Ben SolakFeb 20, 2026, 06:35 AM ETCloseBen Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.Multiple Authors
play2:19Is it time for Maxx Crosby and Raiders to part ways?Dan Graziano, Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum discuss the best course of action for Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.
play2:05Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
play0:46Riddick: Mike Evans will be in high demandLouis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
play1:08Tim Hasselbeck: Malik Willis will ‘walk in as the anointed starter somewhere’Tim Hasselbeck and Mina Kimes explain why they can see a strong free agent market for Malik Willis.
Sam Acho: I’m ‘not overly surprised’ by Tyreek Hill’s release (0:25)Sam Acho breaks down why he isn’t surprised by the Dolphins’ decision to release Tyreek Hill. (0:25)
Is it time for Maxx Crosby and Raiders to part ways?Dan Graziano, Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum discuss the best course of action for Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.
Dan Graziano, Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum discuss the best course of action for Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.
Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
Riddick: Mike Evans will be in high demandLouis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
Louis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
Tim Hasselbeck: Malik Willis will ‘walk in as the anointed starter somewhere’Tim Hasselbeck and Mina Kimes explain why they can see a strong free agent market for Malik Willis.
February, March and April bring unbridled hope to every NFL fan base. We all fall in love with the same seven free agents and the same 15 draft sleepers. But team needs don’t always line up with the players available in free agency, the trade market and the draft class. Each offseason is better for some needs than it is for others.
Last year’s quarterback class, for instance, ended up being a good one — not just through free agency (Sam Darnold just won the Super Bowl) but also through the draft (Cam Ward, Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart all look like hits). This year’s quarterback class? Not so much.
Here are my rankings for the strongest and weakest positions for this offseason, weighing both free agency and the draft.
Good year to need … any sort of edge rusher at all Bad year to need … a truly elite dude (unless you’d like to send two first-rounders for Maxx Crosby)
If your favorite team’s general manager can’t find a good fit at edge rusher this offseason, tell him to take a hike. Putting aside the Crosby trade rumors for now, here’s a list of expected free agent edge rushers: Trey Hendrickson, Odafe Oweh, Jaelan Phillips, Khalil Mack, K’Lavon Chaisson, Boye Mafe, Joey Bosa and Jadeveon Clowney.
Hendrickson, Oweh and Phillips can all reasonably be projected for 10-plus sacks next season, while Mafe, Chaisson, Mack and Bosa can all be eight-sack players. And that’s without any surprises from more middle-tier veterans like Dre’Mont Jones and Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Is it time for Maxx Crosby and Raiders to part ways?
All three of those prospects are top-10 pick candidates. We haven’t even gotten to the bulk of the first round, where options abound.
Expect to see at least six edges go in the first round (if we’re counting Reese). Seven made it in Field Yates’ most recent mock draft, as Missouri’s Zion Young joined the party. While there isn’t a truly elite rusher like Anderson or Abdul Carter, there are a ton of top-50 options, and some splashy free agents to boot.
Interior offensive line is always a spot at which teams can plug guys quite freely, but this feels like a uniquely good year for it. Tyler Linderbaum (Ravens) might actually become available, which would be surprising and likely record-setting. Drew Dalman became the third-highest paid center last year when he left Atlanta to join the Bears at $14 million per year; Linderbaum will likely leapfrog Creed Humphrey at the top of the center rankings ($18 million per year) and should push $19 million.
Center is a little thinner if Linderbaum stays in Baltimore, but Connor McGovern (Bills) and Cade Mays (Panthers) should both push for deals north of $8 million per year, which is top 10 money for the position. Center can be tough to suss out, and both played within excellent offensive lines as a whole. But McGovern, in particular, has been an impact player in Buffalo.
What center lacks for free agents it makes up for in the draft. While there’s no Linderbaum likely to go Round 1, there is a ton of experience and NFL readiness. Jake Slaughter (Florida) and Connor Lew (Auburn) were both three-year starters in the SEC; Logan Jones (Iowa) was a four-year starter at Iowa. All three are smaller players who won’t fit for every offense, but Sam Hecht (Kansas State) has the size those teams are seeking.
