While this 12 months didn’t bring a record-setting salary cap spike, a $20MM-plus bump occurred for the third straight offseason and fourth over the past five years. We proceed to see year-to-year leaps that dwarf what the 2011 CBA brought.
Now that the franchise tag application deadline has passed, a clearer picture of the 2026 free agent market emerges. The aim for PFR’s top 50 stays contract-based, but as our Offseason Outlook series has illustrated, quite a few deals carrying creative vesting structures have seen players secure favorable guarantees without the complete amounts being locked in up front. So, this 12 months’s list leans a bit more toward total guarantees versus upfront security.
Although players like Travis Kelce and Aaron Rodgers are sure for the Hall of Fame, they are going to not appear here. Big names are still present inside this value-based collection, nonetheless. Players who may very well be released at the beginning of the 2026 league 12 months – as likely post-June 1 cuts – or soon after will not be included, only those out of contract for the ’26 season appear below. Teams have until 11am CT March 9, when the legal tampering period begins, to maintain free agents-to-be off the market.
In Yr 34 of full-fledged NFL free agency, listed here are the highest options for teams to focus on once the legal tampering period starts:
1. Tyler Linderbaum, C. Age in Week 1: 26
The fifth-year option not being truly position-based affects just a few of this 12 months’s free agents, none more so than Linderbaum. Because all offensive linemen are grouped together under the tag formula, centers are almost never tagged. Few guards are. Linderbaum has presented the most effective case for a middle tag in a few years, and he’s days away from bridging the gap that exists between the 2 interior offensive line positions.
There are seven guards earning $20MM per 12 months, yet Creed Humphrey’s $18MM-AAV contract tops the middle market. Only two centers (Humphrey and Cam Jurgens) earn greater than $12MM – now that Drew Dalman surprisingly elected to retire and the Titans have cut Lloyd Cushenberry. Linderbaum will almost definitely turn out to be the NFL’s first $20MM-per-year center, and this free agency could remind of when Antoine Winfield Jr.’s 2024 Bucs extension briefly dragged the security market past cornerback.
Baltimore has offered Linderbaum a market-topping deal, and after the Mix, the 2022 first-round pick likely knows his price range. The Ravens only have just a few days left before ceding exclusive negotiating rights and losing the most effective center in team history.
The Ravens have seen 4 center Pro Bowl seasons of their 30-year history; Linderbaum has three of them (Jeremy Zuttah received the opposite). The Iowa alum has anchored the Ravens’ interior O-line, because the team continues to see guards come and go. Losing him could be significant for the AFC North franchise.
ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranked Linderbaum fourth amongst all interior O-lineman last season; he ranked thirteenth in 2024. Pro Football Focus, conversely, has graded Linderbaum as a far superior run blocker. The agile lineman has actually made a substantial difference for a run-reliant offense. The Ravens were in a position to keep Ronnie Stanley from testing free agency on the last minute in 2025, though the longtime LT was searching for a 3rd contract. Will they do the identical with Linderbaum?
Humphrey’s Chiefs deal includes just greater than $50MM guaranteed in total. Tyler Smith’s $81.26MM number tops the guard market. I might expect Linderbaum’s guarantee to land closer to the Cowboys guard than the Chiefs center.
Corey Linsley set a middle AAV record as a 2021 free agent; Linderbaum should blow the present mark out of the water. Citing cap inflation, Adam La Rose’s most up-to-date PFR mailbag pegged a price around $21MM per 12 months as realistic. Within the event of a widespread bidding war, something near Smith’s $24MM AAV could even be required to shut this deal. With Humphrey, Jurgens and Frank Ragnow before them not testing the market once they signed big-ticket deals, future center extension aspirants may owe a debt of gratitude to Linderbaum moving forward
2. Alec Pierce, WR. Age in Week 1: 26
Just like the changing of the guard the Colts observed when Michael Pittman Jr. usurped T.Y. Hilton within the wideout pecking order, Pierce made his case as Indianapolis’ WR1 in 2025. The previous second-round pick ripped off his first 1,000-yard season despite the Colts splitting their final five games between Riley Leonard and a 44-year-old Philip Rivers at quarterback. Pierce paced the NFL in yards per reception for a second straight season, posting a 21.3-yard average a 12 months after managing (in some way) a 22.3-yard number and 824 total with Anthony Richardson targeting him.
