When I was researching how Super Bowl teams are built a couple of weeks ago, I was starkly reminded of just how much great teams and the biggest moments can come down to players on the bottom of the roster.
Think about David Tyree and Malcolm Butler, then backups at their respective positions, making two of the most important plays in Super Bowl history. The Philly Special saw Eagles backup QB Nick Foles catch a touchdown pass from No. 3 tight end Trey Burton. Even last season, the Seahawks got three sacks in their title win over the Patriots from reserves Derick Hall and Rylie Mills.
Everybody would love to have their starters stay healthy and productive all season, but in the NFL, that's never going to happen. Every team relies on its backups to chip in at some point on a weekly basis. That got me wondering: If we built an entire team out of the best backups in football, would that roster be competitive with other teams, even without a single Week 1 starter in the lineup? What would it tell us about where teams are thinnest -- or deepest -- around the league?
So I've built a 53-man roster of backups. Some of these players are rotation guys, and I'd expect a few to be starters by the end of the season. But they all realistically have other players likely to play ahead of them in the starting lineup in Week 1. In some cases, I had to pick between two roughly similar talents, so I chose the player I thought was less likely to get the lion's share of the work in that rotation.
Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show'
Naturally, I gave myself a few rules. I wanted to take a big-picture look around the entire league, so I forced myself to take at least one backup from each team -- but no more than two. And to build a vaguely realistic roster, I went after players who participate regularly on special teams to help fill out the back end of our lineup. We've got specialists, including a long-snapper. Our team will run with the NFL's trends, so I leaned into multiple tight end sets on offense and a Vic Fangio-style defense, hoping to get pressure with the front four while limiting big plays on the back end. (Spoiler: There will be big plays.)
I also wanted to incorporate rookies, so I picked one player from each round of the 2026 draft to be part of the roster, as long as they aren't expected to start for their new team to open the season. As you can probably surmise, that rule opened up one potential difference-maker for our team, and I'll get to him in a bit.
I'll go team-by-team to identify which players I picked for what I'm calling "Team Backup" and why they're a good fit for our roster. You can see the full roster -- along with my take on whether it could compete in the NFL -- at the bottom.
Jump to backups selected from:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
Jump to:
The full Team Backup roster
Could this roster contend in the NFL?
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills
C Lloyd Cushenberry III, TE Jackson Hawes
If great teams are really built through the trenches, we'll need to start in Buffalo by landing two important blockers. Center is a perilously thin spot around the NFL, especially when trying to find players who aren't inked in as starters. Cushenberry was a big-ticket free agent signing in Tennessee a couple of years ago, but a torn Achilles set him back, leading to his release this offseason. We'll give him a shot as our starting pivot in 2026.
Hawes was a fifth-round pick in last year's draft because of his impact as a blocker, which allowed the Bills to shift away from the six-lineman sets they used with Alec Anderson in 2024 to more 12 and 13 personnel groupings in 2025. Hawes will be our primary blocking tight end, and if he can continue his rookie rate and catch 84% of the passes thrown his way, he should get some targets in the passing game, too.
Miami Dolphins
OT Jamaree Salyer, K Zane Gonzalez
Let's get the kicker off the board! The Dolphins are one of the few teams with two veteran kickers on their roster, so Gonzalez is an easy pick for us after hitting 86.4% of his attempts last season in Atlanta. Salyer is a swing tackle who did a solid job at left tackle as a rookie in 2022 with the Chargers; having a sixth or seventh lineman with real experience on the blind side is a relative luxury.
New England Patriots
WR DeMario Douglas, DT Cory Durden
Douglas might be our team's top wide receiver, which should tell you how concerning the wideout situation appears for Team Backup. He actually finished 13th in ESPN's receiver scores a year ago, putting together an efficient season as a fourth wideout for the Patriots. Durden, who had been bouncing around practice squads, was a nice find for general manager Eliot Wolf as a nose tackle, making five tackles for loss across 383 snaps.
New York Jets
Edge Kingsley Enagbare
The Jets have a deep edge rush rotation with Enagbare, Joseph Ossai, Will McDonald IV and No. 2 draft pick David Bailey, so let's grab one of those players here. Enagbare was signed to a one-year, $9 million contract this offseason after racking up 11.5 sacks over his four seasons as a reserve in Green Bay. He had 25 tackles for loss over that span, hinting at his impact as a run defender. He'll serve as the early-down half of an edge rotation on our roster.
