Sam Darnold's Seahawks Have a Problem Nobody's Talking About Yet

The 2026 NFL offseason is officially in the books, which means the draft dust has settled and rosters are basically locked in for the season. But here's the thing: even after teams spent months filling holes through trades, free agency, and the draft, almost every franchise still has at least one glaring weakness staring back at them when they look in the mirror.

Some of these holes aren't about finding a starter. Most teams have that figured out by now. The real problem is depth. The spots where if you lose one guy to injury, your entire unit falls apart. Those are the holes that keep coaches and GMs up at night in late May.

What Makes a Hole Actually a Hole

Here's the key thing to understand: a roster hole in 2026 doesn't mean you're rolling out a practice squad guy at a premium position. It means you have a starter, sure, but the second and third options behind him are shaky at best. It means one injury turns your competitive roster into a liability.

Teams that drafted for talent instead of need are feeling this especially hard right now. You can't build a championship roster by only chasing shiny skill players. Eventually, you need depth. You need guys who can step in when things go sideways.

The Offseason Didn't Solve Everything

This is the reality of the NFL salary cap and roster construction. You can't fill every hole in one offseason. Free agency helps. Trades help. The draft helps. But when May rolls around and you're evaluating what you actually have, the holes become impossible to ignore.

Teams across all 32 rosters are looking at positions right now and thinking the same thing: "We need better depth here, or we're one injury away from a disaster." Some franchises made smarter moves than others. Some teams have more holes than others. And some teams, well, they're hoping nobody gets hurt because their backup plan is basically nonexistent.

The 2026 season is about to start, and teams are about to find out if they did enough to patch these weaknesses. Some of them probably did. Others? They're about to learn a hard lesson.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.