type of financial investment often signals a win-now mentality, but Phillips (age 26) and Lloyd (27) should be in Carolina for years to come. That makes sense for a team that won its division with an 8-9 record but probably isn’t a true contender right now.
Chicago Bears
Getting a second-round choice for receiver DJ Moore
Moore’s per-game receiving yardage peaked at a career-best 80.2 in 2023, his first year with Chicago. That fell to 56.8 the next season and to a career-low 40.1 under new coach Ben Johnson last season. It was clear where Moore was trending in Chicago after signing a four-year, $110 million extension in 2024. Getting second-round value from Buffalo in return seemed strong.
Cincinnati Bengals
Acquiring defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the Giants
The Bengals needed to do something big for a defense that ranked 29th in EPA per play last season and has struggled for years. Lawrence, 28, certainly qualifies. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound tackle could become the latest Giants castoff to revive his career elsewhere, as Leonard Williams did with Seattle. Landing Lawrence for the 10th pick in the draft beat trusting the Bengals to find an impact player in an underwhelming draft class.
Cleveland Browns
Trading back from No. 6 and still getting the draft’s first OL
This move is less about Spencer Fano, the prospect Cleveland drafted at No. 9, and more about the Browns’ maneuvering to address massive issues on the offensive line. The team had already acquired veteran lineman Tytus Howard, among other reinforcements, heading into the draft. The Browns still needed all the line help they could get in the draft but still showed patience in the first round, maximizing value.
Dallas Cowboys
Backfilling the defense at every chance after trading Micah Parsons last year
If I’m forced to pick a single move, the selection of Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 11 stands out. But that was simply one part of an overall theme.
The Cowboys’ top seven salary slots for newcomers landed on the defense side of the ball with Rashan Gary, Jalen Thompson, Downs, Cobie Durant, P.J. Locke, Malachi Lawrence and Otito Ogbonnia. These were not all marquee additions. It’s possible Gary could have been signed as a free agent, saving the Cowboys cash and a fourth-round choice. But there was no mistaking the defense emphasis, which was needed.
Denver Broncos
Adding receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Dolphins
The Broncos traded picks in the first and third rounds (plus a swap of fourth-rounders) to Miami for Waddle, a front-line receiver with a contract favorable to Denver. Waddle’s deal runs through 2028, counts less than $5 million against the cap this season and is worth $22.7 million per year from the Broncos’ perspective. He’s a much surer bet than any receiver the Broncos could have selected in the draft.
Jaylen Waddle is under contract for three seasons at $22.7 million per year. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
Detroit Lions
Making outside hires to lead the offensive staff
Though the Lions’ offense remained strong statistically after coordinator Ben Johnson’s departure to Chicago in 2025, coach Dan Campbell demoted and fired Johnson’s in-house replacement, John Morton. Hiring Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator and Mike Kafka as passing game coordinator brings fresh thinking to Detroit as the team navigates roster attrition. Petzing and Kafka have interviewed for head-coaching jobs during recent cycles, an indication they have something new to offer the Lions.
Green Bay Packers
Getting a 2027 fourth-round pick for Rashan Gary
It’s tough to find moves that made the Packers better this offseason, so we’ll single out a potential victory in the trade market. Most thought the Packers would release Gary, who said his Instagram account was hacked when it briefly carried a farewell to Green Bay while he was still on the team’s roster. Dallas, desperate for pass-rush help after trading Micah Parsons to the Packers last offseason, tried to acquire Maxx Crosby from the Raiders. The price paid for Gary was not steep, but it was something for the Packers in an offseason mostly about future flexibility.
Houston Texans
Extending pass rusher Danielle Hunter for the short term
Hunter had 15 sacks last season and should remain productive into the future, but he’ll turn 32 in October, so age could be a consideration. The Texans extended him on a one-year deal through 2027, fitting their short-term aspirations without locking them into anything that affects an already complicated financial future.
Indianapolis Colts
Using the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones
A case can be made that the Colts didn’t need to tag Jones at all, because he would have given them a chance to match an outside offer. But why take chances with your starting quarterback? The transition tag gave Indy the protection it needed before signing him to a two-year deal at the franchise-tag value. The situation was a little complicated because Jones started hot for the Colts, trailed off and then suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The solution wound up being straightforward.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Signing running back Chris Rodriguez on the cheap
We’re reaching a bit after an offseason in which the Jaguars lost more established talent than they added, but Rodriguez should fill some of the void at running back after Travis Etienne’s departure to New Orleans in free agency. He started seven games for Washington last season and averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 112 attempts. His production held strong on 15 rushes from 13 personnel, a grouping Jacksonville plans to use more in 2026.