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens
C/G Danny Pinter
It's unclear whether Pinter will start at center for the Ravens. Baltimore might look at 2025 backup Corey Bullock or (more likely) newly signed veteran Ethan Pocic. Pinter has experience at both interior line spots, which is essential given that we aren't going to have stars anywhere up front.
Cincinnati Bengals
QB Joe Flacco
Here's the veteran in our quarterback room. Flacco, 41, has been effective while bouncing around the league over the past three years, posting a 45.5 QBR while winning games for the Browns, Colts and Bengals. He's going to throw some truly painful interceptions, but Flacco still has a strong arm, does a solid job of avoiding sacks and can run the offense from under center. He's a great short-term option for us.
Cleveland Browns
WR Cedric Tillman, TE Joe Royer
It appeared Tillman was on the verge of potentially breaking out when he was pushed into the starting lineup midway through the 2024 season and racked up 330 receiving yards over a five-game span, but a concussion cost him the rest of his sophomore season. He never really got back on track amid hamstring issues in 2025. He'll get a chance to play here.
Royer is our first rookie selection, and after breaking Travis Kelce's school record at Cincinnati for most catches by a tight end in a season in 2024, the fifth-round pick should settle in as the fourth tight end on the Browns' roster.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Edge Nick Herbig, RB Rico Dowdle
If I were conducting this like an expansion draft, Herbig would have been the first player selected. Stuck behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith in Pittsburgh, Herbig forced his way into more playing time a year ago by leading all edge rushers in pass rush win rate (25.0%). Herbig finished with 7.5 sacks, 18 quarterback knockdowns and 13 tackles for loss while playing 610 snaps. He could move into the starting lineup this season if the Steelers trade Highsmith, but for now, he's the best player on this team as our star pass rusher.
Dowdle wasn't the best back in football, but he might have had the best two-game stretch of anyone in the league when he racked up 206 and 183 yards in consecutive games against the Dolphins and Cowboys. Dowdle is an efficient zone runner who can break tackles at the second level, but he's not someone you necessarily want on the field often as a pass blocker. He's perfectly positioned as a rotation back behind Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh, and he'll be in that same role for Team Backup.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans
OT Trent Brown, LB Aiden Fisher
Brown has a checkered injury history, having played just three complete seasons over his 11 years as a pro. But he was solid when inserted into the lineup at right tackle by the Texans last season, and he also has experience playing the left side, which could come in handy. Fisher is a seventh-round pick out of Indiana who was a team leader on the national championship winner in 2025. He'll likely feature on special teams if he cracks the lineup.
Indianapolis Colts
WR Ashton Dulin, DT Adetomiwa Adebawore
Dulin is also here for special teams, as he'd be a fourth or fifth wideout for our roster. A torn ACL seemed to cut off Dulin's path to more playing time as a receiver, but he has caught the occasional deep ball and returned kicks over the past few seasons. Adebawore quietly had an impactful 2025 season, picking up four sacks while filling in for the injured DeForest Buckner. Adebawore has legitimate burst and short-area athleticism, and he has the potential to be disruptive on the interior in a larger role.
Jacksonville Jaguars
OT Walker Little, S Jalen Huskey
Little is one of the few obvious picks for this team. He served as a swing tackle for most of his first three years in the league, but after a short run at left tackle in 2024, the Jags signed him to a three-year, $40.5 million extension. Little wasn't quite as effective under Liam Coen in 2025, and when he went down injured, Cole Van Lanen won the left tackle job and got his own contract. Little could always win the job back, but for now, he appears to be the sixth lineman in Jacksonville. He's our starting left tackle.
Huskey, a third-round pick out of Maryland, had 11 interceptions at the school and should compete for time as a box safety.
Tennessee Titans
KR/PR Chimere Dike, C/G Pat Coogan
Dike is nominally a wide receiver and could see gadget snaps for us there, but he's primarily here for his work as a returner, which earned the Florida product first-team All-Pro honors and helped the Titans improve from 32nd to seventh in special teams DVOA. Dike will be playing behind Calvin Ridley, Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson at wide receiver in Tennessee, so he figures as our returner.