Richardson accomplished fewer than 48% of his passes that season, one in every of the least accurate starter slates this century, but Pierce (824 yards in 2024) continued his ascent from the Matt Ryan/Gardner Minshew years. He hit one other gear in 2025 (1,003 yards in 15 games) and can profit soon – from either a Colts re-signing or a big-ticket free agency deal. With George Pickens franchise-tagged, Pierce tops this 12 months’s receiver market.
That’s an interesting distinction for a player who has never caught greater than 47 passes in a season. Pierce is perhaps more high-end No. 2 than true No. 1, but this is usually the variety of player who cashes in available on the market. As Daniel Jones is the most effective quarterback Pierce has played with (with Ryan at the tip by his Indianapolis stint), teams undoubtedly see growth potential within the deep threat.
Fifteen receivers are tied to $50MM guarantees; not counting Travis Hunter’s rookie deal, one other six secured no less than $40MM in total guarantees. Every player amongst that contingent caught no less than 58 passes in a season before signing his second contract (11 recorded no less than one 90-reception season). Of that group, all but two (Jameson Williams and Jerry Jeudy) had posted 70-catch seasons. Williams $66.13MM guaranteed without the advantage of free agency, while Eagles WR2 DeVonta Smith is at $69.99MM. Each could also be higher than Pierce, however the open market awaits.
Pierce’s Devery Henderson-like profile differs, making him an unusual player as regards to this WR salary bracket. But he’ll have the ability to infiltrate it soon. It should be interesting to see if the team that signs Pierce will call on him to be its lead wideout – the expected salary would make that likely – or forged him as a high-end complementary cog. The previous second-round pick will soon be an outlier with regards to reception volume amongst upper-crust WR earners.
3. Jaelan Phillips, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 27
This 12 months brings a deep crop of free agent edge rushers. With this being a premium position, questions surround the lot of prime-years players available. Phillips is coming off a bounce-back season, once under-the-hood numbers are considered, and can garner considerable free agency attention. The Eagles were in a position to keep breakthrough linebacker Zack Baun from testing the market last 12 months, but they’re running out of time with Phillips.
Philly sent Miami a third-round pick for the rental rusher, and while he only finished his comeback season with five sacks, the 2021 first-rounder’s 35 QB pressures ranked twelfth leaguewide. His pressure rate (18.8% — far north of Trey Hendrickson or Odafe Oweh’s 2025 numbers) ranked fourth amongst players with no less than 250 defensive snaps.
Ending a season healthy did perhaps as much for Phillips’ stock, after he went down with Achilles (2023) and ACL (2024) tears. Phillips’ injury past stretches back to school, when he briefly retired from the game after a concussion and other maladies (including some from a moped accident). A transfer to Miami, nonetheless, reenergized him.
The previous five-star recruit landed on the first-round radar with the Hurricanes and showed plus form with the Dolphins, combining for 15.5 sacks over his first two seasons. Yr 2 included a career-high 25 QB hits. The 6-foot-5 EDGE was on his solution to a career-best season in 2023, tallying 6.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in eight games. A Black Friday Achilles tear stalled his momentum, and a September 2024 ACL tear continued the midcareer misery.
Josh Sweat didn’t carry injury concerns and received “only” $41MM guaranteed in total from the Cardinals. That topped last 12 months’s EDGE market, where Chase Young – who did carry major injury concerns – received $33MM guaranteed. Phillips hovers between these two in age, but his extensive injury past may place a cap on this market.
But with the NFL’s salary ceiling rising yet again, it will be hard to see this market settling south of $20MM per 12 months. Last 12 months, the Chiefs and Bills agreed to extensions (with George Karlaftis and Greg Rousseau, respectively) that included $64.8MM and $54MM in total guarantees. Phillips’ camp, representing a player who matches that duo with zero Pro Bowls, can aim for that range next week.
4. Trey Hendrickson, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 31
Amongst this market’s prime pass rushers, Hendrickson’s resume laps his peers. The Bengals sack ace finished back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks and has two more campaigns (2020, 2021) with no less than 13. Hendrickson recorded no less than 24 QB hits from 2020-24, topping out at 36 in managing to complete as Defensive Player of the Yr runner-up on a nasty 2024 Cincinnati defense. The Bengals appear set to lose their five-year defensive end cornerstone; this was preventable, however the team’s antiquated stand against post-Yr 1 salary guarantees prevented an extension from being accomplished in 2025.
