A massive congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks and their fans, the 12’s, on a dominant Super Bowl victory. Kenneth Walker took home the MVP award, but the Dark Side defense was the deciding factor of the game. The Patriots offensive line had no answer to the Seahawks pass rush, and Drake Maye looked like the inexperienced 23-year-old quarterback that he is, and not the MVP candidate that he was all season. 

2025 was certainly an odd year, offenses were down, and there were no dominant teams. Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burro,w and Lamar Jackson all failed to make the playoffs, and Josh Allen was knocked out early. With all of that, two underrated teams with dominant defenses made it to the championship game, and the better team came out on top. Now, the off-season officially starts, and dynasty fantasy football managers begin the season of team-building!

We’re a few weeks away from the NFL Combine, the event that truly kicks off NFL Draft season. We’ll have wall-to-wall coverage of the festivities in Indianapolis here at DLF, so be sure to keep it tuned here for that. In the meantime, check out our 2026 Dynasty Rookie Early Look profiles for an introduction to the top rookies that are most likely to be fantasy football stars for the years to come. Once the testing is completed, we’ll expand on our rookie profiles for a more in-depth look at the class and the players you’ll be selecting for your teams this spring. 

Before the actual NFL Draft starts, free agency will kick off in early March. If impending free agents are not extended or franchise tagged, they’ll hit the open market and likely go to the highest bidders. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker will potentially be available next month, headlining a stacked class of free agent running backs. Breece Hall, Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne, Rico Dowdle, and JK Dobbins could all be on the move this spring. 

The NFL Coaching Carousel also wrapped up with the conclusion of the Super Bowl. As expected, the Raiders hired Seattle’s offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as their new head coach. Kubiak will be on the clock with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, and all odds are pointing to them picking Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza. Kubiak did great things with Sam Darnold this season, so he’ll hope to find the same magic with the rookie next season. 

Now that the season is over and the Seahawks are parading the Lombardi around town, DLF’s content shifts dramatically towards the NFL Draft and dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts! Keep it locked in right here, because when there is no action on the field, that’s when DLF helps you secure dynasty championships!

Super Bowl Champion Sam Darnold. It wasn’t long ago that the only way that phrase would ever be uttered is if he was a team’s backup. But now that’s not the case. He led the Vikings last season to a 14-3 record, and this year he led the Seahawks all the way to a Super Bowl championship. Once a waiver wire pickup in dynasty superflex leagues, his position as Seattle’s starter is locked in for years to come. With that figured out, let’s dive into his dynasty value as we enter the NFL off-season. 

Darnold’s ADP chart looks like a wild roller coaster, highlighting the many highs and lows of his career. Things should start to stabilize for him this season, as Seattle’s unquestioned leader heading into 2026 and beyond. Even in September of this year, his one-quarterback ADP was all the way down at 240 overall, but now it’s 100 spots higher at 141.5. That makes him the QB17. Jordan Love and CJ Stroud are going off the board ahead of him, while Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield are the next quarterbacks selected. His DLF Expert Ranking is a bit lower at the position, but higher overall. He’s the QB19 and the 126th player off of the board. 

Darnold is coming off a Super Bowl victory, so his ADP may rise in February and March ADP, but I’d consider him closer to the QB19 that the experts rank him at. The Seahawks offense relied heavily on the running game, even after Zach Charbonnet went down. That will continue to be the case, as Darnold will play the role of a souped up game manager. He doesn’t do much on the ground and, unless they get him more help, Jaxson Smith-Njigba can be shut down as the focus of the passing offense. The other factor is Klint Kubiak moving on to Las Vegas. Darnold has had success with very good offensive coaches, so it will be critical that they hire a successful offensive coordinator for the role. I’m not selling Darnold high after the Super Bowl, but I’m not actively trying to acquire him either.

OFF-SEASON MOVEMENT: 2026 WR LANDSCAPE, PART ONE

Each offseason, I track team needs and the players most likely to fill those needs in a chart like this. In the coming weeks and months, NFL teams will have multiple opportunities to fill those holes, namely the March free agency period and April’s NFL Draft.

In this series, I’ll go position-by-position, looking at teams in need, along with the veterans and rookies who could eventually fill the blanks on the chart below.

Every year, the wide receiver position seems to be more and more important as teams build deeper position groups than ever. This could be difficult this off-season as both the free agent and rookie classes are considered to be below average, with just a few stars or potential stars available in each. Let’s take a look at what might happen this offseason at the wide receiver position.

TEAM NEEDS

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

The Raiders seemingly always have a need at the receiver position. A year after trading away veteran star Davante Adams mid-season, they did the same with Jakobi Meyers. Given Meyers’ contract was set to expire, it was the wise move by the team, but it left them paper-thin. After one season, second-rounder Jack Bech also looks like a bust. The Raiders don’t have a legit WR1 option, but the anticipated arrival of new head coach Klint Kubiak, along with the impending selection of Heiman quarterback Fernando Mendoza, suddenly makes the Raiders a very attractive landing spot for any free agent.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The 49ers had another solid season despite a rag-tag group of wideouts and a bevy of injuries. Among the most impactful was expected WR1 Brandon Aiyuk, who missed the entire season with a combination of an ACL injury and overall discontentment. Aiyuk is still under contract for next season, but all sides have made it clear that he won’t be back. Ricky Pearsall is still a valuable dynasty asset, but I’m not sure how. He continues to have injury issues and has shown no consistency through two banged-up seasons.

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The game is a simple one. Pick MORE or LESS on a player’s stat line and add a few other picks to turn that entry into much, much more.