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    Andrew Erickson | Thu, Feb 19th 2026, 2:21pm EST

NFL Team Needs: Giants, Browns, Commanders, Saints (2026)

Picks five through eight often represent the NFL’s most complicated teams.

These franchises weren’t quite at the very bottom — but they weren’t close to contention either. That middle ground can be dangerous. It forces front offices to decide: reset, rebuild, or reload?

For the teams picking in this range, the questions are sharper. Is the quarterback situation truly stable? Are last year’s struggles a coaching issue or a roster construction flaw? Is this team one impact player away — or several draft classes away?

And unlike the top four, these organizations must also prepare for how the early selections reshape the board. A surprise trade, or a blue-chip defender falling, can completely alter draft-night strategy.

In this batch, we break down:

  • The biggest roster holes for each franchise
  • Contract situations and future cap implications
  • Which positions should be prioritized for veterans and rookies
  • Potential fantasy football implications

These are the teams positioned to capitalize on early chaos — or create some of their own.

Next up: the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, and New Orleans Saints.

Salary cap contract information provided by Spotrac.

Pick 5: New York Giants

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

Team Needs: DT, WR, OG, OT, CB

New York ranked second-worst in the league in run defense in 2025. They need to bolster that defensive interior under the new head coach, John Harbaugh.

Furthermore, on defense, another CB is needed. Cor’Dale Flott is a free agent, and Deonte Banks has been a first-round bust.

The Giants don’t need a safety per se… as Tyler Nubin and Jevon Holland are under contract through 2028.

But Nubin regressed in his second season. Under a new coaching staff, there’s no allegiance to the former second-round safety that finished fourth-worst in run defense grade last year per PFF.

Adding somebody like Ohio State safety Caleb Downs makes a ton of sense for a team looking to improve tenfold on defense.

The G-Men also hired a former defensive back, Dennard Wilson, as their new defensive coordinator (former Titans DC).

And it’s hardly a stretch to think that Harbaugh would be opposed to taking a “safety” this high, given he has drafted safeties in the first round before (Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks).

LB Bobby Okereke might get cut after leading the team in tackles in 2025 ($9M in savings as an impending 2027 free agent).

Big Blue is also very much in play to add another TE option. FA tight end Isaiah Likely could reunite with Harbaugh. That would pour cold water on Theo Johnson‘s third-year prospects.

WR remains up in the air given Robinson’s FA status. Malik Nabers is coming off a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear. Possibly, he misses one or two weeks to start the year (PUP candidate), but eventually, he will get going and get back to form.

Matt Nagy – new Giants OC – also drafted Cole Kmet in the second round as HC of the Bears. Kmet has been the subject of trade rumors. The former Chiefs OC also drafted David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney. So, should any of these former Bears hit the open market, don’t be shocked to see them get scooped up by Big Blue.

Greg Roman was also added to the offensive coaching staff (senior offensive assistant).

WR Marquise Brown is a free agent and has played for all three of Harbaugh, Roman, and Nagy.

Across the offensive line, three starters from last season are free agents (two guards and a tackle). OT Andrew Thomas is a stud when healthy, but the rest of the offensive line needs to be addressed during FA and the NFL draft.

Pick 6: Cleveland Browns

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

Team Needs: OL, WR, DT, QB

The Browns are in rough shape entering the 2026 season. Specifically, the offensive line has four of its five starters from 2025 hitting free agency.

Jack Conklin is the lone returner at tackle, but he only played 8 games last season.

It’s a major problem as the OL was bad last year with these guys.

Poor blocking upfront makes it really tough to evaluate the influx of young talent across the Cleveland roster.

Because there is young talent across the skill positions.

The 2025 Browns are the only team since the 1970 merger to have a rookie lead them in pass yards (Shedeur Sanders), rush yards (Quinshon Judkins), receiving yards (Harold Fannin Jr.) – also the fantasy TE6 overall…and tackles (reigning DROY LB Carson Schwesinger) in a season.

Tight end David Njoku is already preparing for life post-Cleveland. Other than Isaiah Likely reuniting with Todd Monken…it looks like Fannin TE1 szn is full go in 2026.

Judkins is more TBD. He is coming off a pretty serious injury (ankle dislocation, fractured fibula) and benefited from a lot of volume – albeit very inefficient- in 2025. Could be more of the same in 2026 behind a potential patchwork offensive line.

Still, the expectation is that he won’t be limited during the offseason periods.