Coogan fits two of our team's motifs: He can play multiple positions along the offensive line, and he's a draftee from the title-winning Indiana team.
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos
G Alex Palczewski, DT Eyioma Uwazurike
Palczewski will start for us at guard, where he filled in for the injured Ben Powers and played well across 10 starts last season. Good guards are hard to find. Uwazurike's role will expand after the departure of John Franklin-Myers, but the 2022 fourth-round pick was another unheralded defensive tackle who had his best year as a pro in 2025, generating 3.5 sacks across a career-high 409 snaps. While he's already 28, Uwazurike's best football could still be ahead.
Kansas City Chiefs
We're going to take a flier on Fulton, who was impressive under Jesse Minter with the Chargers in 2024 before earning a two-year, $20 million deal with the Chiefs in free agency. Injuries cost him most of his debut season in Kansas City, though it never seemed that he persuaded defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to give him more significant playing time. The Chiefs are rebuilding their cornerback room, but I'd expect Mansoor Delane, L'Jarius Sneed and Nohl Williams to be the top three options, opening up the opportunity to add Fulton or former Dolphins starter Kader Kohou to this lineup.
Las Vegas Raiders
QB Fernando Mendoza, Edge Malcolm Koonce
Well, you probably saw this one coming after the other Indiana picks. Mendoza isn't expected to start in Week 1 while he sits behind veteran Kirk Cousins, which opens up the door for him to appear as our first-round pick. If Mendoza does start, it will allow us to save the first-round pick and use a Raiders spot on Cousins, who would also be a viable starter at quarterback in our lineup. My suspicion is that Mendoza will be our opening day starter under center given how poised and reliable he was during an incredible 2025 season with the Hoosiers.
Koonce is another player whose career was derailed by injury. After an eight-sack, 17-knockdown season across from Maxx Crosby in 2023, Koonce missed all of 2024 with a torn ACL. He came back a year ago and picked up 4.5 sacks and 13 knockdowns in a situational role, but he will spend 2026 as a reserve behind Crosby and free agent acquisition Kwity Paye in Vegas. He's another year removed from the ACL injury and there's a chance he could get back to his 2023 form.
Los Angeles Chargers
RB Keaton Mitchell, LB Junior Colson
Let's have some fun. Mitchell might try too hard to break everything to the outside, and he has a significant injury history, but he has now averaged more than 6 yards per carry across 121 career rush attempts. He's going to be a home-run-hitting option in our running back rotation. Colson, meanwhile, missed all of 2025 with a shoulder injury, but the Michigan product was an effective coverage linebacker in school and has the athleticism to play on passing downs in our lineup.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys
G T.J. Bass, S P.J. Locke
An undrafted free agent, Bass has started 10 games over the past three years for the Cowboys and would be a starter on a fair number of teams around the league. In Dallas, he is stuck behind the best guard duo in football with Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker in the lineup. And Locke was probably stretched as a starter for the Broncos in 2024 and might be best as a third safety. But as a player in his prime with starting experience on a very good defense, he's going to be a starter for this team.
New York Giants
QB Jameis Winston, Edge Kayvon Thibodeaux
The Giants don't have the best roster in the league, but they give us two well-known veterans. Winston will be our third quarterback, and while he's a known quantity at this point of his career, the 2015 No. 1 pick offers the same sort of high-risk, high-reward quarterback play we're already getting from Flacco. With a less talented roster, we need a quarterback who can get white-hot for stretches of time.
Thibodeaux is likely to be the odd man out in a stacked group of edge rushers in New York. Brian Burns and Abdul Carter are the two primary starters, while first-round rookie Arvell Reese will also see snaps off the edge as a pass rusher. Thibodeaux is a candidate to be dealt at the trade deadline, but with an 11.5-sack season in his past, we're going to take a shot on the 2022 No. 5 pick as a starting edge on Team Backup.
Philadelphia Eagles
TE Eli Stowers, CB/S Michael Carter II
A second-round rookie, Stowers offers athleticism as a "move" tight end to supplement an underwhelming group of wide receivers. He caught 62 passes for 769 yards in his final year at Vanderbilt, winning the Mackey Award in the process. He's not going to be an every-down tight end in Philadelphia's offense (or for Team Backup), but Stowers could be a valuable playmaker before taking over for Dallas Goedert as the Eagles' starter in 2027.