The Bengals offered Hendrickson a backloaded extension – three years, $95MM – last 12 months but saw the disgruntled D-end reject it on account of insufficient guarantee protection beyond Yr 1. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt extension included full guarantees for the 2026 and ’27 seasons. Watt is more achieved than Hendrickson, but he can be 31 and had tallied fewer sacks between the 2023 and ’24 seasons. The Bengals’ offer also trailed the Texans’ Danielle Hunter AAV of $35.6MM despite the latter being the identical age with an analogous resume.
Hendrickson agreed to a one-year, $21MM extension in 2023 in fear the Bengals would use the franchise tag on him in 2025. With the Tee Higgins saga lasting past that time, Hendrickson miscalculated that. He now resides in an analogous situation to Haason Reddick.
Also starting slowly, Reddick joined Hendrickson as a 2017 draftee who broke through in a 2020 contract 12 months. Each players signed $15MM-per-year deals – Hendrickson in 2021, Reddick in 2022 – they outplayed. Age became a problem for Reddick, whose 2024 holdout backfired, and it’s price wondering how much it can impact Hendrickson’s free agency.
Last 12 months represented a transparent window for Hendrickson to money in – at 30 and coming off the 2 straight top-level pass-rushing seasons – but he was negotiating with a difficult adversary. And he underwent season-ending core muscle surgery after a seven-game campaign. That may dock Hendrickson’s stock, but by how much?
From 2016-25, there have been 79 10-sack seasons from players aged 27-30. In that span, only 17 such seasons exist from players aged 31-34. These are the years a Hendrickson suitor is acquiring. Amongst pure EDGE players, that age-31-34 sack number plummets to 11. Hendrickson should do well next week, but the choice to sign that Bengals extension in 2023 could cost him because of an injury-shortened 2025.
5. Rasheed Walker, T. Age in Week 1: 26
When the Rams and Ravens respectively took Alaric Jackson and Ronnie Stanley off last 12 months’s market, Dan Moore Jr. benefited. A much-criticized Steelers tackle on his rookie contract, Moore became the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid left tackle on the time of signing. His four-year, $82MM deal – one which outflanked Jackson and Stanley’s pre-free-agency deals and Dion Dawkins and Garett Bolles’ 2024 extensions – represents a very good guide for Walker, who received higher reviews on his Packers rookie pact.
The Packers turned to Walker, a 2022 seventh-round pick, as their David Bakhtiari fallback option and saw him far outplay his draft position. Walker began 48 games from 2023-25, heading off first-round pick Jordan Morgan for the Green Bay LT gig. Morgan is poised to commandeer it (by default, as Broderick Jones did in Pittsburgh post-Moore), but Walker will money in elsewhere.
Walker ranked eleventh in pass block win rate last season and 14th in 2024. PFF was a bit less bullish due largely to the Penn State product’s run blocking. The advanced metrics site never ranked Walker higher than fortieth overall amongst tackles. Similar skepticism didn’t derail Moore, and Walker will almost definitely do higher than the $50MM guarantee Moore received from the Titans.
Seven LTs are on contracts that include no less than $50MM in total guarantees. Not counting Will Campbell’s rookie deal, 4 more secured no less than $40MM guaranteed. It could be stunning if Walker didn’t land no less than $40MM guaranteed. Considering how rare it’s that early-prime LTs hit the market – just like the Steelers, the Packers used a first-round pick on a blindside successor (Morgan) – the previous No. 249 overall pick will probably be one in every of this 12 months’s FA winners.
6. John Franklin-Myers, DL. Age in Week 1: 30
The Broncos prolonged six players between late July and their bye week. After paying top-priority talents Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto in camp, Denver turned to 3 other regulars – center Luke Wattenberg, defensive tackle Malcolm Roach and kicker Wil Lutz – during its bye. Franklin-Myers didn’t expect a brand new deal and has likely known what’s about to occur available on the market.
Although Franklin-Myers is approaching an age-30 season, the runway is obvious for him to money in. He’s the most effective interior D-line option on this market – probably by a large margin. After last 12 months produced Milton Williams and other attractive interior D-line options, nobody is rivaling Franklin-Myers – as of now, no less than – when it comes to unattached inside pass rushers.
