We can only imagine how hard it has to be to build a winning NFL roster. With 53 active players on a roster, there is so much room for things to go south, unfortunately, and it makes the best teams in the NFL that much more impressive.
Across the NFL, there are a lot of quality General Managers that clearly know what they are doing, but others, no so much. With OTAs and minicamp now behind us, and training camp about one month away, we're going to take a deeper dive into the best GMs in the NFL for the 2026 NFL Season.
Let's power-rank the 10 best GMs in the NFL, and we're simply basing our rankings on the entire roster construction, while also looking at recent successes.
Updated General Manager power rankings following OTAs and minicamp
10. Jason Licht, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There aren't many GMs in the NFL today who are better at drafting than Jason Licht. Tom Brady, years ago, didn't just spin a wheel and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for fun - that roster was already quite good at the time.
Licht's Bucs have been stable for a half-decade now, and the Super Bowl title in 2020 was no fluke. Yes, the team hasn't won more than 10 games in a season in years, but that doesn't lessen how solid and stable Licht has been during his tenure with the Buccaneers.
9. Brian Gutekunst, Green Bay Packers
Brian Gutekunst is in a similar boat, but he obviously does not have a Super Bowl title as the Green Bay Packers' General Manager. Gutekunst seemingly fields a quality roster every single season, and his career record as GM of 82-49-2, with just two losing seasons, speaks for itself. Yes, the Packers have hit a bit of a ceiling in recent years, but even getting to this point as a GM is quite impressive.
Gutekunst's Packers own a 3-6 record in the playoffs, so slaying that dragon has not yet happened.
8. John Lynch, San Francisco 49ers
With five double-digit winning seasons in nine years, two Super Bowl appearances, and a 9-5 playoff record, John Lynch deserves to be on this list. While Kyle Shanahan also likely has a huge hand in roster-building, that is also the case for many other NFL teams.
Lynch and Shanahan have not exactly done that well together in the NFL Draft, but it's not a mystery that this team is fielding playoff-caliber rosters every single season. Outside of a few years that have been marred by injuries, the 49ers typically get into the playoffs and advance quite far.
It's a good operation for the 49ers right now, and yes, while they're 0-2 in the Super Bowl, most GMs don't even sniff the big game.
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