Carter emerged as a solid slot cornerback for the Jets under Robert Saleh and earned a three-year, $30.8 million contract extension before the 2024 season. But he fell out of favor with Aaron Glenn and was traded to the Eagles last season. He took a pay cut to stay in Philly, where he might compete to take over at safety for the departed Reed Blankenship. He'll stick in the slot for us, though.
Washington Commanders
G/OT Andrew Wylie, LB Leo Chenal
Two former Chiefs make it to our team of backups. Wylie is an ideal sixth lineman, a utility player with significant starting experience at guard and tackle. He could start at either right guard or right tackle in a pinch. Chenal will play in base defense for the Commanders, but when they're in their nickel package, he'll likely come off the field with Frankie Luvu and Sonny Styles staying on. Chenal was excellent for the Chiefs in their second Super Bowl victory over the 49ers and offers our team sound tackling and some meaningful thump against the run.
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears
S Cam Lewis, LS Beau Gardner
Lewis offers our roster some versatility on the back end, as he can play safety or line up as a slot cornerback. We might need to use some disguised coverages to make up for our lack of cover corners. And considering the Bears are one of the only teams carrying two long-snappers on their roster at the moment, we have to grab Gardner to get one for Team Backup.
Detroit Lions
WR Greg Dortch
We're also going to need to take some shots on nontraditional players. The 5-foot-7 Dortch wasn't able to persuade the Cardinals to put him on the field for significant stretches of time, but he has been a reliable pair of hands out of the slot, dropping just three of his 142 targets over the past four seasons. Dortch can also back up Chimere Dike on punt and kick returns, providing some much-needed depth at returner.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are usually a reliable source for talented depth, but this year, we're going for one of their free agent additions on a low-cost contract. St-Juste was a promising cornerback in Washington before falling out of the starting lineup in 2024. The Canadian wisely chose to join the Chargers last offseason, where he was one of the many defensive backs to revitalize their careers under Jesse Minter, allowing a 68.3 passer rating in coverage across 356 snaps. St-Juste's 6-3 frame makes him a valuable option on the outside for our defense.
Minnesota Vikings
LB Ivan Pace Jr., P Brett Thorson
Pace lost his job through no fault of his own, as former Packers linebacker Eric Wilson suddenly went supernova and started demolishing running backs in pass protection to earn more playing time. Pace is undersized at 5-10 and 236 pounds, but he's a capable player around the line of scrimmage and in coverage. Thorson spent four years punting at Georgia and will compete with Johnny Hekker for the starting job in Minneapolis.
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons
Zaccheaus is an ideal third wide receiver. Yes, 2025 wasn't his most productive season in terms of yardage, but the well-traveled veteran is one of the league's best blocking wide receivers and is effective just enough as a pass catcher to justify staying on the field. With the Falcons likely living in 12 personnel in 2026, Zaccheaus will be playing behind Jahan Dotson and Drake London this season. Don't be surprised if he is moved ahead of Dotson by the time the season ends.
Carolina Panthers
CB Will Lee III
A fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M, Lee's 6-2 frame and 89th percentile arm length make him a cornerback with the potential to physically compete at the line of scrimmage. He also sent an opposing receiver a blanket before a game against Missouri in 2024, and Team Backup appreciates some trash-talking.
New Orleans Saints
We're taking another shot on a young player whose career was altered by injury. Emerson had been a fine cornerback for the Browns, but before the 2025 season, a torn Achilles cost him his entire contract year. A shrewd signing by the Saints for $1.5 million, Emerson still has the upside to be our top cornerback if he's recovered from the injury.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RB Kenny Gainwell, Edge Al-Quadin Muhammad
One of 2025's most productive backs on a per-touch basis, Gainwell averaged 4.7 yards per carry and caught 73 passes as an outlet for Aaron Rodgers. He was sixth in the NFL in success rate (47.4%) among RBs with 100 or more carries, while his explosive play rate (9.6%) was right around league average. He is another back perfectly suited for a rotational role, and he'll compete with Dowdle to be our RB1.