The previous Rams draftee and Jets extension recipient tallied 14.5 sacks over the past two years, serving as a complementary presence alongside Allen, Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper for a Broncos pass rush that got here inside 4 (68) of the 1984 Bears’ single-season record. Denver already prolonged Allen, Bonitto, Cooper and Roach, doing so after keeping DT D.J. Jones off last 12 months’s market. The team couldn’t reasonably afford a Franklin-Myers payday. He’s about to do a lot better than the two-year, $15MM deal he agreed to following a 2024 draft-weekend trade/salary dump from the Jets.
Signing a four-year, $55MM Jets extension the team shed to make room for Haason Reddick’s contract (oops), Franklin-Myers also combined for 11 sacks from 2021-22. He could have a spot with the Titans or Falcons, as Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich run those defenses, however the demand for inside pass rusher will probably be high enough teams without close connections to the eight-year veteran will pursue him.
Zach Sieler scored a $44MM guarantee from the Dolphins ahead of his age-30 season. That’s an affordable comp, but Franklin-Myers is hitting free agency and doing so without much market competition. The Colts gave Pro Bowler DeForest Buckner a $23MM-per-year deal before his age-30 season. With the cap climbing by around $50MM since that contract was finalized, a lesser player on a depressed market could rival that AAV (eleventh amongst DTs).
Franklin-Myers has been surrounded by good pass-rushing talent (Allen, Bonitto, Quinnen Williams) in his best years, so teams will have to be careful here. That is a first-rate candidate to be overpaid. Becoming the thirteenth lively interior D-lineman to land $50MM guaranteed just isn’t crazy considering the circumstances.
7. Malik Willis, QB. Age in Week 1: 27
This 12 months’s Justin Fields, but that comp doesn’t quite do that strange free agent profile justice. Increased rumblings are pointing to Willis outdoing Fields by a large margin, mentioning the $30MM-per-year ballpark. That represents a major risk given the previous third-round pick’s small sample size.
Willis has began just six games. Three of those got here with the Titans, when the mid-major college QB (after an Auburn transfer) was overmatched to the purpose Mike Vrabel began Josh Dobbs – signed days earlier off the Lions’ practice squad – over him in must-win games. But Willis, an afterthought during Will Levis’ 2023 rookie season, created an interesting marketplace for himself in Green Bay.
Plugged into Matt LaFleur’s offense quickly after Jordan Love’s Week 1 injury in Brazil, the mobile passer accounted himself a lot better – albeit in rejiggered structure aimed toward helping the raw passer – in 2024. Willis’ Packers numbers are obviously not sustainable, but they’ve QB-needy teams’ interest.
He compiled a 6:0 TD-INT ratio in Green Bay, having accomplished 70 of 89 attempts at a college-y 12.1 yards per pass. Willis also averaged 6.2 yards per rush (29/261/3). There may be loads to love here, and a bit of the NFL uses a version of the offense LaFleur runs because the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay trees grow.
That said, this has the potential to go down as a lesson for future free agency periods. Fields fared worse in a bigger sample size – ahead of a two-year, $40MM Jets deal that featured $30MM guaranteed at signing – but he brought 44 profession starts to the table. The numbers being thrown around for Willis are borderline irresponsible, as just a few reports have tied him to a deal averaging no less than $30MM per 12 months. As PFR’s Nikhil Mehta identified, it took Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold flashing full-season Pro Bowl form to land their $33MM-AAV deals.
Darnold only received a pay-as-you-go structure from the Seahawks after his 35-touchdown pass season for a 14-3 Vikings team. Yet Willis will command this level of contract – even with the cap’s climb past $300MM – on six starts? It could be ironic that a number of the same teams who passed on Willis during his memorable 2022 draft tumble are in on him now. But a number of the clubs tied to him – the Browns, Dolphins, Cardinals – didn’t need QBs in 2022. The Steelers did (and do again), though Omar Khan was not yet their GM during that draft.
While Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins are/will probably be free agents, Daniel Jones being transition-tagged makes Willis the highest prize in a 12 months with major questions on the QB draft class. This ought to be probably the most interesting markets in free agency’s 34-year history. The Mayfield/Darnold/Jones/Geno Smith resurgences work in Willis’ favor, but on the expected cost, it can even be one in every of the riskiest bets the NFL has seen.