WR is a big area of need for the skill positions that you’d anticipate them using with one of their two first-round picks (6th and 24th).

There’s no additional need for those positions, although the Browns never seem settled at QB.

 

New HC Todd Monken did not declare Sanders as the team’s QB1 heading into the offseason. Deshaun Watson is still on the team for at least one more season based on his contract structure. No point in cutting bait now. So, it could be Sanders as the Browns’ QB1… or Watson (recovering from two Achilles injuries). And Dillon Gabriel is also on the roster.

Needless to say, the Browns probably won’t add much of anything at QB until they can finally move on from Watson in 2027. It’s possible that Monken could see something in rookie QB Carson Beck. Coached him at Georgia for three seasons (although Beck was not the starter). Monken has also coached 2026 draft-eligible rookies, including TE Oscar Delp and WR Dillon Bell (potential late-round targets).

The Browns’ major offensive needs are simple. OL and WR. And I’d imagine Monken will have a lot of input, given that part of the appeal of the Browns’ job was building the offensive roster from the ground up.

I’d also add that Jerry Jeudy has an out in his contract in 2027. Jeudy was heavily praised by the former HC, Kevin Stefanski (now in Atlanta).

Jeudy’s former WR coach with the Browns is in Kansas City (Chad O’Shea). The Giants are another interesting spot for Jeudy, given the need for WR (also reunites Jeudy with Jameis Winston).

The Titans could also look at Jeudy, given his Alabama connections to Daboll.

Another coaching nugget for you…Spencer Fano is one of the top tackle prospects in this class (Utah) inside an elite tier with Miami’s Francis Mauigoa (according to NFL Draft Insider, Tony Pauline).

Who coached him in 2024 at Utah? New Browns QB coach, Mike Bajakian. This is the stuff I live for.

As a final note on the offensive line…the Browns also hired George Warhop as the new offensive line coach. He is one of the most well-respected OL coaches in the NFL (although last year’s offensive line in Baltimore was hardly his greatest output).

The Brownies defense was great last year, but how they will manage without DC Jim Schwartz will be worth monitoring (resigned after not being named HC).

Interior defensive line needs more depth, given that DT Shelby Harris will be a FA. The Browns’ run defense disintegrated after losing DT Maliek Collins in the second half of last season (also a 2027 free agent).

Pick 7: Washington Commanders

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

Team Needs: EDGE, CB, RB, WR, TE, LB, S

The Commanders’ defense needs a lot of help. Last season, they finished second-to-last in yards per pass attempt faced (8.2).

Linebacker Bobby Wagner played the most snaps and is an impending free agent (also 36 years old). Von Miller led the team in sacks (10) and is 37 years old.

EDGE Dorance Armstrong was the team’s best pass rusher last season and got hurt after 7 games. Last year of his contract.

Perimeter CB is another need. Marshon Lattimore is not the same guy anymore after so many injuries. Probably cut candidate. Jonathan Jones is also a free agent.

Safety Jartavius “Quan” Martin is still under contract, along with the other two starting safeties. But Martin allowed the 5th-highest passer rating in coverage last season. Safety needs to be addressed here for the Commanders to improve their defense. It’s a great draft class for safeties with three potential first-rounders (generally viewed as a strong safety class overall).

Offensively, this backfield might get some more pieces. Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a former 7th-round draft pick (although the coaching staff has expressed confidence in him). Up-and-down rookie season with flashes. Chris Rodriguez is a restricted free agent, but he’s likely to return (the team loves him).

I’d expect the other RBs not to re-sign in free agency.

The new offensive coordinator is David Blough (former assistant QB coach), who will replace Kliff Kingsbury.

Blough (former QB with the Browns, Lions, Vikings, and Cardinals) has played with the following RBs who could hit the open market this offseason (trade/cut candidates).

Assistant HC Brian Johnson coached both Swift and Kenneth Gainwell in Philadelphia.

RB coach Anthony Lynn also coached Swift in Detroit.

WR depth is needed after Terry McLaurin (only 3 WRs on the current roster). They have a few young pieces like Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane – but no established names to pair with TMC. Don’t be surprised if Brandon Aiyuk reunites with his former Arizona State teammate, Jayden Daniels, this offseason.

It just makes so much sense for both sides with Aiyuk’s time in SF coming to an end. Adam Peters brought in former Niners WR Deebo Samuel last season.

Wes Welker is also supposed to take on a larger role with the Commanders’ offense, and he previously coached Aiyuk in San Fran.

So we shall see if Blough is true to his word, feeding TMC 10 targets per game.

