Navigate
    Andrew Erickson | Thu, Feb 26th 2026, 1:25pm EST

NFL Team Needs: Rams, Broncos, Patriots, Seahawks (2026)

This is where contenders live.

Picks 29 through 32 belong to the final four teams on the board — organizations that didn’t just compete, but controlled the season. The Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks all won at least 12 games and enter 2026 with expectations of doing it again.

The mindset here is different.

There are no panic moves. No desperate reaches. No foundational rebuilds.

This is about sustainability.

Championship windows close faster than teams expect. Veterans age. Coordinators get poached. Depth gets tested. Contracts escalate. And the teams drafting at the end of Round 1 must balance two timelines:

Win now — and win later.

Do you reinforce a strength that carried you to 14 wins?
Do you patch the one weakness exposed in January?
Do you draft a successor before the roster demands it?

These are luxury picks — but they’re also strategic ones.

Late-first selections are often about long-term cap health, premium position succession plans, and maintaining a competitive edge in a conference that’s always hunting the top seed.

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 teams aren’t chasing relevance.

They’re protecting it.

Wrapping up the team needs series with: the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks.

Salary cap contract information provided by Spotrac.

Pick 29: Los Angeles Rams

2026 Free Agents

2027 Free Agents

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

Matthew Stafford is going to return to the Rams for 2026, but it remains to be seen how many years he has left. LA has been rumored to be in the backup/development QB market, given that Jimmy Garoppolo will be a free agent.

A veteran name to watch? Zach Wilson. Played under the current Rams QB coach in New York.

Second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson will be a stud and possesses an extremely high ceiling. Tyler Higbee is an impending FA. Davante Adams is getting older and is a dark-horse potential salary cap cut candidate despite the Rams wanting him to return next season.

Nobody else is behind Puka Nacua in the Rams pecking order (neither Adams nor Nacua is under contract for 2027). We could very much see the Rams’ young TE make a major leap in 2026. His 20.8 yards per reception led all TEs in 2025, along with an extremely high average depth of target (17.6).

Per Next Gen Stats…Ferguson averaged 17.6 air yards per target this season, the most among players at his position with at least 25 targets by more than six full yards.

Ferguson was targeted on 12 of his 37 deep routes (32.4%), the highest rate among tight ends to run at least 15 such routes. He hauled in five deep targets for 144 yards and two touchdowns, good for the second-most deep receiving yards by a tight end.

The list of TEs that rank highly in yards/receptions and ADOT over the past several seasons includes: George Kittle, Kyle Pitts, and Juwan Johnson.

RT Rob Havenstein is retiring from the NFL after 11 seasons. Two more of the Rams’ depth tackles are also free agents. Then the entire interior OL is hitting FA in 2027. They won’t lose all of those IOL guys, but they might not be able to re-sign all three.

On defense, the obvious need is in the secondary at CB. That was the Rams’ Achilles heel in 2025. It’s a unit that just needs to improve overall.

Safety Kamren Curl is also an impending free agent (led team in defensive snaps in 2025).

The Rams’ two big 2027 defensive free agents are EDGE Byron Young and DT Kobie Turner (both 2023 3rd-round picks).

But with this team in full-blown “win now” mode, I’m not sure they have to use high-end draft capital on either DT/EDGE unless it’s BPA. Would probably lean toward DT…as I don’t think they will let Young walk after a career 2025 campaign.

They already paid DT Poona Ford last offseason.

The Rams have two first-round picks (Nos. 13 and 29, thanks to Atlanta). Therefore, it would make sense for them to just grab the most immediate impactful players (or player).

The Rams have some notable coaching changes this offseason, including the promotion of Nathan Scheelhaase to OC. Spent time in college at Iowa State. Former Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury was also brought in as assistant HC. Former Rams WR Robert Woods was also brought in as an assistant WR coach.

Pick 30: Denver Broncos

2026 Free Agents

2027 Free Agents

Team Needs: RB, TE, LB, OG, DT

Veteran gamers know better than anybody to never take HC Sean Payton on face value for fantasy football purposes. Who will be his “Joker”, etc.?

Spoiler…he is still looking for that RB or TE with those certain traits.

But we do know he loves to use RBs in the passing game. And technically, what he says about certain player usage actually holds less weight in 2026 compared to previous years, given he will no longer be calling plays.

Davis Webb was promoted to offensive coordinator and will call plays. Two potential winners that make the most sense based on the switch? Evan Engram and Marvin Mims. Engram and Webb were former Giants teammates. And Mims – we all know – has suffered at the hands of Payton’s dreaded WR rotations. If Webb decides this guy is too talented to come off the field…well, we are cooking with gas.

Still, Payton can’t be left out entirely. He acknowledged Denver’s top needs at the NFL Combine: Running back, linebacker, and tight end stand out as the biggest roster needs for the Broncos heading into the player-acquisition period.

Makes sense considering J.K. Dobbins, Adam Trautman, and Alex Singleton are their top in-house free agents at those three positions. They also have players at these positions hitting FA in 2027.

GM George Paton was adamant about bringing back his linebacker room. Also called RJ Harvey, a three-down back.

I do think the Broncos will add somebody else to the backfield, but Harvey’s role as the primary pass-catcher should remain intact from his rookie year.

The offensive line was arguably the best in the NFL last season, and everybody is returning for 2026.

LG might be the one area they look to add more depth. Ben Powers was injured last season and is in the final year of his contract (a potential cut candidate per The Athletic). The same goes for OG Matt Peart.

On defense, DEs John Franklin-Myers and Eyioma Uwazurike might both be gone as soon as 2027.