8. Zion Johnson, G. Age in Week 1: 26
On a Chargers offensive line ransacked by injuries, the solid, unspectacular left guard was within the lineup 18 times last season. Johnson has missed just two profession games. His combination of age and sturdiness will probably be coveted on a guard market not teeming with options entering their prime.
While this space accurately lauded the deep 2024 guard market, this one features several starters – Wyatt Teller, Isaac Seumalo, David Edwards, Teven Jenkins – gunning for third or fourth contracts. One other handful of 30-somethings can be found too, shining a highlight on a player seldomly discussed in Los Angeles.
Run block win rate regarded Johnson’s contract 12 months highly, slotting him second amongst all interior O-linemen. Johnson helped the Chargers get by without Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris for an prolonged stretch last season. Although the 2022 first-rounder didn’t have a robust playoff game in Foxborough, his market will probably be robust.
The Boston College product has began 65 games, but guards face the identical issue off-ball linebackers do with regards to the fifth-year option. Whereas defensive ends and defensive tackles are separated, all O-linemen are grouped together under the choice formula. That has helped fast-track guards to free agency. Johnson, a rookie-year right guard before a three-season run because the Bolts’ LG, should profit soon.
Johnson joins Ed Ingram (Texans), Dylan Parham (Raiders), Chris Paul (Commanders) and mammoth Ravens blocker Daniel Faalele as notable first-time guard UFAs-to-be. It took a $63MM guarantee for the Panthers to lock down Robert Hunt in 2024, and that got here on a $255MM cap. Lacking Johnson’s prolonged sample size, Will Fries scored a $44MM guarantee last 12 months. Something in between, perhaps closer to the Fries number, will still represent quite the win for an unremarkable player hitting free agency at the precise time.
9. Devin Lloyd, LB. Age in Week 1: 27
Very like the tight ends they occasionally are asked to shadow, the off-ball linebacker market has not displayed tremendous growth. Shaquille Leonard and the 49ers’ first Fred Warner extension moved the market past $19MM per 12 months in summer 2021. Nearly five years later, Warner is the one player above $20MM per 12 months at this position.
The All-Pro 49er is at $21MM AAV. Teams value this spot, but only to some extent. Last 12 months did include three deals between $15MM and $17MM per 12 months – for Nick Bolton, Jamien Sherwood and Zack Baun. Lloyd has a likelihood to eclipse those accords.
Lloyd is coming off a robust contract 12 months and is simply in free agency because teams are skittish concerning the linebacker fifth-year option price. The 2020 CBA introduced a four-tiered option structure, but each the choice and franchise/transition tag formulas still mix 3-4 edge rushers with off-ball ‘backers. That has led first-round ILBs to the market lately.
No team has exercised an off-ball LB’s fifth-year option for the reason that Buccaneers picked up Devin White’s in 2022. Jordyn Brooks, Patrick Queen and now Lloyd and Quay Walker have played out their four-year rookie deals for this reason CBA quirk.
Thrice a 110-tackle player through three seasons, Lloyd only recorded 81 stops in his platform 12 months. Though, the Jaguars’ defense improved and its second-level anchor thrived, intercepting five passes – including a game-swinging 99-yard pick-six off Patrick Mahomes (much to Heidi Gardner’s dismay – tallying a career-high 10 QB hits en path to second-team All-Pro acclaim. Viewing Lloyd as a top-15 off-ball LB in 2023 and ’24, PFF slotted him third last season – because the Jags’ defense climbed from twenty sixth to sixth from 2024 to ’25 (third in EPA per play).
Hitting free agency as a former first-rounder in his prime, Lloyd has an outdoor likelihood to attain a market-topping deal. The Jags appear more likely to let him walk, and massive money will await a player who has turn out to be one in every of the league’s best all-around linebackers.
It’s doubtful Lloyd will bury his position’s AAV record the way in which Tyler Linderbaum will, but outdoing Warner’s current deal – or joining he and Roquan Smith because the third $20MM-per-year ILB – is in play. A guarantee north $50MM – where only three ILBs (Warner, Smith, Tremaine Edmunds…for now) reside – also needs to be attainable.