Muhammad had the rare age-30 breakout, racking up 11 sacks and 20 knockdowns across from Aidan Hutchinson for the Lions. Both Detroit and the rest of the NFL didn't take the breakout seriously, as Muhammad was only able to land a one-year deal for $4 million in free agency from the Bucs, who then used a first-round pick on another edge rusher in Rueben Bain Jr. I'm not counting on another 11-sack season, but Muhammad will give us some honest snaps as part of our edge rotation.
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals
Allgeier might have expected to be the starter in Arizona after he signed there in free agency, only for the Cardinals to use their first-round pick on Jeremiyah Love. The Falcons rotated Allgeier and Bijan Robinson by possessions as opposed to situations, so Allgeier is entirely capable of playing on all three downs. He's a perfectly viable starting back.
Los Angeles Rams
TE Terrance Ferguson, DT Poona Ford
Not a surprise that we would grab a tight end from a team with five viable options and a defensive lineman from the league's deepest and most terrifying unit. Ferguson showed real verticality when the Rams went with multi-tight-end sets last season, and this would be a bet on a potential breakout sophomore season from the former second-round pick. Ford has been a solid player for a long time, combining reliable run defense with a surprisingly deep pass-rush arsenal, highlighted by one of the league's best spin moves.
San Francisco 49ers
LB Luke Gifford, S Marques Sigle
The Niners provide two depth pieces on defense. Gifford isn't someone teams want to have on the field regularly as a defender, but he's a valuable special teams contributor, which is where he'll be useful for our team. Sigle began last season as a starting safety for the 49ers before eventually fading into a backup and special teams role as the year went along. We're taking a shot on him improving in Year 2.
Seattle Seahawks
FB/TE Brady Russell
By virtue of being one of the few teams in the league carrying multiple fullbacks, the Seahawks deliver us an H-back in Russell, who will back up Robbie Ouzts if he's on the 2026 roster in Seattle. Russell is another player who will see significant time on special teams while playing a handful of snaps as a reserve on offense.
The full roster
We've made it through all 32 NFL teams. Does Team Backup have a prayer? Let's go position by position and see what we have to work with as a whole.
Quarterback (3): Joe Flacco (CIN), Fernando Mendoza (LV), Jameis Winston (NYG)
It's not bad! If Mendoza is a rookie sensation in the vein of C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels, this might actually be an above-average quarterbacks room, which is impressive to pull off with a bunch of backups. And even if the first-overall pick needs some seasoning, we have a pair of QBs who can win (or lose) us a game in Flacco and Winston. There are some positions where we'll be hopelessly behind, but surprisingly, quarterback isn't really one of them.
Running back (4): Tyler Allgeier (ARI), Rico Dowdle (PIT), Kenny Gainwell (TB), Keaton Mitchell (LAC)
Fullback (1): Brady Russell (SEA)
And this is a legitimately useful running backs room, built from mid-to-low-cost contracts for four veteran free agents. Allgeier and Dowdle each have 1,000-yard seasons in their past, while Gainwell was one of the most efficient backs in football in 2025 and offers us an above-average pass catcher. There might be a lack of star power among the trio, but Mitchell does serve as a wild card who could create something special out of a handful of snaps each week. No issues here.
Wide receiver (6): Chimere Dike (TEN), Greg Dortch (DET), Ashton Dulin (IND), DeMario Douglas (NE), Cedric Tillman (CLE), Olamide Zaccheaus (ATL)
And the run of optimism ends here. This isn't too much worse than what the Dolphins will run out at wide receiver this season, but in terms of pass-catching impact, this would be the worst group of wideouts in the NFL, with Douglas badly stretched as the No. 1 option. We're hoping Tillman can stay healthy and live up to the impressive five-game run we saw from him with Winston at quarterback for the Browns in 2024. The only bright spot might be what we have on special teams, where the likes of Dike and Dulin can make an impact.
Life would be easier if Stefon Diggs and Deebo Samuel signed somewhere, since we could either add them to the roster as backups or go after the receivers those veterans displaced in the starting lineup on their new teams. But even if we can add two more borderline starters to the mix, you get the idea. While there are certainly a lot of talented wide receivers to go around in the NFL, it's still difficult to find players who can serve as the focal point of passing attacks off the bench.