CB Riley Moss is also entering a contract year (but Denver did draft a CB in the first round last season).

Denver’s roster is very well built and is in a window to “splurge,” given the cost-friendliness of a rookie QB’s salary.

They can and should swing for the fences on a plug-in play piece to get them over the top. Paton mentioned there’s a possibility of adding more playmakers on offense.

Pick 31: New England Patriots

2026 Free Agents

2027 Free Agents

Team Needs: OT, OG, EDGE, WR, TE, S, LB

Austin Hooper is a free agent in 2026. Hunter Henry will be a free agent at the end of the season at age 32. Wide receivers Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas will also need new contracts.

There’s a need for a WR/TE upgrade in New England, so I expect the Pats to make a move for a potential true alpha pass-catcher. A.J. Brown is the top guy that comes to mind through trade at the WR position. DJ Moore also might be a decent fit, given that he played with the former Bears OC, Thomas Brown (Pats passing game coordinator).

Because there’s no guarantee that Stefon Diggs is a lock for the 2026 roster (no more guaranteed money, ongoing off-field issues, bloated contract).

But don’t overlook tight end as a sneaky area of need for NE’s offense. I’d be surprised if they didn’t draft one in a deep TE class.

OL Will Campbell isn’t expected to kick inside to guard, so the Patriots won’t be adding another left tackle this offseason (at least not with high-end capital).

However, they still need a long-term solution at RT, given Morgan Moses‘s age (35).

Two of their backup tackles are also free agents: Vederian Lowe and Thayer Munford Jr.

De facto GM Eliot Wolf stated at the NFL Combine that tackle is a need. Also mentioned off-ball linebacker as a draft target and improving overall WR depth (more playmakers).

Some additional interior depth across the offensive line also makes sense. G Mike Onwenu is in the last year of his deal. Last year’s center, Garrett Bradbury, is a potential salary cap dump per The Athletic. If the Pats kick Jared Wilson inside to center to replace Bradbury, they will need a new left guard.

On defense, the Pats may not bring back K’Lavon Chaisson after his 12-sack season. If he departs, they will need more pass rush juice. Mike Vrabel said in his opening presser at the NFL Combine that they have met with a bunch of the edge players in this year’s class.

DT Christian Barmore also has some ongoing legal issues, but the way his future was talked about compared to Diggs was much more in favor of the defensive tackle sticking around (he is two years into his four-year extension).

Final takeaway: If the Patriots don’t reinvent themselves this offseason, they will end up like the 2025 Washington Commanders. They won’t be as lucky when it comes to their schedule or positive injury luck (fewest total points lost by injury per Sports Info Solutions) in 2026.

Pick 32: Seattle Seahawks

2026 Free Agents

2027 Free Agents

Team Needs: CB, RG, RB, WR, EDGE, S

At the time of this writing, the Seahawks won’t have either of their top two RBs from last season ready for Week 1. Kenneth Walker is a free agent (Seattle won’t use the franchise tag on him, forcing them to sign him long-term or let him walk), and Zach Charbonnet is coming off a very poorly timed ACL injury on January 19th (surgery a month later on February 20th). Although the discourse surrounding Charbonnet’s injury has been generally positive. And they would ‘love’ to have Walker back.

One free agent running back with whom new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is familiar: Brian Robinson. Fleury was the run-game coordinator for the 49ers in 2025. J.K. Dobbins could be another option, given his Baltimore overlap with Mike Macdonald.

Part of the Seahawks’ offensive identity was running the football. 3rd-lowest pass play rate (50%).

Unless the new offensive coaches view this run game as “broken” with different backs…I’d imagine they want to keep an emphasis on establishing the run (maintaining what worked so well under Kubiak, while adding in 49ers wrinkles).

Fleury also added that running the ball in the “red zone” tends to lead to the most offensive success. I’d also acknowledge that he also served as the 49ers’ TE coach from 2022-2025. George Kittle‘s TDs spiked during this stretch. Before 2022, Kittle had zero seasons with more than 6 TDs. He never had fewer than 6 TDs after the 2022 season.

AJ Barner TE1 szn?

WR Rashid Shaheed is also a free agent. After trading for him last season, I’d imagine they would want to bring him back (unless the Las Vegas Raiders try to reunite him with Klint Kubiak). Second-year WR Tory Horton would likely take on the “Shaheed role” if he doesn’t return to Seattle in 2026.

Across the offensive line, there is still a weakness in the interior at the right guard and potentially the center spots. G Anthony Bradford and C Olu Oluwatimi will be free agents in 2027. Starting center Jalen Sundell missed time last year with a knee injury.

Part of why the Seahawks’ defense was so great in 2025 was their vast depth on the defensive line. Boye Mafe is hitting free agency, and somebody will likely pay him more than his two-sack production from 2025. So just continuing to add to the DL/EDGE will remain a top priority for Seattle (specifically, guys who line up outside the tackle).

The true biggest defensive need is at CB. Josh Jobe and Tariq Woolen are both in need of new deals.

Safety Coby Bryant is also a free agent, but Seattle has strong depth. Ty Okada made the team as an undrafted FA and finished 10th in snaps (second-most at free safety). Might be a cheaper option than bringing back Bryant. Ranked 16th out of 75 safeties per PFF.

Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn

    Recent News

  1. NBA DFS Picks & Lineup Advice: Thursday (2/26)
  2. NFL Team Needs: Bears, Bills, 49ers, Texans (2026)
  3. 4 Wide Receivers to Avoid (2026 Fantasy Football)
  4. Top 6 Players for Multi-Position Eligibility (2026 Fantasy Baseball)