For draft purposes – here’s another nugget: The Commanders’ WR coach, Bobby Engram, was the former OC at Wisconsin in 2022.

A few college prospects in this year’s class from that Badgers team: WR Skyler Bell and WR Vinny Anthony.

The Commanders’ GM also emphasized selecting a young, explosive playmaker with their top draft pick (specifically highlighted pass rusher as an area of need).

David Bailey, Jeremiyah Love, Arvell Reese, Cashius Howell, Avieon Terrell, Caleb Downs, etc. Embarassment of riches for the Commanders at 7th overall.

Zach Ertz is coming off a torn ACL in December, so he won’t be back at 35.

The Commanders have some interesting young guys on the roster, such as Ben Sinnott, who could be thrust into larger roles. But he’s hardly done enough to keep the team from drafting a tight end.

As for the protection upfront, they have the starters from last season intact. Sam Cosmi missed the start of the season but returned in October. He missed the latter portion of the season with a concussion.

The Commanders need to consider OL more in 2027 with their starting center and LT hitting the open market.

A few coaching notes to account for. Daronte Jones has taken over at DC after spending 2022-2025 with the Minnesota Vikings in various defensive roles.

He was also the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers in 2021. Draft-eligible players in this class from that team?

QB Garrett Nussmeier. The Commanders do need a backup QB. Nussmeier is used to backing up Daniels (did for two years at LSU).

Also, CB free agent Cordale Flott played for that Tigers roster. Potential fit in the nation’s capital to bolster the secondary.

Pick 8: New Orleans Saints

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

Team Needs: IOL, RB, WR, LB, CB, DT

A shame that the Saints waited so long to start Tyler Shough last season. The rookie QB showed promise as a potential franchise piece for New Orleans. Shough was great throwing at the intermediate level (stickier stat year over year) and on third downs (tougher to replicate, but impressive).

Shough’s 68% completion rate on intermediate throws ranked No. 1 in the NFL in 2025. Per Next Gen Stats, Shough finished 8th in completion rate (67.6%) overall.

In Shough’s last eight games, he averaged 17.8 fantasy points per game. 260 passing yards and 21.5 rushing yards per game (top-15 fantasy QB numbers).

The Saints saw enough to build around Shough this offseason, so they are set at the QB position.

As for team needs, the Saints EVP & GM Mickey Loomis emphasized the offensive line as a priority when starting a young QB.

HC Kellen Moore also spoke about taking the best player available in the draft. The Saints have some questions to answer at center and guard, given their OL crop hitting FA. Eric McCoy will be back under center after missing the second half of last year with a torn biceps injury.

The Saints have a big need at RB. Devin Neal and Audric Estime are on the roster alongside long-time veteran Alvin Kamara.

Depending on Moore’s confidence in Neal and Estime, the Saints are likely to spend an early pick on a running back in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Saints can save $8.5 million in cap space by cutting Kamara after June 1. The Saints RB finished second in fantasy points scored UNDER expectation in 2025. Career lows in rushing efficiency marks for Kamara.

Currently, he has the largest cap hit among RBs entering the last year of his deal. NO is currently 31st in cap space ($-42M).

Free agent Rico Dowdle could be a great early-down option to pair with Kamara. Also, could go to Pittsburgh (reunite with Mike McCarthy).

According to Saints Wire, Dowdle is someone the Saints know well (Kellen Moore and several assistants coached him on the Dallas Cowboys), and he’s coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with 50 runs of 10 or more yards over the last two years. Kamara leads the Saints with 35 carries for 10 or more yards, but no other running back has more than 11 of them in that span.

Kamara’s targets were also nuked in the Kellen Moore offense: Averaged fewer than 17 receiving yards/game. Kamara was never under 30 in any season during his NFL career. Catches also fell to a career-low 3 per game.

Free agent RB Kenneth Gainwell also has experience playing with Kellen Moore (Philadelphia).

More WR depth also makes sense, as there’s not much behind Chris Olave (who is looking for a long-term deal despite contemplating retirement last season due to concussions). Devaughn Vele projects as the No. 2 WR, but another pass-catcher in the draft makes sense.

Shough played with Louisville’s Chris Bell in his final year in school. Or….Moore makes a potential play for a current Eagles WR A.J. Brown.

Defensively, LB, CB, and EDGE highlight the needs based on their top FAs. Defensive tackle is more of a 2027 concern, as the Saints’ run defense did post the third-best EPA/rush allowed in 2025.

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