Tight end (4): Terrance Ferguson (LAR), Jackson Hawes (BUF), Joe Royer (CLE), Eli Stowers (PHI)
There's no standout option here, but this is a young group with real upside between two rookies in Royer and Stowers and two second-year players in Ferguson and Hawes. We'll want to play with a lot of multi-tight-end sets, so Ferguson and Stowers might very well compete to lead our team in targets. Hawes will be the inline tight end and a useful blocker for us in the run game.
Offensive tackle (4): Trent Brown (HOU), Walker Little (JAX), Jamaree Salyer (MIA), Andrew Wylie (WSH)
Guard (3): T.J. Bass (DAL), Alex Palczewski (DEN), Danny Pinter (BAL)
Center (2): Lloyd Cushenberry III (BUF), Pat Coogan (TEN)
This isn't a great OL unit, but it's a versatile one. All of our tackles have played multiple spots in the lineup, and three of them have meaningful experience at left tackle. Pinter can play guard or center. And while I wouldn't want to leave Little and Brown one-on-one on third-and-long 10 times a game, there's real upside on the interior. Cushenberry was one of the league's best centers before an Achilles tear, and Bass and Palczewski have flashed starter-caliber play while being stuck behind talented guard duos. We might be able to run the ball a bit.
Edge rusher (5): Kingsley Enagbare (NYJ), Nick Herbig (PIT), Malcolm Koonce (LV), Al-Quadin Muhammad (TB), Kayvon Thibodeaux (NYG)
This is a legitimately competitive unit, led by Herbig, who has Pro Bowl potential if he gets a starter's snap share in 2026. After the young Steelers star, there are a lot of bets on players who have put together one big season between Koonce, Muhammad and Thibodeaux. We don't have a Myles Garrett in the mix here, but there's a bunch of guys who can legitimately win one-on-one, which is more than I would have expected.
Defensive tackle (4): Adetomiwa Adebawore (IND), Cory Durden (NE), Poona Ford (LAR), Eyioma Uwazurike (DEN)
Tackle isn't quite as strong, but we have some solid run defenders who have shown some modest potential to get after the quarterback. If we're going to play a Fangio-style defense with light boxes while we try to keep two safeties back in coverage and avoid explosive plays, Durden and Ford should help us hold up without getting blown over on the interior. And I'm intrigued to see if Adebawore or Uwazurike could put together a bigger season with starter snaps. There's just not that dominating 3-technique tackle that so many great defenses seem to have.
Linebacker (5): Leo Chenal (WSH), Junior Colson (LAC), Aiden Fisher (HOU), Luke Gifford (SF), Ivan Pace Jr. (MIN)
Surprisingly for a position that the league generally seems to treat as relatively fungible, it was difficult to find a good core of linebackers. Chenal and Pace are viable starters, but we wouldn't want to call on Fisher or Gifford for regular snaps on the defensive side of the ball. Colson wasn't impressive in regular snaps as a rookie and might be only a situational player. We'll be living in nickel groupings.
Cornerback (5): Michael Carter II (PHI), Martin Emerson Jr. (NO), Kristian Fulton (KC), Will Lee III (CAR), Benjamin St-Juste (GB)
The problem with leaning into nickel groupings? Our cornerbacks aren't very good, either. We're making bets on young players who have shown promise in the past and hoping they can make good in larger roles. Carter was once the highest-paid slot cornerback in the league. Fulton earned a significant deal from the Chiefs, who are generally loath to pay corners. Emerson held his own as a starter on one of the league's best defenses in Cleveland. And St-Juste has ideal size and could end up surprising after turning things around in Los Angeles last season. But there's nobody we can really line up with confidence at corner.
Safety (4): Cam Lewis (BUF), Jalen Huskey (CAR), P.J. Locke (DAL), Marques Sigle (SF)
And safety might be worse. Lewis and Huskey could swap roles, and Locke is at least an experienced option who can play centerfield, but there's a reason the Broncos took him out of the starting lineup before the 2025 season. Sigle, too, was benched after the 49ers got healthier at safety as the year went along. This might be the weakest unit on the team, and while there's a solid front, we're in a really worrisome spot on the back end.
