The latest
9. Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs (78.9) After the Chiefs awarded him a lucrative extension last offseason, Bolton responded by churning out the best season of his young career. Although he started slow, Bolton rose to the upper echelon of NFL defenders in the back half of the year, with his 91.1 PFF overall grade from Week 9 through the end of the season standing as the highest mark
by any linebacker.
14. Drue Tranquill, Kansas City Chiefs (76.2)
Tranquill has been a steady and stable presence at the heart of the Chiefs’ defense for the past three seasons. 2025 marked a career year for Tranquill, who posted new high marks as a run defender, with his 89.4 PFF grade ranking sixth among qualifying linebackers. He also recorded the lowest missed tackle percentage (3.6%) among linebackers with at least 100 tackle attempts.
Brett Veach identified the Chiefs’ biggest need. The answer is complicated | The Kansas City Star
Here’s the thing, though: The Chiefs didn’t give that interior offensive line much of a chance to impose its will.
The Chiefs lived out of an RPO (run-pass option) offense. They were terrible at the first word.
On RPO plays, the Chiefs averaged only 3.7 yards per carry, per Sports Info Solutions data. That ranked 28th in the league. They were dead last in EPA (expected points added) on RPO rushes. They were 29th in explosive rush rate on RPOs. They were 28th in missed tackle rate.
Yet they rushed the ball on RPO plays more often than any team in the league.
If you want to be a top-5 offense in the NFL, it’s probably not wise to lead the league in a play-call that you execute about as poorly as any team in football.
2026 NFL offseason: Ranking the top 15 trade candidates | ESPN
2. De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
The contract: One more year for about $5.9 million
The buzz: The league seems to believe the Dolphins are in a full rebuild, which means they’re getting calls on all of their star players. My sense is that they’re far more likely to extend Achane’s contract than to listen to those trade offers, but in their situation, you answer the phone when it rings. So, call any Achane trade a significant long shot that would take an awfully enticing package to get done. — Graziano
The tape: The Dolphins valued Achane highly at the trade deadline, and they will likely do so again. The 24-year-old running back has game-breaking speed, high-volume receiving ability and much better toughness and tackle-breaking skills than his slight frame might suggest. He’s a better — and younger — talent than anyone in the loaded free agent RB market. Achane ran for 1,350 yards and eight scores last season, and his 5.7 yards per carry ranked first in the NFL. — Solak
Predicted chance of getting traded: 10%
Potential team fits: Chiefs, Texans, Vikings
Watson Plans for New Home, but Chiefs Not Bidding Farewell Yet | Sports Illustrated
And the Chiefs might be about to see their defensive backfield gutted by a tight salary cap and potential Trent McDuffie trade. Watson is one of the market’s top free agents. But at least the Chiefs know Watson will remember his time fondly, including one specific lesson he’ll take with him to his next NFL team.
“The importance of camaraderie in your group,” Watson told insider Jordan Schultz on last week’s edition of The Schultz Report. “I think that’s really important. Great leadership from the players and the young guys look up to them. Those guys set an example and it just trickles down from the front office to the head coach to the captains on the team. And then the younger guys pick up on it, and then everyone’s on board.”
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce preference revealed for his TV role after retirement | The Sporting News
“Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce appears to want to play another year and has indicated he prefers to call games if he enters broadcasting,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote in a new story on Wednesday.
That means Kelce wants to be a color commentator — the role held by the likes of Tom Brady, Greg Olson, Tony Romo and J.J. Watt, among others. He wants to be in the booth, at a game, working alongside a play-by-play announcer.
It means Kelce doesn’t want to be in a studio for pregame and postgame shows.
And that’s worth noting, because while there are only so many slots for both roles, it’s often easier to mix new guys into a studio show. Those color commentary spots, especially on the top teams, aren’t always open.
Around the NFL
Source: Bears allow LB Tremaine Edmunds to seek trade | ESPN
Edmunds, 27, is entering the final season of the four-year, $72 million contract he signed with the Bears as a free agent in 2023. His contract carries a $13.9 million base salary for 2026 with a $1 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the league year. His cap hit is $17.9 million.
If Edmunds does not find a trade partner, he is in line to become a cap casualty. Releasing Edmunds would create $15 million in salary cap space for Chicago.
“There’s a couple guys we’ve got to make decisions on,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said when asked Tuesday about Edmunds’ future.
At its annual meeting in Indianapolis during the NFL Scouting Combine, the league’s competition committee has discussed multiple contingencies if a deal can’t be reached with the NFL Referees Association on a collective bargaining agreement. Among the contingencies being discussed is the possibility of centralizing some officiating functions in New York and expanding the use of technology, multiple sources who were briefed on the discussions confirmed Tuesday.
In such a scenario, one source added, the league would still have officials on the field, but the NFL would rely more on replay help from its Art McNally Gameday Central in New York.
One of those people with knowledge of the discussions believes that this is largely a negotiating ploy by the NFL. That person believes the league and officials will reach an agreement in time for the 2026 season, even if negotiations drag into the summer.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Commanders will participate in the 2026 NFL London games, presented by NetApp. The games are scheduled to be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the home of the NFL in the United Kingdom.
The games are part of an NFL record nine international games in 2026 across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. Opponents, dates and kickoff times for all international games will be announced when the full 2026 NFL schedule is released this spring.
The Jaguars will also return to Wembley Stadium as part of their multi-year commitment to playing games in the UK – the third time they have played back-to-back games in the UK. The Jaguars have played in 14 regular season games in London since 2013 – 11 at Wembley and three at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs’ Brett Veach breaks down draft philosophy at NFL Combine
“Arguably, some of the best players in this draft are maybe at non-premium positions,” Veach observed. “Those are really, really good players. It’s hard to find faults with their tape.”
The challenge lies in long-term roster construction and positional scarcity.
“Some of those more premium positions, interior D-line, edge rushers, you know, they’re hard to find,” he explained. “And with those guys, the problem with those guys is they’re hard to find, and then they don’t really become available in free agency.”
Conversely, certain positions may be easier to address on the open market.
“Some of those other positions, they’re good players, you’ll probably eventually get a chance to get some of those positions in free agency,” Veach added.
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