As we usher in a new season of football with a banner-raising ceremony in Seattle and a Super Bowl LX rematch on Wednesday night, let's look around the league at the players and coaches who’ve piqued our interest a little more than most.
From reigning MVPs and masters of defence to the fresh faces and comeback contenders poised to challenge them, we’ve compiled a list of the 26 most interesting players heading into the 2026 season — the individuals who could ultimately tell the story of the campaign to come.
Mike Macdonald, Seahawks HC
There is no brighter defensive mind in the game today than Macdonald. We saw that play out last season with the Seahawks’ dominant run to the Super Bowl. We also got a peek behind the curtain of the culture he’s created in Seattle during HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer. Opponents have now had a full off-season to learn how to solve the Seahawks’ defence, so if the champs are to successfully defend their title, Macdonald will need to stay two steps ahead.
Matthew Stafford, Rams QB
When was the last time a team went into a season with this much hype? The Rams are undoubtedly Super Bowl favourites this year, despite sharing a division with the reigning champs, and it’s easy to see why when you look at their star-studded roster. But none of it goes according to plan without Stafford at his best. Health questions followed him into last season, and he answered with an MVP campaign. Can he do it again and propel the Rams to the top?
Sam Darnold, Seahawks QB
Darnold is a Super Bowl champion. We’ve had seven months to let one of the NFL’s greatest comeback stories sink in, and might still need reminding. A defence so powerful, the Seahawks don’t need Darnold to play hero ball week after week in order to get back to the promised land, but after the departure of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, they will likely need to lean on his arm a little extra at times. He’s already reached the highest of football highs. Now, can he Darnold do it again? Doubt him at your own risk.
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers QB
After a summer of contract questions, Mayfield enters his fourth season in Tampa Bay with a new $165 million extension solidifying his status as the Buccaneers’ QB1 for three more years. It’s a far cry from the one-year, $4-million prove-it pact he signed with the club in 2023, and yet another victory for the second-chance QBs in an era that has seen Darnold, Geno Smith, and Daniel Jones all find success with fresh starts. Now, the signature chip on Mayfield’s shoulder is replaced with lofty expectations as the Buccaneers look to take back a winnable NFC South.
Kyler Murray, Vikings QB
Speaking of second acts… After an unceremonious exit from Arizona, Murray jumped to the front of the class at Kevin O’Connell’s QB1 school of second chances (trademark pending, surely) as the NFL’s next big reclamation project. Find success in Minnesota, with a team rich in weapons and all the makings of a contender, and Murray can not only propel the Vikings into the fray of a tough NFC North, but perhaps find himself a long-term home in the process.
Ben Johnson, Bears HC
“You’ve got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, ‘Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,'” Johnson told The Athletic’s Dan Pompei last month. “I want more than that. I want to have the highest-scoring offence ever … I want shutouts. I want blowouts.” Watching Johnson’s Bears orchestrate dramatic comeback after dramatic comeback last season was the kind of football you simply cannot look away from. The Bears have our attention, and if the head coach makes good on his season’s biggest goal, they’ll keep it all year long. Buckle up.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions RB
He’s the highest-paid running back in the league and the consensus top pick in NFL fantasy drafts everywhere for a reason. Although quarterback Jared Goff holds the keys to the Lions’ high-powered offence, Gibbs is the engine that makes it roar. Previously part of a dynamic one-two punch from the backfield, Gibbs is now the guy. The Lions are counting on it if they’re to jump back into the playoff picture.
Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks CB
In a sea of sensational Hawks defenders, Witherspoon might just be the man most capable of steering the ship back to another ‘chip. He’s got a new deal in hand to go with that shiny new Super Bowl ring, and after seeing the way his head coach turned him loose on the game’s biggest stage against the Patriots, we could see the dynamic, do-it-all defender hit another level.
