What follows below this is going to be mostly wrong. Getting that out of the way now.
Every offseason, my first exercise to prepare for what is to come is to try to map out all the moves that might, could or even should happen. It’s partially an attempt to predict what will happen, sure, but it’s also an attempt to figure out who needs what and why. Trying to predict where every big name might go, who every team might add, is an excellent way to sketch out how the NFL might act.
For example: The Raiders, Jets, Cardinals, Dolphins and more potentially need a quarterback this offseason. There aren’t enough obviously available quarterbacks to fill all the open spots. So you have to figure out which teams make the most sense, which teams have the biggest motivation, which players have reasons for going to which places. You can find the best fits, and then the leftovers have to take what’s … left over.
Like I said, you get a lot wrong in this exercise. Most, in fact. But it’s an excellent way to take stock of the offseason to come. Give it a try some time. Monday and today, you’ll get a look at my attempt at mapping out the offseason. We’re just talking fantasy here, so no Trey Hendrickson, but I’ll try to find the right mix of moves for every team this offseason.
Last year, this exercise figured out the Jets signing Justin Fields, the Commanders trading for Deebo Samuel, the Giants signing Jameis Winston. It landed on the Vikings franchise tagging Sam Darnold, which I think everyone would agree now they should have done. It had Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers going to the same team, although that team was the Rams and not the Dolphins. On the other hand, it had Cooper Kupp to the Bengals, Tee Higgins to the Chargers, Chris Olave getting traded to the Patriots. Some right, some wrong. All interesting.
Check the NFC below. You can also check out the AFC.
Fantasy Football Offseason Road Map: NFC
Arizona Cardinals
Draft Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU (3.65)
Trade Kyler Murray to the Dolphins for 3.75 and 3.87
A year ago, Nussmeier was a candidate to be the first overall pick. He’s not that now, but the guy everyone thought he’d be is still in there somewhere. Bring him in, see if he can realize that potential. If so, hey, awesome. If not, you still have Jacoby Brissett for another year, and you can try again in 2027.
Release James Conner
It’s a same Conner’s Cardinals tenure has to end so anticlimactically with his injury last season, but he’ll be 31 when next season starts, and paying an injured back $10 million is a bad investment. Letting him try to catch on elsewhere would free Trey Benson up to be the bell cow in Arizona.
Atlanta Falcons
Sign Tua Tagovailoa
Release Kirk Cousins
Keeping Cousins gets really expensive. There’s a chance the Falcons cut him loose only to bring him back more cheaply, but why not get interesting? Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa aren’t the same quarterbacks, but what they do have in common is the arm they throw with. Give the offensive line some consistency in blocking assignments by having a lefty under center no matter who is doing the job.
Sign James Conner
Sign Hollywood Brown
Sign David Njoku
In Bijan Robinson and Drake London, the Falcons have their offensive core. And Robinson’s stock rises even higher with Tyler Allgeier leaving in free agency. But Conner and Brown can be good complementary pieces to the starters who can do more if something happens. Meanwhile, Njoku can follow his former head coach (Kevin Stefanski) and offensive coordinator (Tommy Rees) to Atlanta. That’s a recipe for TE success.
Carolina Panthers
Trade 1.19 to the Browns for 1.24 and a 2027 second
Draft Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon (1.24)
The Ja’Tavion Sanders experience hasn’t turned into much in Carolina, and the Panthers haven’t gotten 100 PPR points from a tight end not named Greg Olsen since Jeremy Shockey in 2011. They need more weaponry for Bryce Young, and Sadiq, the top tight end in this year’s draft, can be the first step in that direction.
Trade 4.119 to the Bills for Keon Coleman and 7.228
Coleman isn’t as flashy an addition as some, but he is only two years removed from being a first-round pick. With Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and (in this exercise) Kenyon Sadiq in the fold, Coleman wouldn’t have to be a No. 1 in Carolina; he could just be a guy with upside.
Chicago Bears
Trade DJ Moore to the Bills for 3.91 and 5.166
Moore is still a good receiver, but it seems like he and the Bears are kind of done with one another. And even if not, clearing Moore out would make room for Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland to put up even better numbers. And the Bears can use the extra picks (and money) to help load up the defense.
