8. Chicago Bears
The surprise retirement of Drew Dalman put a bit of a damper on the offseason for the Chicago Bears to start things off, but this team has a number of other moving parts to think about as well. As impressive as the Bears were last year, they lost a couple of guys who created a ton of takeaways for them in Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright. They’re also replacing Tremaine Edmunds with Devin Bush in the middle of that defense, so Dennis Allen is going to be put to the test with a number of new guys who will have to fast-track the learning curve to play a lot of snaps for him in 2026.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars general manager James Gladstone pulled back the curtain on the team’s rather quiet offseason in 2026, stating that he wants the future compensatory picks for losing players like Devin Lloyd and Travis Etienne. And you can’t blame him, but retaining at least one of those players might not have been the worst idea. The Jags brought in Chris Rodriguez from the Commanders, and that could end up being a really underrated move to pair him up with Bhayshul Tuten.
6. San Francisco 49ers
Even with all of the injuries they dealt with in 2025, the San Francisco 49ers were one of the toughest teams all year in the NFL. So you have to figure, when they’re healthy, they’re going to be awesome. And now, they’ve made some more big splashes this offseason to upgrade the roster. The 49ers lured Mike Evans away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, getting another playmaker for Brock Purdy. They also traded for Osa Odighizuwa to upgrade the defensive line, and brought back Dre Greenlaw to reunite him with Fred Warner.
5. New England Patriots
The Patriots followed up their Super Bowl loss by making some really solid, measured moves in NFL Free Agency. The situation with Stefon Diggs basically forced the team to release him, but getting Romeo Doubs as a replacement should give Drake Maye a reliable weapon at all levels of the field. The Patriots also reunited Mike Vrabel with Kevin Byard, who is an interception machine. We’ll see how the Patriots approach the draft, but the addition of Alijah Vera-Tucker to fortify the offensive line might be my favorite move they’ve made so far this offseason.