Great players don’t really hit free agency at cornerback, as the position has been in desperate need of the market-setting contracts it finally got when Pat Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr., Jaycee Horn and Sauce Gardner all signed their extensions. Last year’s group was actually a fairly competitive bunch: Byron Murphy Jr. didn’t get out of Minnesota, but Charvarius Ward, Carlton Davis III, Paulson Adebo and D.J. Reed all signed deals with new teams.
Woolen is a particularly tricky one to calibrate. He fell out of favor with Mike Macdonald’s defensive staff multiple times in the past two seasons, getting benched for stretches. Yet he also led all cornerbacks in yards per coverage snap allowed (0.6) last season. In a simpler defense that lets Woolen play faster and think less, he might see more consistent and productive play (looking at you, Robert Saleh and the Titans).
Defenses that need a starter on the outside, especially in a defense that prioritizes height and length, won’t enjoy this offseason much should they miss out on Woolen or Watson. The draft target for size is Florida’s Devin Moore, though he has a spotty injury history. Those defenses that prioritize interchangeability and quickness over size and stopping power — like the Jeff Hafley unit in Green Bay and the Chris Shula group with the Rams — will find plenty of options available.
Good year to need … a starting back for right now Bad year to need … a young back to start for the next four years
Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?
I’m sure a few Day 2 picks will hit. But in general, this is an offseason to solve your running back problems in March, not April.
There are a couple of big safeties in the draft and free agent classes that might, at first brush, look like potential hybrid linebackers like Emmanwori and Hamilton. Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, and Kansas City’s Bryan Cook (a highly underrated player in the market right now) is 6-foot-1, 206 pounds in his own right. But both are better as deep coverage players than box players, with range and hitting power over edge-setting strength.
The draft wild card is LSU’s A.J. Haulcy, who weighs in somewhere near 220 pounds. With serious stopping power as a downhill hitter, he reminds me at times of current Steeler (and rising free agent) Kyle Dugger. Common refrain for the safeties, but here it is again: Haulcy played more from depth than you’d expect for a player of his mass, but he could be more of a traditional box safety at the NFL level for those teams looking to still live in a single-high world.
Downs is the only true star across the free agent and draft classes, but don’t be surprised when McNeil-Warren joins him in the first round — and multiple other safeties (Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley, etc.) are right behind in Round 2.
Good year to need … a difference-maker Bad year to need … a difference-maker and not have a top-10 pick
It is a total rock star year at the linebacker position. Three huge names are entering the fray. Two are rookies from Ohio State: Sonny Styles and the previously mentioned Arvell Reese. One is a free agent out of Jacksonville: Devin Lloyd.
Reese and Styles should both be top-six picks. Reese almost certainly will be, though the acquiring team might move him to edge rusher (lame, but I get it because of positional value). Styles might fall out of that range, but I think that would be an error.
OK, so those are the three stars. Teams need either $16 million per year or a top-10 pick to go get them. After that … man, I don’t know.
Linebacker tends to be a developmental position in the NFL, so a few of these guys will hit as the years go on. But this is really an all-or-nothing positional group this offseason.
To be clear: I like plenty of these guys (Iheanachor and Miller are my dudes), and even the ones I’m sketchy on, I can see how a positive developmental track would play out. But even for those guys I like, the idea of a Week 1 start really shakes me up. Forcing young tackles into action too soon can teach them bad habits and hurt their confidence.
The second name is Braden Smith, who bounced back nicely in 2025 after a fraught 2024. Smith’s up-and-down play and lack of length (32¼-inch arms) will similarly limit the teams for which he is a fit — he’s simply not a plug-and-play starter, which is what is expected at the top of the free agent market. And these are the only two names, really. No other offensive tackle made the ESPN’s top 50 free agent list from Matt Bowen.