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At this point in the 2025 NFL season, contenders are jockeying for playoff position, and the Super Bowl chase looms largest on the calendar — but front offices are surely also keeping an eye on the fast-approaching 2026 offseason. Some teams are eager to get there to rebound from a disappointing campaign, while some will have the opportunity to build on playoff success.
In 19 of the last 22 seasons, at least one team has won its division the season after finishing last (or tied for last). The Patriots are this season’s example. After ending 2024 at the bottom of the AFC East standings, they used an abundance of cap space (New England had the most in the NFL entering free agency) and draft capital (the Pats held the fourth overall pick in 2025) to quickly upgrade their roster. Now they are on the verge of securing their first division title since 2019.
With the caveat that the current season has not yet concluded, let’s get ahead of the curve by examining which NFL teams have the assets to make a major offseason leap going into 2026. To illuminate the overall picture of each organization’s ability to make itself better via veteran and rookie acquisitions, I have incorporated both projected 2026 cap space and 2026 draft capital into a combined flexibility ranking below, with analysis provided for the top 10 teams.
For the sake of simplicity, the draft capital rankings reflect the first two rounds only (based off the 2026 draft order heading into Week 16), with scores derived from Over the Cap’s pick-value chart. Projected cap space is sourced via Spotrac, and is current as of 1:30 p.m. ET. on Dec. 16, unless otherwise specified. And team needs are sourced from Chad Reuter’s weekly look at the 2026 NFL Draft order.
Now, on to the list!
Cap space ranking: No. 3 | Draft capital ranking: No. 1 | Average: 2
The Jets enter 2026 in an interesting position after choosing to sell two franchise cornerstones, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams , at the 2025 trade deadline. Those moves netted an extra pick in the first round (from the Colts, in exchange for Gardner) and one in the second round (from the Cowboys, in exchange for Williams) in April, to go along with their own picks in those rounds, including what is projected to be the fifth overall choice. No other team has as many picks in the first two rounds. Moving Gardner and Williams also freed up $31.25 million in cap space, giving the Jets a roomy projected total figure of $111.6 million, the third-most space in the league. Add it all together, and Gang Green is set up for an offseason of additions in Florham Park.
Priority No. 1 for the Jets will be finding a new starting quarterback. Journeyman Tyrod Taylor — who took over after Justin Fields was benched — will be a free agent. Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract last offseason, with $10 million of his 2026 salary guaranteed, which helps explain why releasing him this offseason would net just $1 million in cap savings. However, the team could get out of paying him an extra $10 million in cash, so it might not make sense to keep him around as a backup. The Jets have drafted a quarterback in the first round twice in the last eight years, but given the rebuild they signaled with their trade-deadline fire sale, targeting a third Round 1 signal-caller seems the likely move, rather than trying again with another mid-tier free agent quarterback. Whichever route they choose, they have the resources to add plenty in 2026.
