Research into how Super Bowl teams are built underscores the outsized impact players deep on the roster can have, according to ESPN. The piece cites David Tyree and Malcolm Butler as former backups who made pivotal Super Bowl plays, notes the Eagles’ use of QB2 Nick Foles in the Philly Special, and recalls reserves Derick Hall and Rylie Mills combining for three sacks in the Seahawks’ title win over the Patriots.
ESPN assembled a hypothetical 53-man roster composed entirely of nonstarters to test how such a team would fare and to highlight where clubs are thin or deep. The selection process required at least one backup from every team and no more than two from any single franchise, and it prioritized players who regularly contribute on special teams to round out the roster.
The roster construction leaned into contemporary NFL tendencies, according to ESPN, emphasizing multiple tight-end groupings on offense and a Vic Fangio-style defense that seeks pressure from the front four while limiting big plays in the secondary. The exercise also incorporated rookies: the author included one player from each round of the 2026 draft so long as that rookie was not projected to open the season as a starter.
ESPN notes some of the players chosen are rotation contributors who could become starters during the season, while others were selected because they are realistically behind established Week 1 starters. In cases of closely matched candidates, the roster favored the player less likely to command the primary role in that rotation.
One concrete example from the list is the Buffalo contingent: ESPN tabbed Lloyd Cushenberry III as the starting center for the backup team and Jackson Hawes as the primary blocking tight end. The report says Cushenberry missed time after a torn Achilles and was released this offseason, and it describes Hawes as a fifth-round pick whose blocking allowed the Bills to move away from heavy six-lineman groupings toward more 12- and 13-personnel sets while catching 84% of passes targeted to him.
The full Team Backup roster and an assessment of whether such a collection of reserves could contend are included at the bottom of the ESPN story, which proceeds to review selections on a team-by-team basis.
