The legal tempering period is underway in the NFL as teams are set to execute their offseason plans. The NFL world will wait to see where Lamar Jackson ends up on the non-exclusive franchise tag tender, while other teams that don’t need quarterbacks will engage in bidding wars for the top free agents available.
As free agency is set to begin, here’s a look at the top 10 free agents available based on Pete Prisco’s top 100 free agent rankings. The madness has begun.
Jackson does have the non-exclusive franchise tag, meaning the Ravens can match any offer that comes his way from another team. Baltimore will have five days to match and if the Ravens decline, they will receive two first-round picks in return.
The Ravens are 45-16 in Jackson’s 61 starts since he entered the league in 2018. They average 28.0 points per game when Jackson is on the field compared to 20.0 when Jackson misses games. Jackson is one of six players in NFL history to reach 100-plus passing touchdowns and 4,000-plus rushing yards in a career, and the fastest to reach the mark by 31 games. The Ravens are averaging 184.8 rushing yards per game with Jackson as a starter in his career — the most by any starting quarterback since the 1970 merger.
Basically Jackson is the top free agent on the board. There should be a frenzy to sign him for quarterback-needy teams. Former MVPs at 26 years old don’t hit free agency everyday.
The Chiefs allowing Brown to test the free agent market has other teams salivating to get one of the league’s top tackles on their offensive line.
Brown has been one of the best tackles in the game over the past four seasons, the only offensive tackle to reach the Pro Bowl in each of the past four years. The Chiefs left tackle allowed four sacks and 39 pressures in the regular season while allowing 10 pressures in three postseason games. Brown didn’t allow a sack since Week 15 against the Texans and just two sacks since Week 9 against the Titans.
Good left tackles are hard to find in this league. Brown is one of those players.
One of the top safeties on the market and a leader in the Bills locker room, Poyer will be a huge value for any team that signs him.
Poyer had a huge year at the age of 31, finishing with 63 tackles, eight passes defended and four interceptions. The Bills were 12-0 when Poyer played last season and is the only player with 20-plus interceptions and 10-plus sacks since 2017.
Poyer appears to be on his way out of Buffalo.
The list of good free agent safeties keeps on going with Gardner-Johnson, who was tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions last season despite playing in just 12 games. Only Trevon Diggs and Justin Simmons have more interceptions than Gardner-Johnson over the past two seasons.
The Eagles are making a push to keep Gardner-Johnson, but he has a strong market. Opposing quarterbacks had just a 63.8 passer rating targeting Gardner-Johnson last season, who can play both safety and cornerback.
McGary is coming off arguably his best season at right tackle (allowed 27 sacks in his first three seasons). He started every game at right tackle for the Falcons this season, allowing six sacks and 18 pressures, a career-low pressure rate allowed of 3.7%.
The Falcons could retin McGary, but he’ll have a market with Jawaan Taylor signing with the Chiefs.
Age is the only issue with David since he’s 33, but he makes up for that with his football smarts. He is a pro’s pro and would make sense for any team looking for a veteran leader on its defense for a few years.
For a team looking for a good starting guard, Seumalo makes sense. He is a powerful man who is also a good pass protector. He turns 30 in October.
Clowney is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is, especially as an edge rusher, but he is a good run player who excels in that area. He flashes as a pass rusher, but injuries have held him back.
Schultz is a reliable receiver and an above-average blocker, which should give him a market. He knows how to get open in the passing game and is especially good in finding soft spots in the zone.
The Raiders traded to get him from the Colts and they were glad they did. He impressed in their scheme, showing off nice man-cover skills.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