Kansas City Chiefs
Signing running back Kenneth Walker III in free agency
The Chiefs’ investment in the Super Bowl MVP running back for three years and $43 million will keep the focus on coach Andy Reid’s commitment to the run game in Kansas City while Patrick Mahomes recovers from knee surgery. If this is the move the Chiefs needed to make for Reid to empower the ground game via formation and personnel, the team could become less reliant on Mahomes’ legs to sustain drives. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen, but Walker’s addition sent a signal, at least.
Las Vegas Raiders
Clearing up the offensive identity by hiring Klint Kubiak
The Pete Carroll experiment backfired partly because the staff lacked cohesion with two coordinators foreign to the longtime head coach. Kubiak has everything to prove as a head coach, but his clear vision for the offense brings alignment where it was needed most, especially with the team using the draft’s first pick on a quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. The head coach and both quarterbacks — Mendoza and Kirk Cousins, the veteran bridge — share the same low-key temperament as well.
Los Angeles Chargers
Signing a more reliable starting center
The Chargers needed to stabilize the middle of their offensive line and seemed to upgrade from incumbent Bradley Bozeman by signing Tyler Biadasz to a three-year, $30 million deal.
Biadasz has started at least 15 games in each of the past five seasons, including 31 for the Commanders over the past two. A fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2020, Biadasz finished last season on injured reserve. Washington, transitioning to a new offense under a first-time coordinator, cut him to save $8.3 million in cash. It’s not a home run signing for the Chargers, but something had to be done.
Los Angeles Rams
Acquiring cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs
The Rams had to fix their cornerback problem while Matthew Stafford remained in MVP form, which meant it had to be done as soon as possible. The team correctly determined that the top cornerback in the draft, Mansoor Delane, would not be available to the Rams with the 13th pick in the first round.
And so McDuffie became the Rams’ target. Unlike some other players available by trade, McDuffie did not wear out his former team. The Chiefs would have loved to keep him on their roster. They simply decided they were not going to pay him what he commanded from the Rams, given their other commitments.
Miami Dolphins
Moving on from Tua Tagovailoa as part of a reset
Giving the Dolphins credit for escaping a catastrophe of their own making shows how low the expectations bar can fall when a team misevaluates the most important position.
This reckoning was coming after the Dolphins, like the Cardinals and Jaguars, invested top-tier money in a Tier 3 quarterback. Miami finally decided to escape Tagovailoa’s contract. The Cardinals did the same with Murray. Jacksonville might survive its contract with Trevor Lawrence.
Miami is no longer pretending it is contending. The reset is underway, appropriately.
Minnesota Vikings
Adding Kyler Murray on the cheap
Murray signed with Minnesota for $1.3 million per year without financial guarantees beyond the 2026 season (the Vikings agreed not to use the franchise tag on him). That’s a cheaper-than-cheap quarterback contract for a player who struggled to win in Arizona largely because the Cardinals defense was so bad.
Murray is one of 29 quarterbacks with at least 30 starts over the past three regular seasons. He ranks 17th among them in QB EPA per start but last among them in per-game combined support from his defense and special teams. That helps explain his 13-17 record as a starter over that span.
The Vikings still have not solved their QB situation for the long term, but for a team in survival mode at the position, landing Murray on the cheap made sense.
New England Patriots
Turning over the receiver position
The shelf life for Stefon Diggs expired before a jury found the receiver not guilty on charges including felony strangulation stemming from a December incident with his live-in chef. The Patriots cut him in early March, more than two months before the jury’s verdict.
Adding Romeo Doubs in free agency doesn’t make the Patriots as good on the field as they were with Diggs, but if the team does acquire A.J. Brown from Philadelphia after the cap ramifications for the Eagles subside in June, this can be a successful offseason for the Patriots at the position.
New Orleans Saints
Adding juice to the offense with Travis Etienne
The Saints suddenly have some speed and playmaking surrounding second-year quarterback Tyler Shough, with Etienne in the backfield, first-round pick Jordyn Tyson at receiver and free-agent addition Noah Fant at tight end. Signing Etienne in free agency crossed off a need heading into a draft featuring one coveted running back, Jeremiyah Love, whom the Cardinals selected at No. 3, five spots before the Saints selected Tyson.
