One IDP Question for Every AFC and NFC West Team
Mike Woellert's series wraps up this week with one question for all eight West teams that will help define the 2026 season.
NFL free agency is kicking off next week, which means many of the offseason questions we’ve had will be answered in short order. On the IDP side, our offseason “one question” series concludes this week after highlighting the AFC/NFC North, AFC/NFC East, and AFC/NFC South. In this article, I’m focusing on the AFC and NFC West and answering one question for these eight teams in 2026.
AFC West
Denver Broncos
Will Dre Greenlaw be back with the Broncos in 2026?
It was clear the Broncos didn’t want to rush Dre Greenlaw back from a quad injury that magically came up during the 2025 offseason. Greenlaw played just 2 games in 2024 and was shut down due to a calf injury. In April, it was reported that he suffered a calf injury and that the Broncos were aware of the injury and that he’d be ready for the opener. Well, that didn’t happen. He didn’t return to the field until Week 7. He missed a few games in December before returning for the playoffs.
One of his best games came against Houston. He showed good instincts and processing. On this play, he hits the gap to stuff Nick Chubb:
As you can see, he also still has burst.
However, the Broncos might look at Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad as priorities. A post-June 1st cut would save Denver over $8 million, and they’d eat around $2 million in dead money. It’s a shame Greenlaw’s injuries crept up again, and it could cost him a spot, especially with Denver’s Super Bowl window open.
Since 2021, Greenlaw has appeared in 43 total games. It would not surprise me to see Greenlaw become an free agent again.
Los Angeles Chargers
What kind of defense can we expect from Chris O’Leary?
The Chargers lost their defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, to the Ravens’ head coaching job. Jim Harbaugh turned to a familiar face to head up the defense in Chris O’Leary, who was the safeties coach in 2024, and then left to lead Western Michigan’s defense in 2025.
I don’t think O’Leary is going to re-invent the wheel. He’s going to keep the same language/system that’s been working but with his tweaks. His core philosophy is fundamentals and physicality, and to play violent and fast while putting his guys in favorable matchups. He’ll use a base 34 but with multiple/flexible fronts and two-high shells. I’m also expecting match-style zone principles.
While he’ll have Tuli Tuipulotu, Odafe Oweh and Khalil Mack are free agents. Bud Dupree is 33 and it might be too much to ask of Kyle Kennard to shoulder the pass rush load opposite Tuipulotu. Kennard saw just 49 snaps as a rookie. I’d expect O’Leary’s pass rush group create pressure with discipline and disguises. Stay in attack mode without the need to over-blitz.
The linebacker room is just as in-flux as the DL group. Daiyan Henley is the lone full-time LB as of now. Denzel Perryman is expected to hit free agency, which leaves Troy Dye, Marlowe Wax, Del’Shawn Phillips, and Junior Colson. Colson missed 2025 due to injuries, while Dye and Phillips aren’t three-down guys. Wax has just 39 defensive snaps under his belt. Here’s hoping O’Leary’s scheme can keep Henley clean.
Derwin James and Elijah Molden are interesting pieces in O’Leary’s scheme, and RJ Mickens could see time as a third safety. He stresses movable roles to solve the offense and take advantage of his players’ instincts.
As of now, the IDPs to target are Tuipulotu, Henley, and James. We’ll see what happens during free agency and the draft.
Kansas City Chiefs
Can Ashton Gillotte step in as the EDGE2?
Ashton Gillotte had a pretty significant role in 2025. He was 10th among the defense in snaps (458) and was third in pass rush snaps (268) behind George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu. Gillotte was just as productive as Omenihu in 115 fewer pass rush snaps. He finished with a 9% pressure rate and 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 5 QB hits, and 3 TFLs. Overall, not a bad season, and he was named the Chiefs’ best rookie by his teammates.
What kind of usage could we expect in 2026?
Omenihu and Mike Danna each recorded pressure rates less than 9%, while Danna barely hit 5% (4.6%). Omenihu is slated to hit free agency, and didn’t particularly “wow” anyone with his pass rush prowess. At least not enough to warrant any type of payday.
I thought this was a solid rep from Gillotte. He takes on the block and disengages. He runs down the QB and gets the hit:
The Chiefs spent meaningful draft capital on Gillotte. A 3rd round pick is where teams look to find starters and high-end role players, and the team sees a path to snaps. In his final year at Louisville, Gillotte was 8th in pressures in 2024 (57), so he has on tape the ability to be a consistent pressure generator.
I think he’s a good buy-low in dynasty and has a path to snaps in 2026. For redraft, he’ll be a matchup streamer with the potential to graduate to a roster spot if he develops and sees significant snaps in the rotation.
Las Vegas Raiders
What are the plans at EDGE if the team trades Maxx Crosby?
If Maxx Crosby is dealt, a huge hole opens up on the edge. Imagine Cleveland trading Myles Garrett or Detroit trading Aidan Hutchinson. Also, look at Dallas and what has happened post-Micah Parsons.
If the Raiders do move on from Crosby, you’d expect a huge return. At minimum, you’d need two 1sts, with the Parsons deal serving as the blueprint. It’s truly the “mystery box” scene from Family Guy. You already have the elite pass rusher, so why gamble on the unknown with a package of draft picks?
The Raiders have needs all over, especially at LB, so they’d be creating one with this trade, but if the Raiders draft Francisco Mendoza with the 1.01, here are some of the edge rushers they could potentially draft in the 2nd:
R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma
Zion Young, Missouri
Romello Height, Texas Tech
The Raiders have nearly $88 million in cap space. If you use the Patriots as a blueprint, they could use some of that money to bring in an EDGE to replace Crosby, an interior defender, and a linebacker. Last offseason, New England brought in Harold Landry, Milton Williams, and Robert Spaillane with their free agent bounty.
