Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Division favorites across the NFL still face gaps that could be filled with strategic trades before the 2026 season begins.
- Each team needs a specific upgrade to maintain their lead in a competitive division, ranging from offensive weapons to defensive reinforcements.
- The right move could be a mid-round pick swap or a low-risk veteran addition, but timing and creativity will decide who stays ahead.
Entering the NFL season as the division favorite is cool, but it doesn't guarantee you'll actually win the division. It's very possible that if a favorite just sits around and does nothing, their advantage will be negated as rivals make last-minute moves to improve.
So with that in mind, let's talk some trades that can keep the current NFL division favorites exactly where they are. Some of these are big moves. Other help at the margins. Regardless, these trades set these teams up to stay in front of the pack for 2026.
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills still need help at wide receiver, as they head into 2026 with Joshua Palmer set to play a key role on the roster. That is ... not the best situation to be in, and while the addition of DJ Moore helps, it's still clear that the team has an issue here.
This proposed trade is actually one of two things I'd do if I were Bills GM Brandon Beane. First is this move: dealing a mid-round pick for Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette, who hasn't really panned out in Carolina but who has the skill to be a downfield threat with Josh Allen throwing the football.
The other part of this? Recoup some draft capital by then turning around and trading Keon Coleman to a rebuilding team. I don't think Carolina will want Coleman (hence why he isn't in this deal), but essentially I'm thinking about what's basically a three-team swap that lands Buffalo a more promising young wideout than the one that clearly isn't working out.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens lost Tyler Linderbaum to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason and the current replacements for him on the roster are not ideal. It appears there's a three-way battle for the starting job between Corey Bullock, Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn.
Letting those three guys battle it out and choosing the best player isn't the worst idea. You'll very likely get a passable starter out of that battle, but the issue is that there's a difference between "passable starter" and "Linderbaum-level starter."
Why not turn to the team that signed Linderbaum, then? The Raiders are set to play Jackson Powers-Johnson at guard full-time this season, but the Raiders are also very likely set to finish fourth in the AFC West this season as well. Why not dangle a couple of mid-round draft picks in their direction and see if you can get a massive improvement at center?
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans enter 2026 with basically the same receiving corps as 2025, minus Christian Kirk and with the potential addition of Tank Dell, who missed all of last season with injury. It's not a terrible group — I mean, any group headlined by Nico Collins is at least above average — but Houston could still afford to make some kind of move.
Enter Jerry Jeudy, who looked like a budding star after the Browns acquired him from Denver but whose 2025 season was a disappointment, prompting Cleveland to use first- and second-round picks on wide receivers — which seemingly makes Jeudy expendable.
This would be a bit of a risky move from Houston, but the team really has to find a way to make this offense better. Houston has a championship-caliber defense, but the offense let the team down far too much in 2025, especially in the postseason. If there's even a chance Jeudy bounces back to his 2024 level, you have to explore a deal.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs also need a wide receiver, but they have one issue: There isn't really much cap space for the team to use to make a move for the better ones still on the market.
What there is is the space to take a flyer on Jets wide receiver Arian Smith, a fourth-round pick last season who caught just seven passes as a rookie. With the additon of Omar Cooper Jr. in this season's draft, Smith slides even deeper down the depth chart in New York.
The Chiefs are no stranger to taking chances on wide receivers. Throughout the Patrick Mahomes era, the team has hit the bargain bit a lot, with varying degrees of success. This is another of those low-risk, medium-reward moves that probably won't be the deciding factor in Kansas City's quest to get back to the Super Bowl — but that could potentially provide useful depth.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Carter still have yet to reach an agreement on a contract extension, and that's led to a lot of chatter about a potential Carter trade. The problem is that if the Eagles want to get better right now, trading Carter probably isn't the way to make that happen. It'd be hard to get equal value back for him, and while the proposal I've seen floating around involving Josh Sweat is interesting, it's not going to actually happen.
So, what's the next-best move? One that lands the Eagles a safety who can make an impact right away, and it's with the same team that Sweat plays for: the Arizona Cardinals.
Budda Baker is still one of the league's best safeties, and there's no reason for him to continue wasting away in Arizona. The Cardinals need to fully hit the rebuild button, and adding a couple of Day 2 picks over the next two seasons would be a good way of going about that. It's a win-win for both sides.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were forced to cut cornerback Terrion Arnold for off-field reasons, leaving the team very weak at corner. There are internal candidates who can replace him, but those options aren't really ideal.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs drafted Mansoor Delane this year, which puts Kristian Fulton's roster spot in jeopardy. After a solid 2024 season with the Chargers, K.C. thought it was getting a strong rotation piece last season, but Fulton disappointed all year.
Kansas City should move Fulton. Detroit needs a corner, but probably can't really grab a marquee name at this point. This is probably as good a match as there can be, as the Chiefs can get a seventh-round pick and the Lions get a player who might be able to crack the rotation at the team's weakest position.
Tampa Bay Buccaeers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a solid starting tight end in Cade Otton, but the situation behind him is rough. Payne Durham? Ko Kleft? Bauer Sharp? Timothy C. Davidson III? (I made one of those names up, and the fact that many of you aren't sure which one at the moment says plenty about the state of this position room.)
Meanwhile, Houston has way too many tight ends after adding Foster Moreau and Marlin Klein this offseason. Add in Dalton Schultz as the starter, as well as the fact that the team remains high on the oft-injured Brevin Jordan, and you start to wonder where Cade Stover fits into things.
The 2024 fourth-round pick has just 27 career receptions, but the upside is still arguably there. He just needs a fresh start somewhere he can actually earn reps, and he should have no trouble finding those reps in Tampa Bay. It's a small move, but it improves the team in a key area.
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams have already made their big trade of the offseason by acquiring Myles Garrett, so any other trades would likely be at the margins.
Running back has been an issue with this team for years at this point, as L.A. usually has a solid starter but lacks good depth. Entering 2026, the situation there isn't as dire as it has been in the past (Kyren Williams and Blake Corum is a solid enough pairing), but the team could still afford to improve so that they aren't an injury away from relying on Ronnie Rivers.
Jaylen Wright is an intriguing depth piece who would arguably be able to battle for backup snaps behind Williams, and he could be had for a late-round pick as the Dolphins are in rebuild mode and need to focus on collecting as many future picks as possible. Provided the Dolphins keep De'Von Achane, Wright should be viewed as expendable, as the team still has Ollie Gordon to take snaps behind Achane.
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