New York Giants
Raising the floor with new coach John Harbaugh
The Giants have mostly hired first-time head coaches (Pat Shurmur being the lone exception) since Tom Coughlin’s 12-year run ended more than a decade ago. None had a winning record with the team.
Harbaugh fits the Coughlin mold as a second-time head coach coming off a successful run elsewhere. Whether he raises the Giants’ ceiling, and by how much, remains to be seen. But the floor should rise, at the very least, now that an experienced coach is in control.
New York Jets
Stockpiling young edge rushers while rebuilding culture on defense
Beyond first-round pick David Bailey, the Jets acquired 26-year-old edge rushers Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare for a combined $20.5 million per year in salary. Those moves helped offset some of the age added to the defense with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Demario Davis. The key now becomes helping Ossai and Enagbare develop into more. But there’s a promising mix of young and old.
No. 2 pick David Bailey was one of three young edge rushers the Jets added this spring. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
Philadelphia Eagles
Adding Jonathan Greenard to the pass-rush rotation
Critics of the Eagles point to the team’s untenable cap situation, so there was irony in the Eagles’ acquiring Greenard from the Vikings to help Minnesota navigate a difficult short-term cap situation. The bottom line is that Philly, a team that has contended for and won championships on the strength of its pass rush, added a proven rusher.
Greenard, 29, had only three sacks last season after collecting at least 12 in each of the previous two, partly because of a shoulder injury that shortened his season and required surgery.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Hiring Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator
The Steelers dipped to No. 19 in defensive EPA per play last season, making this an apt time to change a scheme that critics felt had gone stale under longtime coach Mike Tomlin. Graham, constrained by Pete Carroll’s defensive philosophy in Las Vegas last season, should enjoy greater autonomy under his new offense-minded boss, Mike McCarthy.
San Francisco 49ers
Acquiring Osa Odighizuwa from the Cowboys
Odighizuwa has played in 84 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak for defensive tackles. That makes him a reliable addition at a position of great need for a 49ers team that is trying to win now. Banking on a defensive tackle in the draft would have been a riskier proposition. Instead, the 49ers sent a third-round pick to the Cowboys for a player with 17 sacks in five seasons.
Seattle Seahawks
Taking another swing on a second-round safety
The Seahawks had success with 2025 second-round pick Nick Emmanwori during their Super Bowl-winning season. That does not guarantee similar results for 2026 second-round safety Bud Clark, but it’s looking like coach Mike Macdonald knows how to maximize personnel on defense. That increases the chances that Clark’s big-hitting style adds something to one of the NFL’s top defenses.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Doing what they almost always do in the draft
The Buccaneers have traded up just once in the first round of the past 14 drafts, climbing a single slot to No. 13 in 2020 to select tackle Tristan Wirfs. That was the year the team signed Tom Brady, so there was surely added urgency. In that context, it’s difficult to applaud the Buccaneers too enthusiastically for letting the draft come to them this year; it’s been standard operating procedure for Tampa Bay.
But if someone had said in March that the Bucs would draft Rueben Bain Jr. without trading up from No. 15, few seemingly would have believed it. And so we applaud politely. Selecting Bain and fourth-round defensive back Keionte Scott added welcome toughness in younger players.
Tennessee Titans
Leaning into New York reclamation projects
No one is saying the Tennessee job is easy or that Titans owner Amy Adams-Strunk has proved to possess a stable hand. This is a tough job in its own way. But in hiring new coach Robert Saleh and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, the Titans are leaning into leaders who were coaches in the NFL’s toughest market.
Saleh, the former Jets coach, and Daboll, fired by the Giants in January, have landed in a market where the bright lights shine on Lower Broadway more than on the football operation. We’ve seen quarterbacks leave the Jets (Sam Darnold) and Giants (Daniel Jones) to find success in less challenging markets. Perhaps the same can hold true for Saleh and Daboll.
Washington Commanders
Replacing Bobby Wagner with (dare we say) the next Bobby Wagner
Wagner is headed for the Hall of Fame when eligible, while first-round pick Sonny Styles is just starting out. But all indications suggest Styles possesses the talent and leadership to pick up where Wagner left off as the Commanders’ defensive leader — if not right now, then quickly. If you’re looking for a less-obvious move in Washington, adding Tim Settle from Houston in free agency on a deal worth $7.8 million per year should strengthen the run defense right away.
