A “Help Wanted” sign was up before the 2026 NFL Draft for teams that needed to quickly fill roster holes. Here’s who fulfilled that goal the most for a pass catcher, pass defense, pass rush, pass block, run block and run defense.
Every team goes into the NFL Draft with different goals: Some want to find the best players for their future, while others desperately need to fill holes on their current roster.
The 2026 draft had some big successes with the latter goal. Teams that were struggling to solve their biggest issues were, in some cases, able to find the right players at the right picks to, they hope, elevate themselves this season.
To find those teams, we first identified clubs in the Opta team rankings that either dropped by at least 10 spots this offseason and/or already ranked in the bottom five of each category: pass catchers, pass defense, pass rush, pass block, run block and run defense. We did not look at quarterback rankings because some teams still haven’t determined their starter. From there, we determined which of those teams successfully addressed their poor ranking through the draft, either through one pick or several.
Following are the teams who filled their biggest needs in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Pass Catchers: Tennessee Titans
We went for quality over quantity here. The Miami Dolphins dropped the most in the rankings (from No. 14 to No. 28) and drafted three wide receivers (plus two tight ends), but all of those picks were at No. 75 or later. The Cleveland Browns took wide receivers in the first and second rounds, but they ranked No. 22.
The Titans, meanwhile, ranked No. 32 before they used the fourth pick of the first round on Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate. Tate finished third in burn rate (72.7%) and fourth in burn yards per target (14.4) among drafted FBS wide receivers with at least 250 routes last season, with an 81.9% open rate and a 0.953 catch rating as well.
Tate could immediately establish himself as the Titans’ WR1 alongside a solid group that includes Calvin Ridley, Wan’Dale Robinson, and 2025 NFL Draft picks Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike. That’s a solid collection for quarterback Cam Ward to work with in his second season.
Pass Defense: Kansas City Chiefs
This was an easy pick. In early March, the Chiefs dropped from No. 10 to No. 24 in pass defense after the team traded away their top cornerback, Trent McDuffie, and let their second-best cornerback, Jaylen Watson, walk in free agency. They then immediately replaced both in the draft with LSU’s Mansoor Delane in the first round and Oregon’s Jadon Canady in the fourth.
Delane and Canady both ranked in the top three among the 44 drafted FBS defensive backs (safeties and cornerbacks) in burn rate and open rate allowed. Delane’s 25% burn rate allowed ranked No. 3 and 37.5% open rate second, while Canady’s 20.9% burn rate allowed and 37.2% open rate allowed ranked first among the same group of cornerbacks. Both finished with two interceptions each.
The Chiefs’ new defensive back duo were both sensational additions and should immediately fill the roles vacated by McDuffie and Watson.
Pass Rush: Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota didn’t go the traditional route with fixing its pass rush. Despite trading away edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings drafted two monster interior defensive linemen: Florida’s Caleb Banks in the first round and Iowa State’s Domonique Orange in the third.
Banks could be the best interior defensive lineman taken in the draft. While he missed a lot of time in 2025 with a foot injury, his combined 21.17% pressure rate over the past two seasons ranked No. 1 in this year’s NFL Draft class.
Orange is not known as a pass rusher – his 4.3% pressure rate ranked fifth-worst among 106 FBS draft-eligible defensive tackles with at least 150 snaps in 2025 – but his massive 322-pound frame and 81-inch wingspan might be enough to overpower inferior interior offensive linemen.
At the very least, these two players should be enough to at least elevate the No. 32-rated pass rush into a serviceable unit for defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Pass Block: Baltimore Ravens
There were two candidates here: the Ravens (who ranked No. 31 post-draft) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (who dropped 14 spots to No. 28). Similarly to the pass-catcher conversation, we went with the team that added the best overall player at the position of need, not necessarily the team that added two offensive linemen.
Baltimore landed the top offensive guard in Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane, who should immediately start at left guard for the Ravens. Ioane tied for the third-lowest pressure rate allowed among all drafted FBS offensive linemen and the lowest among the top-10 drafted linemen.
PR-A% is pressure rate allowed rate; ASR-A% is adjusted sack rate-allowed percentageIn terms of filling and improving an immediate need, the Ravens did so effortlessly with Ioane.
Run Block: Detroit Lions
The Lions had a clear No. 1 priority: fix their run-blocking problem. They dropped 12 spots between the end of the 2025 season and the 2026 NFL Draft from No. 18 to 30 after losing Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker.
First-round pick Blake Miller won’t solve all the issues, but he’s a great starting point at tackle. The Clemson product allowed the fourth-lowest run disruption rate this past FBS season among all drafted offensive linemen (3.1%). He should immediately slide into a tackle position on the Lions’ front five and be a leading blocker for star running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who is now in line for the (appropriately named) lion’s share of carries in 2026.
Run Defense: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This was a sensational haul for the Buccaneers, who dropped nine spots to No. 31 in run defense this offseason. Their solution? Select two of the best run-stopping linebackers in the NFL Draft class with their first two picks.
The Buccaneers snagged Rueben Bain Jr. from Miami (FL) at No. 15 overall before taking Josiah Trotter from Missouri at No. 46, both of whom finished the 2025 season with at least a 10.0% run disruption rate. Bain’s 15.1% RD-A rate ranked third in the FBS, while Trotter’s 10.9% RD-A% ranked 11th among the 40 drafted linebackers. Additionally, Bain had 24 run stuffs, while Trotter had 28 – numbers that ranked 11th and seventh, respectively, among the other players drafted at their position.
For a team that desperately needed help on run defense this season, the Buccaneers found two of the best in the class who are also adept pass rushers.
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Mission Accomplished: Teams That Filled Their Biggest Need in the 2026 NFL Draft Opta Analyst.
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