Myles Garrett, Rams DE
There’s something so satisfying about seeing an all-time great join a team worthy of his talents. The blockbuster deal that saw the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and single-season sack record-holder head to Hollywood makes the Rams almost unfairly stacked — especially now that he’s joined by newly unretired Aaron Donald. There are no sure things in football, but the opportunity to see a player like Garrett suit up in meaningful games down the stretch — and, if the oddsmakers, hype machines and football fans everywhere are accurate, on the Super Bowl stage, too — is pretty special.
Aaron Donald, Rams DE
One of football’s greatest thought experiments is about to unfold on the gridiron as Donald emerges from a two-year retirement to rejoin a Rams team that was already a Super Bowl favourite and now requires a whole new set of superlatives to describe the sky-high expectations. Unlike his first tenure with L.A., Donald doesn’t have to be The Guy — that’s Garrett’s job now. How the Rams deploy Donald will be a storyline all season and, if successful, might just set the blueprint for others to follow.
Maxx Crosby, Raiders DE
He was a Raven for mere moments before Baltimore (somewhat shadily) returned him to the Raiders. He then looked on as Baltimore instead signed Trey Hendrickson. He watched the football world erupt over Garrett’s trade to L.A., gush about his training regimen alongside Texans star Will Anderson Jr., then rejoice at Aaron Donald’s return. Kind of feels like poking the bear, doesn’t it? With a chip on his shoulder and trade rumours surely brewing early on (Cowboys, anyone?), Crosby is poised to remind us just how powerful a force he can be.
Tyler Linderbaum, Raiders C
It’s tough enough to find your NFL footing without having to battle your own offensive line — just ask Ashton Jeanty. With first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza now in-house, it’s paramount that Vegas doesn’t repeat that mistake with their rookie QB. Enter Linderbaum. After signing a historic contract in free agency, the former Ravens centre is tasked with elevating the team’s play in the trenches. One man does not make an entire o-line, but his presence is a strong step towards stability. How the unit fares in front of Kirk Cousins should determine when — or if — we see Mendoza rolled out this season.
A.J. Brown, Patriots WR
As impressive as Drake Maye’s second season was — and with a second-place finish in both MVP voting and the Super Bowl, it was in fact extremely impressive — his offence had a ceiling. Browns’s arrival this off-season busts that wide open. The former Titan made an immediate impact in Philly when he landed with the Eagles in 2022, helping them to two Super Bowl appearances and a ring. Now, reunited with his old Tennessee bench boss in Mike Vrabel, we’re about to see what happens with another fresh start on another offence ready to launch and let it fly.
Davis Webb, Broncos OC
What if Bo Nix had been available to play in the AFC Championship last January? We’ll never know the answer to that, but we do know the disappointing end to that wild ride of a season ultimately led to Sean Payton shaking things up. Most notable was his decision to hand the offensive reins — including playcalling duties — to 31-year-old Webb. Webb is tasked with helping Nix find a better rhythm within Denver’s offence, and is also expected to embrace a flawed run game as the Broncos look to keep their place atop the AFC West.
Josh Allen, Bills QB
This year brings a familiar kind of pressure to win in Buffalo, and yet it also brings a different energy. There’s a new voice at the helm of the roster in Joe Brady. There’s a new weapon to help Allen thrive in receiver D.J. Moore. The club is opening the doors to a new stadium. We all know what Allen is capable of — he was just voted the top QB in the league, and the second-best player overall, by his peers. The stage is now set for the 30-year-old to up his game yet again.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs QB
Feels like now might be the right time for Allen’s frenemy in Kansas City to remind us all what he can do, too, as Mahomes returns to the field after suffering a serious knee injury last fall. The Chiefs are just one year removed from three straight trips to the Super Bowl, and yet with the Broncos’ surge and the excitement in L.A., it feels like they’re somehow flying under the radar in their own division — a group they utterly dominated for a decade before Denver took over the top spot in 2025.
