NFL Trade Rumors
The last mandatory minicamp wrapped up this past week and now all 32 teams are off until the end of July. From there, training camp begins and the marathon of the season gets underway.
This makes it a perfect opportunity to take stock of the league. Normally the balance of power doesn’t shift all that much once free agency and the draft conclude, but this year there were two monstrous trades in June — the Rams landing DE Myles Garrett and the Patriots (finally) trading for WR A.J. Brown. Both moves were clearly aimed at catching the reigning champion Seahawks, who edged past Los Angeles and thumped New England to secure the Lombardi trophy.
Time will tell how it all plays out but for now, here’s my view of how the league stacks up coming out of the offseason and heading into the season. Rather than a straight 1-32 ranking, this list also includes tiers. The break between tiers is far more relevant than the gap between rankings. For instance, the difference between the Rams and Broncos is bigger than the difference between the Broncos and Lions.
Early Super Bowl favorites
Five years after the Rams pushed the chips in and were rewarded with a Super Bowl, they’re going for it yet again. They traded a blockbuster package for CB Trent McDuffie and spent big on CB Jaylen Watson in free agency, attacking their Achilles heel from last year in the secondary. And those moves proved to be just a warm-up for the real eyebrow-sizzler — trading for Garrett at the cost of a first, second, third and DE Jared Verse.
The addition of Garrett gives the Rams real Dream Team vibes, giving them a future Hall of Fame pass rusher fresh off breaking the single-season sack record despite playing for a five-win Browns team. True life seldom works out as neatly but there are legitimate reasons to be excited about the Rams. The heart of the offense is back with QB Matthew Stafford, HC Sean McVay, WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and RB Kyren Williams. The defense was solid last year and got significant reinforcements in both the front and back end.
Health might be the biggest hurdle the Rams have to clear, as they are thin in a few key places like offensive line and receiver. The former is something to watch, as that’s kneecapped past seasons for McVay when the front five has been subpar. It’s especially critical since the 37-year-old Stafford has battled back issues as recently as last summer.
It’s hard to repeat as Super Bowl champions but the Seahawks are well-positioned to make a strong run at it. Most of the core of the team that won handily in the championship last year will be back in 2026. Those players are...
