My Ridiculously Early Start on a 2026 Offseason Plan

mayoclinic said:

So here's a hypothetical:

1. Sign EDGE Trey Hendrickson. 3 years/$78M, $40M guaranteed. $15M 2026 cap hit.

2. Sign IOL Alijah Vera-Tucker. 3 years/$36M, $20M guaranteed. $8M 2027 cap hit

3. Sign CB Nahshon Wright. 6'4" 200#. 3 years/$42M. $9M 2026 cap hit.

4. Sign LB Leo Chenal. 3 years/$27M, $15M guaranteed. $7M 2026 cap hit.

That's $39M for 2026 cap, leaving about $24M in cap space, with another $20M easily freed up.

Then ...

5. Trade 1(31) to Jax for WR Brian Thomas Jr. 23 years old, 3 years (with 5th year option) remaining on his rookie deal, low cap hits.

Now you have:

Offense:

QB: Drake Maye
RB: TreVeyon Henderson/Rhamondre Stevenson
TE: Hunter Henry
FB: Reggie Gilliam
WR: BT3, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams
OL: Will Campbell - AVT - Jared Wilson - Mike Onwenu - Morgan Moses

I'd take that. Address RT, TE, and slot in the draft.

Defense:

EDGE: Trey Hendrickson, DreMont Jones, Harold Landry
DT: Milton Williams, Christian Barmore
LB: Robert Spillane, Leo Chenal
S: Craig Woodson, Jaylin Hawkins
Outside CB: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Nahshon Wright
Slot CB: Marcus Jones

You could add some young talent in the draft, but would not need to reach.

I'd take that as an improved team.

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mayoclinic said:

The Pays actually signed one of my guys!

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mayoclinic said:

I think Pregnon and Bisontis (and maybe Gennings Dunker) are possible value opportunities, but very unlikely.

Building a top OL for Drake Maye is priority #1 for me.

Campbell - AVT - Wilson locks down the left side of the OL for me. Young, athletic, and all signed through 2028.

Ben Brown is a quality IOL backup who can play all 3 positions at spot-starter level, without a huge dropoff.

A swing tackle is needed. Marcus Bryant with a 2nd year leap, re-signing Thayer Mumford, or signing Jedrick Wills would all accomplish that. All relatively low cost.

On the right side, Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu are fine for 2026, but not likely beyond. Onwenu could still be a cap cut in 2026 if his $17.5M savings can better be used elsewhere.

I think drafting at least 1 and probably 2 OLs in 2026 is still a priority. My preference would be RT day 1 (Iheanachor, Lomu, Miller, in that order; Kadyn Proctor a longshot) or 2 (Dametrious Crownover) and IOL day 2 (Jalen Farmer, Billy Schrauth, Micah Morris, Fa'alili Fa'amoe, JC Davis, Kage Casey). Then I'd hope to grab one one of Austin Siereveld, Carter Smith, or Cayden Green in 2027.

But if things fall differently, getting Pregnon, Bisontis, or Dunker day 2 and adding a day 3 RT (Keagan Trost, Travis Burke) would be an acceptable alternative.

My goal is to have a completed OL rebuild going into 2027: top starters with athleticism, quality depth, good versatility across all t positions. We're 60% of the way there. There are a lot of good prospects, and while I have preferences, flexibility is key.

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Hugepatsfan said:

Last years OL was:

Campbell / Wilson / Bradbury / Onwenu / Moses as starters and Lowe / Brown / Wallace / Bryant as backups to start, eventually Munford added.

I anticipate they'll start the year with 9 guys again. Lowe is gone but I'd expect Munford to be brought back. AVT replaces Bradbury which should be a big upgrade when healthy. Wilson should be better as a center than he was a LG.

Moses is ancient so I anticipate drafting a RT is something they'd do as high as the first round. I highly anticipate they'll need a new starter in 2027 based on Moses' age and contract structure (I expect he'll be cut next year) so if you can get the guy a year early that would be ideal. That means Bryant and Munford (eventually re-signing fight for one spot).

Brown is a fine backup but AVT is a walking injury risk and Onwenu is in his last year. So I'd be inclined to at least be open to drafting a Guard somewhat highly in the draft with the idea they could be the top backup inside for this year if AVT gets hurt and be good enough to let Onwenu walk next year. That will bump Wallace off the roster. Onwenu's (and Moses') lack of athleticism is also kind of misaligned with how the left side of the OL is (highly athletic) which could make for some awkward blocking schemes, so that's a misalignment I think they'll seek to fix through the draft this year and/or FA next year. AVT has played LG and RG so that drafted player can be a guy on either side as far as replacing Onwenu next year, though it's easier if he can play LG as far as backing up AVT this year.

So we'll see if the draft board falls the right way, but I'd love to use a 1st on a RT of the future and a day 2 or 3 pick on a starting Guard to take Onwenu's spot next year rather than extend him into his 30s.

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mayoclinic said:

My revised wish-list, without over-spending:

1. An EDGE. (Mesidor)
2. A WR. (???????)
3. Leo Chenal.
4. A S (Jaylin Hawkins fine if within reason). Stukes
5. A quality outside CB3 (Nahshon Wright or Riq Woolen).

#3-5 should not break the bank.

#1 and 2 more problematic.

- Nothing decent at WR, except via trade (AJ Brown, BTJ).
- Only top EDGE options are Trey Hendrickson and Kayvon Thibodeaux (trade).

Will see what shakes out.

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