The 5 Best NFL Offseason Moves of 2026

The NFL offseason is all about taking risks. Some teams spend big in free agency, others make blockbuster trades, and a few teams may just remain quiet. While only time will tell which moves ultimately pay off, several organizations made decisions this offseason that stand out.

From huge trades to impact signings, here are my five favorite NFL offseason moves of 2026:

5. Ravens Sign Trey Hendrickson

The Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million contract with $60 million fully guaranteed. Of course we all remember the Ravens shockingly backing out of the Maxx Crosby trade right before this signing. Call it what you want from the Ravens: unethical, shady, douchey, but I do like where they ended up. Crosby is almost 3 years younger than Hendrickson, but Hendrickson won’t cost the Ravens 2 first-round picks.

In the 2025 season, the Ravens finished with just 30 sacks which was tied for 3rd fewest in the league. Not where you expect to see the Ravens given their defensive history. This was a huge need for the Ravens who had a surprise down year in general, and Hendrickson obviously bolsters this pass rush immediately.

And he should be as motivated as ever staying in division and getting to see the Bengals twice per year. The team that never gave him that long term deal after having 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024. He also watched the Bengals give 2 long term deals to WRs and not him. I think this is going to be a great signing, and I expect the Ravens to get back on track this year.

4. Patriots Trade for A.J. Brown

The Patriots traded a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Eagles for A.J. Brown. The Patriots were definitely ahead of schedule when they made the Super Bowl last season, to most people’s surprise. And yes they may have gotten a little lucky, but sometimes the ball just bounces your way. That’s the NFL Playoffs.

But them having this Super Bowl run ahead of schedule is exactly why I like this move. You have a great QB on a rookie deal with a team you now know you can win with. And you just greatly improved an offense that was carried at times by this defense. A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs are suddenly a great WR duo for Drake Maye. The biggest question here is will A.J. Brown cause headaches and have any negative effects on this young QB. It’s worth noting that possibility, but I do like that Mike Vrabel and Brown have a relationship dating back to their days together in Tennessee. I trust Vrabel to keep Brown under control. Mostly.

3. Vikings Sign Kyler Murray

As a Packer fan, I hate how much I like this move. Because the Cardinals cut Murray, they still owe him $36.8 million for this season. Which opened the door for Minnesota to sign him to the league minimum for just one year. So right away, extremely low risk. And he’s also a former first overall pick, who has never had a coach like Kevin O’Connell, with incredible athletic ability, and is turning just 29 in August.

Last season, J.J. McCarthy was not good. In fact, I have a hard time picturing a QB playing worse under O’Connell. Even with that, the Vikings finished just 0.5 games behind the Packers for a Wild Card spot with a record of 9-8. So what do they look like if the QB play can really do nothing but improve? I’m definitely bumping this signing up given the obvious importance of the QB position. Because I’m not trying to say Kyler Murray is a better player than Hendrickson or Brown and that’s why I rate this signing higher on the list. But if this works out, and the Vikings can unlock Kyler Murray and make him their QB of the future, this can end up being massive for their team. Damn NFC North.

2. Bengals Trade for Dexter Lawrence

The Bengals had to trade the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to land Dexter Lawrence. Steep. But I think this move was about a lot more than landing perhaps the best DT in the league. Back in December, Joe Burrow said “If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it. I’ve been through a lot and if it’s not fun, then what am I doing it for? So that’s the mindset I’m trying to bring to the table.” Not really what you want to hear from your superstar QB. A QB who, up until the Eagles beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl in February 2025, was the only guy other than Tom Brady to beat Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game.

And maybe that quote was about sending a message to the organization by Burrow. And if it was, I don’t blame him. This defense has been awful. Awful may not even be a strong enough word for it. Injuries have held Burrow back a lot as well of course, but even when healthy it feels like he has no shot anyway with this horrid defense. And that 10th overall pick, while steep to give up, is never a sure thing. So you greatly improve your defense instantly with a beast like Dexter Lawrence, make your superstar QB happy, and where are football games won again? In the trenches.

Now instead of Burrow questioning his fun for the game, in May he’s saying things like “I think this is the most talented roster that we’ve had since I’ve been here” and “I’m really excited about the moves we made this offseason.” If the Bengals can stay relatively healthy, I think we will see them be a threat in the AFC again. And this move is a big part of why.

1. Browns Trade Myles Garrett

I know what you’re thinking, “wait, don’t you mean the Rams receiving Garrett is the best offseason move?” But nope. It’s the Browns side of this deal that I really like. Let’s be honest here, the Browns suck. Bad. Myles Garrett broke the sack record in 2025 with 23 sacks. That equated to 5 Browns wins. Shit in Week 8 Garrett had 5 sacks against the Patriots… which led to a 32-13 loss for his team. The Browns are impressively bad to pull this off while Garrett is doing things like this.

And what do you do when you suck this bad with an incredible player like that who recently turned 30? You trade him for future assets, of course. Clearly the Browns were gonna suck with or without Garrett, and perhaps this trade is a year or two too late, but it can’t be easy to pull the trigger trading a guy like this either. But the time has come after what we saw in 2025. And I love what the Browns got in return.

Myles Garrett will get all the headlines, and rightfully so, but Jared Verse is a VERY good player. He is only entering year three and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first 2 seasons. More importantly, since the Pro Bowl doesn’t really mean as much anymore, he was the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year. I think he can be a premier pass rusher in this league for a long time at just 25 years old.

In addition to Verse, the 2027 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, and 2029 third-round pick should also help this rebuild. 2027 is supposed to be a very good draft class too. The Browns were real bad with Garrett, so you may as well suck this year without him while adding a great young player and solid draft capital. Usually there’s no reason for optimism with the Browns, but I really like the return of both a premier young pass rusher to replace Garrett right away and the solid draft capital.

To be clear, I don’t necessarily hate this for the Rams just because I like what the Browns got. But I do fear Stafford may play just 2 more years. And if that’s the case and you dealt a lot for someone like Myles Garrett, and even Trent McDuffie, you almost feel like you NEED to win a Super Bowl in the next 2 seasons to warrant these deals. Winning a Super Bowl isn’t easy, and the window may be tight. That’s how I see it. That said, the Rams will of course be the favorites.

Honorable Mentions

Trent McDuffie traded to Rams: Rams had an obvious need in the secondary, so I love the fit. But they did need to give decent draft capital and also made a significant financial commitment as they made him the highest paid CB in the league.

D.J. Moore traded to Bills: I think the Bills have been desperate for a weapon since the departure of Diggs. You can’t ask Josh Allen to carry the load as much as he’s had the last couple of seasons. D.J. Moore is coming off a down year for his standards though, so we will see how he looks. But he won’t have as much competition for targets as he did with the Bears, and if the Bills are ever gonna make a Super Bowl with Allen he needed more weapons.

Raiders sign Tyler Linderbaum: Very underrated move in my opinion. First overall pick Fernando Mendoza will now have a fantastic veteran Center to help with pre snap reads and, quite simply, not get sacked as much. Ashton Jeanty will be thrilled to see him too as he struggled his rookie year with poor offensive line play. These 2 young Raiders should be extremely happy seeing Linderbaum added to their offense.

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