Brad Gagnon

In 2025, Sam Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl as a borderline journeyman who was on his fifth roster in a six-year span.

We're smack dab in the middle of the 2026 NFL offseason. Organized team activities are rolling and mandatory minicamps are looming as teams get a feel for what their rosters look like following free agency and the draft.

Some are bigger than others. Much bigger. Some are mental, or conceptual. Others much more literal. Regardless, they are all obstacles.

Now that the draft is done, key NFL awards odds are out there on futures markets. And one intriguing battle appears to be shaping up among defensive rookies.

Nothing is guaranteed in this league. In fact, history shows that the splashiest offseason blockbusters are often the ones that blow up in a team's face.

Windows are constantly opening and closing in the NFL.

Some major extensions will likely still be signed, and some blockbuster deals will likely still be reworked. But generally speaking, we have a broad sense of what the NFL's financial scene will look like in 2026.

Some dominate out of the gate. Others never emerge. Many just need time.

The early DraftKings odds appear to indicate the 2026 NFL MVP race might come down to Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, which makes sense considering they are perennial contenders for the award.

At least one NFL team has gone from worst to first in its division in all but one season this decade, with the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears accomplishing the feat in 2025.