RJ Hamster
SI MMQB: Combine Week Kicks Off
  Welcome back to The MMQB newsletter.The NFL has enjoyed a relatively quiet two weeks since Super Bowl LX. But that is about to change as the combine kicks off in Indianapolis this week. Albert Breer will have daily dispatches from Lucas Oil Stadium, breaking down all the action and rumblings from the combine. But before diving further into the pre-draft activities, the MMQB took a broader look at the offseason landscape. Conor Orr made 32 bold offseason predictions (one for each team), and previewed the quarterback carousel. And Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame listed one move each team should make ahead of the 2026 NFL campaign, broken down by division. Plus, Greg Bishop sat down with Myles Garrett, with the Browns’ star opening up about his record-breaking campaign. First, though, we start with Breer’s pre-combine takeaways, including an assessment of the likely No. 1 pick, Fernando Mendoza. Pre-Combine TakeawaysMark J. Rebilas/Imagn ImagesAlbert Breer’s Takeaways: Drama, Unpredictability on Tap at the NFL CombineBy Albert BreerFernando Mendoza’s a worthy No. 1 pick, but not the kind that would be the first pick in any draft. Indiana’s Heisman-winning, national championship-capturing star isn’t Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, and that’s what holds some folks back on anointing him the kind of slam-dunk top pick Andrew Luck was in 2012, or Trevor Lawrence was in ’21. But, yes, there is a lot to like in the 22-year-old.“Physically and mentally tough, that’s the first thing you notice—he hangs in there and doesn’t get rattled,” Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network said. “He has poise to go along with that. He’s got quick hands. You’ll see with that, with all the RPO stuff they do. Obviously, the size, 6′ 4″, 225, was from the spring. So that’s all good. And then the challenge that you got to into is that there are so many RPOs that you have to find the other stuff.“So I went through and, you watch all the third-and-7-plus throws, you watch all the red-zone throws, all the late-game stuff, and he’s really, really good in those scenarios. So good decisions, accurate, can drive the ball, all the stuff that you need. He can do all that stuff.”With that in mind, Jeremiah said that if you grouped the past five draft classes, from 2022 to ’26, Mendoza’s grade coming out of school versus the other would put him fourth of 12 first-round guys, behind only ’24 prospects Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. McShay, in that group, had him fifth, behind the three from ’24 and Cam Ward.READ MORE FROM BREER  David Butler II/Imagn Images Making 32 Bold Predictions for the 2026 NFL OffseasonBy Conor OrrTheoretical dead periods in the NFL are often the most fun. Free from the anticlimactic realization of hundreds of games, we are left to play in our own imaginations for a little while. Up next is the NFL combine, which is the crockpot of league news—it simmers with all the ingredients together, though the finished product is still a while away (and is always, really, just some gussied-up version of chicken thighs and rice). Not long after, we’ll have the start of the new league year and, by my estimation, some fascinating quarterback movement along with a few desperate teams trying to emulate the Seahawks instead of understanding how the team really got there (hiring a whip-smart head coach and building off of preexisting roster strengths). That makes the offseason fun, though the actual occurrences rarely live up to what we’ve cooked up between two ears (way better than chicken thighs and rice). That’s ultimately the spirit behind these 32 post–Super Bowl predictions, one for each team, focused specifically on the offseason. We’ll try to go bold because if not now, when? If not here, where? Let’s dig in. READ MORE FROM ORR  Jim Dedmon/Imagn ImagesOne Move Every NFC West Team Should Make This OffseasonBy Gilberto ManzanoThe Seahawks and Rams had plenty of star power on display during their eventful three meetings last year.But now many of those star players are in need of new contracts. After the Seahawks are done celebrating their Super Bowl title, they’ll need to address all of their champagne problems. The Rams have another contract dilemma on the horizon with Matthew Stafford, whom the team needs to dethrone its NFC West rivals. As for the Cardinals and 49ers, they’ll likely be looking to part ways with a few prominent players. Let’s