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2026 NFL All-Breakout Team: Predicting the next great players at every position | Pro Football Focus
Cornerback: Nohl Williams, Kansas City Chiefs
A well-kept secret in 2025, Williams could swiftly become a commonplace name in 2026.
Even with the Chiefs fielding two outstanding cornerbacks in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, Williams earned his right to stay on the field. Playing 458 total snaps, Williams registered a 74.5 overall PFF grade with a 75.6 PFF coverage mark, which placed 15th among corners with at least 250 coverage snaps. Impressively, Williams placed in the 93rd percentile in single coverage grade and the 89th percentile at outside corner.
Mansoor Delane, Kansas City’s top draft pick, should command at least one perimeter spot for Steve Spagnuolo. But the Cal product Williams has the traits to not only seize that role, but to also be a burgeoning player on a greater stage.
The Broncos arguably have the top wide receiver room in the AFC West division and one of the best in the entire league heading into the 2026 NFL season. The projected top three receivers for the Broncos in 2026 produced a combined 203 receptions for over 2,600 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
As for the Chiefs’ secondary, they are largely unproven. There is, however, a ton of promise on paper. Outside of the occasional penalty misstep, Nohl Williams was one of the best rookie cornerbacks in football in 2025.
Two 2026 NFL Draft picks, Mansoor Delane and Jadon Canady, were both lockdown defensive backs in college. They were the only two defensive backs in college football to allow seven or fewer first downs.
In 2025, Delane allowed just 13 receptions for 147 yards, no touchdowns, and just six first downs in the regular season and LSU’s bowl game combined. He was targeted less than 10% of the time when he was on the field. Opponents completed just 37.1% of their throws into his coverage.
Similarly, Canady allowed just 17 receptions for 109 yards, one touchdown, and just five first downs in 2025. He allowed just 6.1 yards per reception and a 41.8 passer rating in his coverage.
Kansas City Chiefs
Schedule wish: Fewer primetime games
The Chiefs played a league-high seven primetime games in 2025. After a 6-11 season and possible Chiefs fatigue from viewers, there’s a very good chance that Kansas City will see fewer opportunities. The Chiefs should welcome it, given how many times they’ve been asked to play at night over the past several years.
Should the Chiefs Be Worried About Wide Receiver Depth This Offseason? | Sports Illustrated
Wideout depth options are running thin
As referenced numerous times here at Chiefs On SI, there’s absolutely a world in which the Chiefs’ current wide receiver group is sufficient. Rashee Rice is entering a healthy year with no distractions, Xavier Worthy has worked past a pair of nagging 2025 injuries and Tyquan Thornton may build on a career year with an increased workload. The framework is there.
What happens if someone gets hurt, though? What if Thornton’s success on high-variance plays from last year doesn’t carry into 2026? Is 2025 NFL Draft pick Jalen Royals or rookie Cyrus Allen ready to assume a larger role? The jury is out on that.
Stefon Diggs is still available and might make the most sense if the Chiefs want to make an addition. Former Kansas City superstar Tyreek Hill is also a free agent. With that said, Jennings going to Minnesota takes another name off an already dwindling list.
Simply look at Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.
The Chiefs, who won their ninth straight AFC West tile in 2024 and went to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season, opened on the road with an international game.
Despite sweeping the season series from the Chargers, the Chiefs played in Brazil in L.A.’s home game.
A more apt comparison for the Broncos, who haven’t been to the Super Bowl in a decade, is what happened to the Lions.
Detroit was the No. 1 seed in the NFC postseason after the 2024 season but failed to advance to the Super Bowl. The Lions swept the season series from the Packers, but had their 2025 opener in Green Bay.
So the demand for the Chiefs-Broncos game to be in Denver shows fans don’t have a grasp of how the NFL has operated in the past.
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Source: Dolphins, De’Von Achane reach 4-year, $64M extension | ESPN
The deal includes $32 million guaranteed, and the $16 million average annual value makes Achane the third-highest-paid running back in the NFL. Bonuses could push the total value to $68 million.
It marks the first major extension under general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who called Achane a “pillar” of what the Dolphins are looking to build moving forward.
“He’s dynamic. I mean, there’s plays that you’re not even blocked right for and he gets 6 or 7 yards,” Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said in March. “His vision, his acceleration, the way he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s so hard to defend. I’m glad [Sullivan] said that.”
Jets to sign WR Tim Patrick | Pro Football Talk
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that the Jets have agreed to terms with Tim Patrick. Patrick visited with the team on Wednesday.
Patrick spent last season with the Jaguars and caught 15 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. He spent six seasons with the Broncos before moving on to Jacksonville, but only saw action in four of those years because a torn ACL and a torn Achilles forced him to miss 2022 and 2023. He played for Detroit in 2024.
Patrick had 143 catches for 2,009 yards and 12 touchdowns in Denver. He had 33 catches for 394 yards and three touchdowns in Detroit. Jets General Manager Darren Mougey worked for Denver when Patrick was there and head coach Aaron Glenn was the Lions’ defensive coordinator in 2024.
NFL ended minority offensive assistant mandate before ’25 season | ESPN
The NFL ended a mandate that all 32 teams hire a minority coach as an offensive assistant ahead of the 2025 season and not because of recent pressure from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who on Wednesday issued an investigative subpoena to the league over its hiring practices.
Uthmeier, who in March threatened potential civil action against the NFL over the league’s Rooney Rule, said Wednesday that the NFL had changed diversity language on its website and that it had “capitulated on some of their discriminatory hiring quotas,” while arguing that the revisions raise new questions about the policy.
He also took credit for the league ending the program to increase minority representation in assistant coaching ranks, a program started in 2022 after former coach Brian Flores sued the league. But ESPN learned of the league ending a mandate for the program this past winter.
“The NFL now contends — apparently in response to our letter — that the NFL has ‘sunset’ this mandate,” the letter reads. “Given the NFL’s history of open discrimination, however, we are skeptical that the mandate is no longer in place. And like the Rooney Rule, it violates Florida law.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs get advantage with early matchup vs. Broncos
Last season was an anomaly in this era of Chiefs football. The team started 0-2, highlighted by a season-opening loss to an AFC West foe: the Los Angeles Chargers. Last season’s team was clearly flawed enough to require major change this offseason, and the absence of receivers to start the season made things very difficult to continue Reid’s history of strong performances in September.
With a fresh team, history actually suggests a group of newcomers will more likely lead to a strong start for the Chiefs.
The team started 9-0 in Reid’s first year as coach in 2013.
In Mahomes’ first year as a starter, 2018, the team had a 5-0 record before its first loss.
To start the 2022 season after trading away All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs went 2-0 with a primetime win over the Chargers and a 44-point performance against the Arizona Cardinals that featured five passing touchdowns from Mahomes.
I believe the 2026 Chiefs will start out hot, and that will begin with a reminder to Denver about which team has run the division for the last decade. It’s always good to get a head start in the AFC West race, and I think Kansas City accomplishes that in September.