Draft Kadyn Proctor, T, Alabama (1.25)
The Bears had an excellent offensive line in 2025, but suddenly left tackle is a big question. Ozzy Trapilo tore his patellar tendon in the playoffs, and Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet are entering free agency. Proctor can be an immediate patch for that spot.
Dallas Cowboys
Trade 1.12 and a 2026 second to the Browns for 1.06
Is this for someone specific? Nope. But after Fernando Mendoza, the top of this year’s draft is littered with big-time defensive players, and no one needs a big-time defensive player more than the Cowboys. Trade up here and get whoever falls to you (Caleb Downs maybe?).
Re-Sign George Pickens
Re-Sign Javonte Williams
There are no real complaints about the Dallas defense last year. Just keep it together, y’all.
Detroit Lions
Draft Spencer Fano, T, Utah (1.17)
The Lions’ formerly dominant offensive line slipped last year, but this team has had plenty of luck in first-round linemen in the past. Start the rebuild with Utah’s Fano.
Release David Montgomery
Knuckles had his time in Detroit. And it was good. But he took a step back last year, and at this point, anything he’s doing is holding Jahmyr Gibbs back. Let him go elsewhere.
Green Bay Packers
Sign David Edwards
Draft Caleb Tiernan, T, Northwestern (2.52)
Several mainstays along the Green Bay offensive line are hitting free agency this offseason. Will Edwards and Tiernan fix all that? Probably not. But you have to start somewhere, and the team has plenty of weapons otherwise. With Romeo Doubs hitting free agency, the target tree in Green Bay is winnowing slightly, so let’s give Jordan Love time to get the ball to them.
Los Angeles Rams
Sign Rasheed Walker
Rob Havenstein is heading into free agency. At 38 (assuming he returns), Matthew Stafford ain’t getting any more mobile. Protect him with all you can. Walker is one of the better pass protectors in the game.
Draft Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (1.29)
We’re planning on Stafford being back, but the Rams have no succession plan for when he retires or if he gets injured. Simpson is a developmental option, and what better place to let him develop than behind one of the best quarterbacks in the game and with Sean McVay coaching him up.
Minnesota Vikings
Trade Jordan Addison to the 49ers for Mac Jones and 4.138
Sign Deebo Samuel
Addison has had his problems in Minnesota. The skill is there, but the problems have been as well. So give him a fresh start in San Francisco, a place that knows how to capitalize on skills. You can replace him with Samuel, who doesn’t need to be featured at this point in his career and can be a complement to Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson.
Meanwhile, the Vikings get some excellent J.J. McCarthy insurance in Mac Jones, who can easily start if called upon to do so but can also be the backup if McCarthy rights the ship in his third season.
Release Aaron Jones Sr.
Sign Travis Etienne Jr.
Cutting ties with a Senior in order to bring in a Junior is a nice little metaphor for the Vikings getting younger in the backfield. Etienne has rushed for at least 1,000 yards in three of the last four seasons and has proven to be capable of being the dominant back, although he’d still have Jordan Mason available to spell him in Minnesota. Still, it adds more electricity to a Minnesota backfield that needs it.
New Orleans Saints
Draft Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (1.08)
Tyler Shough was pretty impressive as a rookie, and it was all the more impressive when you consider that Chris Olave was really his only weapon. He needs another, and the thought of pairing two Ohio State receivers together is too delicious not to work with it. An Olave/Tate duo could immediately rank among the league’s best.
Sign Rico Dowdle
Alvin Kamara is either done or might as well be. Devin Neal and Kendre Miller have potential (I guess), but there isn’t an RB1 in New Orleans. Dowdle ran with that role (so to speak) when called up in Carolina last year, but he saw his work dry up late in the year with Chuba Hubbard healthy, and it certainly appeared to bother him. He won’t be back in Carolina. Let’s get him a job where he has a good chance at starting elsewhere.
New York Giants
Draft Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State (1.05)
Malik Nabers will enter 2026 having had plenty of time to recover from last year’s ACL tear, but with Wan’Dale Robinson hitting free agency, the Giants need another receiver regardless. And if Nabers can’t come back as strong as he looked pre-injury, Tyson has the skills to be even better than a WR2 for a while.
Sign Tyler Linderbaum
John Harbaugh is the coach in New York now. Coaches bringing in guys they know and trust from their old jobs to their new jobs is a tradition as old as football itself, and Linderbaum thrived under Harbaugh in Baltimore. He could step right into the job in New York.