The only issue is whether the Raiders are seen as an ideal destination spot. Can they attract a player like Trey Hendrickson? Or even middle-tier edge rushers like Odafe Oweh, Haason Reddick, or Boye Mafe?
Money talks, and someone like Mafe might want a payday now that he has a ring.
There’s no way they can enter OTAs with Tyree Wilson, Jahfari Harvey, Charles Snowden, and Tonka Hemingway as their EDGE group. I’d do what I can to keep Crosby, but the plan would be to replace his production with volume, which is a risky proposition. The Raiders look to be in rebuild mode, so they can afford to make some swings with some picks and add a vet.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
Is a Walter Nolen breakout season on the horizon in 2026?
Walter Nolen suffered a knee injury near the end of the 2025 season that ended his rookie year early. It’s unknown whether he’ll miss time in 2026. Either way, he’s on the trajectory to stardom.
An underrated hire during this cycle was Pete Kwiatkowski as defensive line coach. Kwiatkowski was the Texas defensive coordinator while T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy were on the team, and had a hand in their development. Sweat has turned into a solid IDL for the Titans, while Murphy is coming off a breakout year for the Seahawks.
Nolen’s presence impacted the opposing offense. Even as a rookie, he drew double-teams in the run; however, he had some issues with pad level and shedding blocks. Nolen exceeded expectations as a pass rusher with an 80.1 PFF grade while generating a 15.1% pressure rate and 16.7% win rate.
I thought this was a good rep against a decent 49ers’ offensive line. He uses his hands well and almost gets the sack on Brock Purdy:
I think Kwiatkowski will develop Nolen’s pass rush game and help improve his run defense. Keep an eye on Nolen’s knee rehab, and if he’s ahead of schedule, I like Nolen as a potential year two breakout in DT-required leagues.
Los Angeles Rams
Can Jared Verse be a 10-sack edge rusher in 2026?
Jared Verse increased his sack production by 67% from his rookie year to his sophomore year (7.5). However, that still wasn’t good enough for his IDP managers, who were expecting the leap to double-digits.
I’m still buying the talent and pass rush metrics that Verse can get to 10+ sacks. Last season, Verse generated a 15.7% pressure rate and 20.8% win rate, which resulted in 100 pressures, including 27 QB hits. These metrics indicate that more sack production is on the horizon.
There were several pass rush reps where he clearly won the rep, but the QB just got the ball out:
Now, there were several instances that showed up on tape where he’s running his arc too wide and doesn’t flatten to the QB’s level. His strides are too long in closing and he arrives out of control. His hands are active and violent, but he’s tagging the QB up high instead of finishing and attacking the midsection.
He has 42 QB hits over the last two seasons, and I think if he makes these tweaks and adjustments, he can turn those pressures and hits into sacks. I’m trying to buy in dynasty, and I’m buying the dip in redraft if he falls to me as a DL2.
San Francisco 49ers
Can we expect Fred Warner to be an LB1?
Fred Warner had been an iron man since entering the league in 2018. In 2025, he ended up missing games for the first time in his career due to a broken/dislocated ankle.
Warner had been a staple in IDP lineups and a dependable producer, averaging 128 tackles, 2.4 forced fumbles, 8 defended passes, and 5.4 TFLs over his first 7 seasons. He’s also recorded 10 sacks and 10 INTs.
Before the injury, Warner was on pace for a career-high in tackles (145) due to his 15.5% tackle rate, which was well ahead of his career 12.8% tackle rate. In Big 3 Scoring, he was averaging 13.6 points/game.
Warner attacked his rehab like he attacks opposing ball carriers. He fought like hell to get back for the postseason, and videos circulated of him on the field. He came up short and ended up missing the 49ers’ playoff run, but it’s clear:
Warner is going to be ready for 2026.
He’ll have the rest of the offseason to recover and I anticipate him to be ready for OTAs and all of the 49ers’ offseason programs leading into training camp.
As long as there are no setbacks or follow-up procedures, I’d expect Warner to return as an LB1 with his green dot role in 2026.
Seattle Seahawks
What can Nick Emmanwori do for an encore in 2026?
Nick Emmanwori was a fun evaluation last year—I ranked him as my top DB of the 2025 IDP rookie class. It took only a few games for him to make his mark.
Emmanwori’s season got off to a rocky start with a high ankle sprain injury in Week 1, which caused him to miss the next three games. In his first game back, he recorded 5 tackles with a TFL while playing 64% of the snaps.
From Week 6 on, it was all systems go. Emmanwori was a full-time player and appeared in 93% of the snaps over those 12 games. His physicality was on display, along with his trigger in the run, and his coverage ability. He was a force player with 9 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, and 11 defended passes. He played 38% of his snaps in the box and 48% of his snaps as a slot/nickel corner.
Just keep him near the line of scrimmage. Here, he slips past the blocker and gets Jonathan Taylor down for no gain:
There’s a lot to like about Emmanwori building on his rookie year. He put together a solid playoff run with 13 tackles (10 solos) and 4 defended passes. He’s tough, playing through an injury suffered ahead of the Super Bowl, and still recorded 5 tackles.
He missed 3 games, but produced a 10.6% tackle rate, resulting in 81 tackles. I’m not one to extrapolate games, but it’s worth noting that a full season would have resulted in 100 tackles. He also missed 8 tackles.
I don’t see his role changing as the line-of-scrimmage safety in 2026, and it’s clear he’s already one of their best defensive players. Devon Witherspoon should remain as their outside/boundary corner, so Emmanwori should enter the 2026 season as DB1.
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