Kenneth Walker, Chiefs RB
It’s not often we see a Super Bowl MVP depart in free agency right after the parade, but that was the case for Walker, who landed on a Chiefs team that desperately needs a true RB1. Kansas City’s most dominant seasons featured a powerful run game — the lack of which showed last year as the offence failed to garner much of a punch. Inserting a game-changer like Walker into their lineup eases the pressure off Mahomes and brings a new dimension to Eric Bieniemy’s offence that should have the Chiefs on the rise again.
Mike McDaniel, Chargers OC
It’s not every day we get to see a play-caller as creative as McDaniel work alongside an athlete as physically gifted as Justin Herbert. Herbert was sacked more than any other QB not named Geno Smith or Cam Ward last year. Injuries along the offensive line have struck once again, which means quick decision-making and even faster delivery will be paramount to his success. How McDaniel helps set that pace will tell us a lot about how this season will go in L.A.
Joe Burrow, Bengals QB
The Bengals’ Cinderella-story run to Super Bowl LVI is but a distant memory. Burrow has put together just two healthy seasons in the four years since, and the clock is ticking on this elite offensive core to get back into contention. Burrow himself talked about the sense of urgency surrounding this team. Stay healthy, and he has a real shot at propelling this high-powered offence back to the top. Bring on the Ja’Marr Chase highlight reel!
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars QB
What happens if the Trevor Lawrence who showed out in the second half of last season — with eight straight wins, 2,167 passing yards, and a league-leading 25 total TDs from Week 10 onward — shows up in Week 1? Five years into his NFL career, the 26-year-old finally seemed to hit his stride under Liam Coen’s leadership and scheme. Next stop: MVP?
Jesse Minter, Ravens HC
Few first-year head coaches face the kind of immediate pressure to win as Minter does in Year 1 with the Ravens — then again, few are surrounded by as much talent as the former Chargers defensive coordinator is in Baltimore. His mission is clear: take this Super Bowl-calibre roster that has yet to reach the mountaintop, and propel it there by any means necessary. He brought in a few friends to help, including new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle — the man now tasked with reviving Lamar Jackson after a down year and helping restore the QB to MVP levels.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers QB
A new chapter opens in Pittsburgh as the Steelers hit the field without Mike Tomlin for the first time in 20 years, but it also brings the end of an era in the NFL as Rodgers takes his final lap around the league. That the 42-year-old does so with longtime Packers coach Mike McCarthy on the sideline feels like a fitting full-circle moment for both coach and QB. Rodgers may no longer be playing must-watch football, but all eyes will be on how the future Hall of Famer fares during his swan-song season.
Bijan Robinson, Falcons RB
Between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta’s QB situation is… complicated. The game plan, on the other hand, is not: give the ball to Robinson. After finishing top-four in league rushing in back-to-back seasons with just shy of 1,500 yards, he’s poised to really pop off under new head coach Kevin Stefanski’s scheme. His emergence as a passing game threat last season (820 yards through the air to go with his 1,478 on the ground) brings even more intrigue. Can Robinson be the NFL’s next 1,000/1,000 dual-threat RB?
Christian Parker, Cowboys DC
After posting downright abysmal defensive numbers last season, something had to change in Dallas. Enter Parker, who’s worked with some of the best defensive players in the game — most recently, in Philadelphia, and with Denver before that — and now faces his next challenge in Dallas. So electric is this offence, even an average unit would instantly up the Cowboys’ hopes of contending again.
John Harbaugh, Giants HC
That the hottest name of this off-season’s head coaching carousel landed in New York speaks volumes about the veteran bench boss’s belief in what the Giants are building. How he sets the tone in Year 1, particularly when it comes to his handling of QB Jaxson Dart’s development, will be an interesting storyline all season.
Jayden Daniels, Commanders QB
Let’s be honest: Daniels could use some good PR after a bizarre and ill-advised legal fight he launched against LSU around their use of No. 5. You know what would help? A bounce-back campaign to remind everyone just how dynamic a playmaker he is after injuries derailed his sophomore pro season. He’s only one year removed from that rookie campaign that shook up the NFC landscape. Can Daniels recapture that magic?
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