Philadelphia Eagles
Trade A.J. Brown to the Chargers for 1.22 and Quentin Johnston
Sign Mike Evans
Would the Eagles be better just keeping Brown? Yeah, probably. He’s excellent. But that’s on the field. Off the field, Brown appears ready for a change, and a dissatisfied Brown is not better for the Eagles. Get a first-round pick and a former first-round receiver who has had some touchdown upside. But even if he’s better than when he appeared to be a bust, Johnston alone can’t come close to replicating what Brown means to the Eagles, which is where Evans comes in. Je’s a step down from Brown, but Evans and Johnston together make for a decent approximation of what Brown has been, even with Evans turning 33 in August.
Draft Max Klare, TE, Ohio State (3.68)
The Eagles have other needs (especially if Lane Johnson retires) that should command their attention early in the draft. But with Dallas Goedert hitting free agency, there’s an opening at tight end, and Klare was third on Ohio State in yards last year despite Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate dominating the work.
San Francisco 49ers
Trade Mac Jones and 4.138 to the Vikings for Jordan Addison
Trade 4.127 to the Colts for Anthony Richardson Sr.
With Jauan Jennings hitting free agency, Brandon Aiyuk definitely set to be gone and George Kittle out for most if not all of 2026, the 49ers need a receiver to go along with Ricky Pearsall. Addison has flashed big ability but has been inconsistent. Get him to Kyle Shanahan and clear him to produce in an offense that knows how to make the most of its weaponry. It’ll cost them Mac Jones, but then he’s just the backup there, and they can replace him with Richardson, who still has all the potential everyone saw from him when he was drafted and gives him Shanahan to coach him up and maybe help him realize that potential.
Release Brandon Aiyuk
This one feels more like a formality. Maybe the 49ers try to find a taker for Aiyuk, but given his contract, teams are more likely to want to wait for him to hit the open market. Either way, he won’t be in San Francisco next season.
Seattle Seahawks
Franchise Tag Kenneth Walker III
Re-Sign Rashid Shaheed
Teams that succeed try to keep the band together. It’s a fact of nature. And it helps that the Seahawks’ big free agents kind of fill their needs. Shaheed didn’t put up the big flashy numbers a lot of people expected when he came over from New Orleans, but it’s hard to integrate into an offense midseason. An offseason to stick with the team helps that. Meanwhile, Walker would probably be set to depart if Zach Charbonnet hadn’t torn his ACL, but now the Seahawks have a big gaping need in the backfield. But he only gets one year, because …
Draft Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame (2.64)
Seattle took Walker in the second round in 2022 when they had Chris Carson, then took Charbonnet in the same round in 2023 when they had Walker. The team is not shy about getting another back when they already have one in place. Maybe Walker sticks around long term. Maybe Charbonnet comes back healthy. But there’s little chance of both happening, so they’ll need a second back either way, and Price fits the bill.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sign J.K. Dobbins
Draft Jack Endries, TE, Texas (3.77)
From a fantasy perspective, the Buccaneers are fairly set. Mike Evans’ departure still leaves a good receiver room of Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan. Rachaad White and Sean Tucker are both hitting free agency, though, but Bucky Irving can be the bell cow. The team needs an RB2, though, so they can give a shot to Dobbins, who has an injury history that screams “Don’t let this guy be an RB1.” He can be a good complement to Irving. Meanwhile, Cade Otton is hitting free agency, so the Bucs should be looking for a replacement, but this isn’t an offense that uses a tight end heavily. Endries can come in with potential but not be relied on.
Washington Commanders
Sign Rachaad White
Sign Dallas Goedert
The body of the 2025 season wasn’t even cold when White was already posting goodbyes to Tampa Bay and offering up cryptic thoughts about his friend and college teammate Jayden Daniels. And even without the friendship reason, White is a good fit in Washington, where he can be the receiving option alongside Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s early-down thunder.
Zach Ertz showed last year that he was still good enough to be a team’s receiving tight end … right up until he tore his ACL in Week 14. Now, he’s 35 and recovering from a significant injury, and that’s not a recipe for continued success. Ben Sinnott never developed how the team expected when it spent a second-round pick on him two years ago. Washington needs a tight end to catch passes. Goedert can come over from Philadelphia and be even better than Ertz was last year.