Players We Want to See in 2026 Super Bowl: Will Daniels, Gibbs Keep Rising?

The NFL calendar eternally moves at warp speed. We're discussing free agency before the Super Bowl confetti is even cleared, and looking at the NFL draft odds.

The sweltering sun of August and training camp arrives fast. So with the Big Game still fresh on our minds, it's never too early to think about players we want to see in the 2026 Super Bowl.

Let's gaze ahead and consider who would shine best under the league's brightest spotlight.

Super Bowl 2026: Five players we'd like to see

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

2024 stats: 3,568 passing yards, 25 passing TDs, 9 interceptions, 69.0 completion percentage, 891 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs

Daniels came so close yet so far to pushing the fast-rising Commanders into the Super Bowl. They hung with the Philadelphia Eagles for a little before Saquon Barkley started sprinting away fast, as he often does.

Still, upsetting the juggernaut Detroit Lions in the divisional round was a Herculean feat. Daniels, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds winner, played a significant role while accounting for 299 passing yards with two touchdowns and 51 rushing yards in that contest. That moment of impressive rookie playoff poise came after he set a first-year QB record with 891 rushing yards.

He'll need defensive help to take the next stop, but there's plenty to build on for both Daniels and the Commanders.

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

2024 stats: 1,412 rushing yards, 52 receptions, 517 receiving yards, 20 total touchdowns

The Lions were stunningly ousted against Washington in a playoff game that wasn't especially close, losing 45-31. But similar to Daniels, the downfall of Gibbs' team in the postseason occurred largely when he was on the sideline.

Gibbs more than did his part, and particularly late in the season after David Montgomery went down. The running back absurdly averaged 165.5 yards from scrimmage across the Lions' final three regular-season games and lone playoff contest. The dynamic force also led the league in total touchdowns (20).

There are issues Detroit needs to address despite its success the past two years. But Gibbs and the backfield certainly aren't on that list.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

2024 stats: 4,172 passing yards, 41 passing TDs, four interceptions, 66.7 completion percentage, 915 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs

Lamar Jackson was robbed after being the NFL MVP odds leader for much of this past season. That came after losing an intense playoff duel with the eventual MVP winner Josh Allen.

Jackson has now won the NFL MVP Award twice and finished second in voting once. He's shined consistently, and while Jackson did make mistakes during the playoff defeat to the Bills, the athletic passer still did plenty to inspire awe both then and throughout the season. That includes a career high in passing touchdowns, and his lowest interception total while starting for a full year.

A nearly league-worst passing defense let him down. Eventually (and hopefully mercifully?), Baltimore will put it all together and capitalize on fielding a generational talent at the most important position in football.

Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns

2024 stats: 14 sacks, 47 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss

Garrett has demanded a trade from the Cleveland Browns, and the situation could get messy fast with the team repeatedly saying it has no plans to move the star defensive end, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

If the four-time All-Pro sticks to his increasingly understandable stance that competing for a championship isn't happening anytime soon on the Browns - who just went 3-14 - then we could be careening toward a hold-in situation during training camp.

The hopes for one of the best pass-rushers during this era getting to the postseason soon, let alone the Super Bowl, may rest with his next destination. The Myles Garrett next team odds list the Las Vegas Raiders as the favorites, which isn't promising for Super Bowl aspirations. However, the Commanders sit right behind them and potentially offer a brighter future.

Garrett seems to have plenty left to contribute at 29 years old, and he's fresh off a season with a career-high in tackles for a loss.

Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

2024 stats: 103 receptions, 1,533 receiving yards, 10 TDs, 

Jefferson has now produced three 1,500-plus-yard receiving seasons over his first five campaigns, one of which was cut short due to injury, leading to seven missed games.

He also tied a career-high with 10 touchdowns this year, and Jefferson continues to be a target behemoth while sitting fourth in that category this past season. Yet similar to Jackson, Jefferson is on a team that keeps wasting his prime years.

The Vikings have produced 13-plus wins in two of the past three regular seasons without a playoff victory to show for it. Jefferson has been named the Offensive Player of the Year along the way (2022), and Kevin O'Connell just took the Coach of the Year odds honors. Now they need a different kind of hardware.

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