take a closer look at the NFC West teams by listing one move every squad should make this offseason. READ MORE FROM MANZANO  Ron Chenoy/Imagn ImagesOne Move Every AFC West Team Should Make This OffseasonBy Matt VerderameAfter years of consistency, the AFC West saw major change in 2025. The Chiefs, who had ruled for nine consecutive seasons as division champs, swiftly fell to third place with a 6–11 record. Taking their place were the Broncos, who not only went 14–3 but swept Kansas City on their way to the No. 1 seed and an appearance in the AFC championship game. In Los Angeles, the Chargers earned the conference’s final playoff spot with 11 victories as Justin Herbert threw 26 touchdowns on his way to his third postseason berth. Conversely, the Raiders remodeled themselves in the offseason with the acquisition of Geno Smith and the hiring of Pete Carroll, only for Carroll to be one-and-done following a disastrous 3–14 campaign in which Smith led the NFL with 17 interceptions. But we start our look at the AFC West in Denver, where to stay at the top, the Broncos have to make some offensive investments.READ MORE FROM VERDERAME  Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images2026 NFL Quarterback Carousel Preview: 24 Players Worth MonitoringBy Conor OrrWelcome to the 2026 NFL offseason. With respect to the quarterback position specifically, we have learned three critical lessons from the 2025 season: It’s important to hoard, it’s important not to let one’s own status as a quarterback whisperer inspire hubris, and it is especially important to create an environment that veteran quarterbacks deem attractive, as keeping one in the holster in case of emergency can be an absolute job-saver.This is why we’re already seeing Kyle Shanahan say Mac Jones is unlikely to be traded, making Jones one of the most valuable assets in the NFL. Dependable, low-cost quarterback play is very hard to come by. Jones now knows the 49ers’ system and, in 2025, went 5–3 as a starter with a completion percentage near 70% and a touchdown to interception ratio of better than 2:1. In terms of the market itself, I’m conservatively looking at anywhere from nine to 12 teams that are going to be actively looking at the position this offseason, and that’s not counting teams like the Rams, who could re-sign Jimmy Garoppolo but are a destination for veteran quarterbacks either searching for career rehab or a one-year stint in a wonderful locale with a head coach who can use them effectively in spot duty. The Rams should be considered as serious contenders as, say, the Steelers, Cardinals or Jets, given that most quarterbacks would probably prefer to enhance their stock for 2027 with Sean McVay than get railroaded by the clearly rebuilding Jets and their puzzling assemblage of coaches. With that in mind, let’s break the market into a few categories and examine what might happen next.READ MORE FROM ORR  Kohjiro Kinno/Sports IllustratedMyles Garrett Relied on Big Dreams—and a Little Self-Doubt—to Become the Sack KingBy Greg BishopMyles Garrett had a dream five months ago. He has a lot of those, hundreds of dreams that descend nightly, random and pointed and pointless and inspirational and pure fantasy. Garrett remembers his dreams, too, which makes him a High Dream Recaller. HDRs, research says, display higher brain activity, tend to daydream and enjoy fantasy worlds, are creative and more open to experiences. That’s him. Myles Garrett, The Dreamer.This dream: He’s outside a hotel where he has never stayed, in a beautiful, wintry landscape; his girlfriend, snowboarder Chloe Kim, two-time Olympic gold medalist, is talking to him, but standing in front of him, her back turned.Garrett describes this in Los Angeles on Jan. 20. He’s less than 48 hours removed from a flight from Switzerland to LAX. And he’s describing how the moment in that dream, which he hadn’t considered since the morning after, had happened IRL three or four days earlier, exactly as envisioned. “I [get] déjà vu a whole bunch,” he says. “Or, I guess, I [dreamed] it, and it’s hard for me to recall that moment. Until it happens.”READ MORE FROM BISHOP Around the league • Matt Verderame: One Move Every AFC South Team Should Make This Offseason• Gilberto Manzano: One Move Every NFC South Team Should Make This Offseason  Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door   Click to subscribe! We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. 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