Kicker (1): Zane Gonzalez (MIA)
Punter (1): Brett Thorson (MIN)
Long-snapper (1): Beau Gardner (CHI)
Between Gonzalez at kicker, Dike on returns and the investment we've made in special teams talent on the back end of the roster, we've got a real shot of being an above-average unit here. I'm not sure that's going to help if teams are throwing for 400 yards on our defense every week, but special teams can swing a close game or two. Just ask the Rams.
This feels like a real football team, in part because it has the sort of roster that might qualify for landing Mendoza as the first overall pick. There are legitimate strengths. This team could plausibly run the ball at a reasonable rate given the interior pieces and the running backs room. There's a real pass rush from the edge. This looks a little like a lesser version of the 2025 Giants, who could run the ball reasonably well and get after the quarterback.
That Giants team wasn't successful, though, because it was built to play from ahead and didn't get there often enough. It couldn't stop the run, in part because of dismal linebacker and safety play. I'm not sure Team Backup is much better there. And when the Giants did fall behind, without Malik Nabers, they didn't have the passing attack or the playmakers to throw their way back into games. We don't have anybody as good as Wan'Dale Robinson at wide receiver, so I'm nervous about our chances of getting the passing game going when teams know that we need to throw.
Could this team win any games?
Well, let's start with the obvious: It's going to take a miracle or two for us to beat the best teams in football. It happens, of course. The Panthers, who finished 25th in DVOA, beat the Rams once in the 2025 regular season and nearly beat them a second time in the postseason. The Patriots, who represented the AFC in the Super Bowl, lost to a 3-14 Raiders team in Week 1. A Buccaneers team that finished 20th in DVOA beat both the Texans and Seahawks. Max Brosmer and the Vikings won against the Lions with 3 net passing yards. Anything can happen in 60 minutes if you recover a bunch of fumbles or if the other team has a special teams meltdown.
In terms of the big-picture question of where this team would land on a weekly basis, though, there's no way it can compete with the vast majority of NFL franchises. We have a very narrow game script to follow: Get ahead, run the ball well, get after the quarterback and play well on special teams. There's always a chance that Mendoza is a superstar as a rookie, or that the veteran duo of Flacco and Winston throw us through a shootout without turning the ball over, but our lack of talent at receiver is going to make that scenario difficult to realize.
Flip to the bottom of the league, though, and we might have a shot. The ESPN Football Power Index's worst projection for 2026 belongs to the Dolphins, who spent most of the offseason rebuilding their roster around backups. I'm excited to see what Malik Willis can do, and there are a few stars scattered around between De'Von Achane, Aaron Brewer and Jordyn Brooks, but I'm not sure their roster is appreciably better than ours. On a neutral field (since no city is going to want to host our team), we have a decent shot of competing with Miami.
The Jets are 31st, and it's already looking dicey. I don't like our secondary's chances of competing with Garrett Wilson and multiple other first-round pass catchers, although Mendoza might be able to distract Omar Cooper Jr. The Jets also have a deep group of edge rushers, and with legitimately good tackles between Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, they should be able to neutralize our pass rushers on the edge. They're a bad matchup for Team Backup.
We might have a better shot at beating the Browns, who are 30th. A new-look offensive line is going to need time to jell in Cleveland, and I'm not sure the Browns can stop Herbig & Co. from pressuring the league's worst group of quarterbacks. Jared Verse is likely licking his chops looking at our tackles, and Carson Schwesinger would make it tough for us to run the football, but there's more of a shot here.
And once you get past the Browns, well, there's not much hope. The Cardinals (ranked 29th) have way too many playmakers and pass rushers. The Raiders (28th) no longer have Mendoza, which helps, but their pass rush is going to give us real problems, and Brock Bowers is going to have a field day against our linebackers and safeties. The Titans (27th) might produce a more competitive game, but even the Panthers (26th) and Saints (25th) feel like they're a step beyond what we can compete with in terms of star power and upside on both sides of the ball.
We've learned that a team of backups could probably compete with some of the worst teams in football. Perhaps more importantly, we've seen just how thin teams are at certain positions such as wide receiver, linebacker and the secondary, which could matter more as the season goes along and starters get injured. Smart teams might want to reach into the free agent market now to try to grab useful depth instead of waiting for the trade deadline, when we could see a flood of teams trying to add one of the few playmakers or safeties available.