Questions can tell you plenty before a season ever kicks off, and this year’s list comes with a few real alarms attached.
The Texans are the biggest one. C.J.
Stroud has already taken Houston to the postseason in each of his first three seasons, but the team still isn’t rushing into a long-term deal for its 25-year-old quarterback. His playoff collapse clearly lingered, and it helped push the Texans back into reshaping both the offensive line and the running back room.
With his fifth-year option already exercised, the clock is now ticking on a decision that matters for both sides.
Miami’s situation looks bleak in a different way. The new regime - coach Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan - walked into what was described as the league’s bleakest roster, and they’ll need their rookies to matter fast.
The Dolphins made a league-high six picks in the top 100, and after the draft they landed No. 9 in Dane Brugler’s rankings. The hope is simple enough: by the end of 2026, there should be some real building blocks in place.
Washington is another team where the shine has worn off. The early magic of the Daniels-and-Dan Quinn era, capped by that miracle NFC championship appearance, gave way to a 5-12 season.
Jayden Daniels was hurt, the offense stalled, and the Commanders responded by bringing in new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Quinn’s job is safe for now, but the message is clear: Daniels still needs more help, and Brandon Aiyuk doesn’t look like the answer.
Arizona rounds out the list, and the outlook there is grim. The Cardinals closed the season on an 0-9 run and gave up 35.2 points per game over that stretch, yet their offseason spending went toward offense. That’s why they’re being viewed as the league’s worst team on paper, even if there is at least one bright spot: a fun running back.
Elsewhere, the questions around the league are plenty, including concern about the Seahawks’ new-look offense under first-year coordinator Brian Fleury.
Chris Johnson’s ALS diagnosis brought a much heavier note to the week. The former Titans star, known for his 4.24-second 40-yard dash and Marshall Faulk’s total yards from scrimmage record of 2,509 in a 16-game season, spoke with Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America” about what he’s dealing with now. Using a speech-generating device triggered by his eyes, Johnson said, “First, I want people to know that I’m still me,” and added, “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am.”
Johnson explained that what started as weakness in his right hand became ALS, a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. “It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined,” he said.
“I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body. Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she’d make a wish with her birthday cake.
Today, I couldn’t do that.”
There was also a personal note tied to his story, with the reminder that a doctor told the writer two years ago today, “Jacob, your NFL newsletter writer - that I had cancer.” The update ended with a simple message: use the reminder to see a doctor about whatever’s been bothering you.
On the podcast side, the Lions came up as a team worth betting on offensively. Detroit finished last in the NFC North in 2025, but it’s still the betting favorite to win the division this season.
On “The Athletic Football Show,” Robert Mays asked which NFC North offense would finish top five, and Dave Helman answered, “The Lions.” Derrik Klassen agreed, pointing to the coordinator change, three of five line pieces returning, and a skill group he called as good as it gets.
“If there’s an offense I’m betting here to be top five, it almost has to be the Lions because I’ve seen it before with most of these same pieces,” he said.
Detroit’s defense did take a hit Monday when it released Terrion Arnold. The former first-round pick never reached his potential, and the move followed his arrest in connection to a kidnapping and robbery.
In Other News...
Commanders May Have Finally Fixed One Of Their Most Frustrating Problems
Washington has spent the offseason looking for ways to make its offense less predictable, and the screen game has been one of the obvious places to start. Adding Rachaad White and Chig Okonkwo gives the Commanders more athletic options underneath, the kind of pieces that can turn short throws into something more useful and help the offense function with a little more variety around Jayden Daniels.
ESPNs John Keim has pointed to those moves as a chance to loosen up a part of the attack that never quite threatened defenses enough last season. If White and Okonkwo can give the Commanders more juice in that area, it could open up cleaner answers for Daniels and make the whole unit harder to sit on, even if the bigger payoff still has to be earned on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Suddenly Have A Tough Decision On A Rising Fan Favorite
Jordan Magee entered the offseason with a real chance to become one of the Commanders more interesting young defenders, the kind of fifth-round pick who can turn a quiet rookie year into a bigger role the next fall. He flashed enough last season to keep him in the conversation, and for a while he looked like a natural candidate to grow into the middle of Washingtons linebacker group as the team reshaped its defense under Daronte Jones.
Now the picture is more crowded. With Sonny Styles and Leo Chenal added to a linebacker room that already includes Frankie Luvu, Washington appears set to lean on a 3-4 look that could squeeze Magees path to regular snaps even if he makes the roster, which he is expected to do. The Commanders still like the upside, but the question has shifted from whether Magee belongs to how much of the defense he can actually claim in a rotation that suddenly has a lot more bodies and very little room for error. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Have Found A Sneaky UDFA To Watch Up Front
The Commanders added another intriguing name to the offensive line mix in Tanoa Togiai, an undrafted free agent from Utah whose background makes him stand out even before the pads come on. He arrived in college as a defensive lineman before moving to offense, and that kind of transition, paired with his athletic profile, is part of what makes him worth tracking as Washington sorts through the back end of its line depth.
Togiai also brings some real college credibility, earning All-Big-12 Honorable Mention recognition while showing enough steadiness in pass protection to keep himself on the radar. He is still a work in progress technically, but the traits are obvious enough that he looks like the kind of developmental piece the Commanders can stash and coach up while the bigger roster battles play out up front. [Read more 🡒]