10. Odafe Oweh, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 27
Each of the highest three members on this EDGE FA class could make the case for being deserving of the largest contract. Oweh could have the fewest red flags, but he just hasn’t quite shown the difference-making abilities Hendrickson and Phillips have. Though, he’s squarely in his prime (unlike Hendrickson) and has no major injury history (unlike Phillips). Coming off his two most efficient seasons, the 2021 first-round pick will do quite well next week.
It’s somewhat interesting that the Ravens have relied totally on older free agent types at outside linebacker post-Matt Judon and traded away a player who has turn out to be one in every of this 12 months’s top FAs. Oweh struggled to begin his contract 12 months, registering zero sacks in his final five Ravens games, but got here alive with the Chargers. Oweh tallied 7.5 sacks in 12 Bolts contests, making a huge impact for a team that was missing Khalil Mack on the time. Los Angeles gave Oweh a 50% snap rate – that trails Phillips’ post-trade number (78%) – and PFF viewed him as far superior within the pass-rushing department in comparison with run stoppage.
Though, pass rushers are primarily paid to do exactly that. And ESPN slotted Oweh tenth in pass rush win rate last season. This got here after a career-high 10 sacks and 23 QB hits in 2024. Oweh’s 28 QB pressures ranked twenty seventh in 2024; he tallied 23 pressures in ’25.
The Bolts want him back, but a return to the Ravens could be interesting on account of his familiarity with each that organization and its recent HC (two-year Chargers DC Jesse Minter). Discounting Judon’s franchise tag, the AFC North team has not shelled out big money for an edge rusher since Terrell Suggs. Oweh having strung together similar seasons (nine TFLs in each) protects teams from a contract-year outlier, and the 6-foot-5 EDGE played 17 games in three separate seasons and missed greater than two only once (a 13-game 2023).
11. Romeo Doubs, WR. Age in Week 1: 26
The Packers will consider retaining Doubs, but they seem to have shown their hand at receiver already. Green Bay gave Christian Watson a one-year, $11MM extension after using a first-round pick on Matthew Golden. Each Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks have one 12 months left on their rookie deals.
These facts point Doubs to the market, where the previous fourth-rounder should do thoroughly. Age will probably be on Doubs’ side, and he may be the essential beneficiary of a Colts decision to take Alec Pierce off the market – should that occur between now and free agency.
Unlike Wan’Dale Robinson, Doubs has played mostly as an outdoor receiver. He also brings good size (6-2, 204 kilos), bolstering his market further. The Packers added Golden and third-round WR Savion Williams last 12 months, but Doubs remained a focus in Matt LaFleur’s attack. He snared 55 passes for a career-high 724 yards. The Nevada alum also topped 600 yards in each 2023 and ’24, a more impressive feat seeing as Reed was healthy throughout those seasons (whereas he missed most of 2025).
Carrying an interesting profile as neither a pure deep threat nor a slot staple, Doubs is a high quality route runner who ought to be paid within the WR2 range. Free agency commonly turns sidekicks into well-paid performers – often with undesired results – but this market may not have Pierce by Monday. With Jauan Jennings nearly three years older than Doubs, the four-year Packer is a very good place to search for a long-term receiving cog.
It could seem an overpay were Doubs to eclipse $20MM per 12 months, but that just isn’t out of the query on the open market. The Jaguars gave Jakobi Meyers a three-year, $60MM extension to shut his age-29 season. There also looks to be a spot for one of these receiver to settle on this offseason, as only two wideouts – Jerry Jeudy ($17.5MM) and Cooper Kupp ($15MM) – are tied to contracts between $14-$20MM each year. Meyers and Jeudy respectively received $40MM and $41MM guaranteed despite only negotiating with one team. Doubs could eclipse that next week.
12. Alontae Taylor, CB. Age in Week 1: 27
Last 12 months’s cornerback class skewed older. A bunch of third-contract-seeking CB2 types – Byron Murphy, Charvarius Ward, Carlton Davis, D.J. Reed – all essentially signed the identical contract. Davis, Murphy and Ward each inked three-year, $54MM deals, while the Lions nabbed Reed for 3 years and $48MM. Effectively setting the third-contract CB market, this group undoubtedly influenced the Giants’ Paulson Adebo price. The previous Saints starter signed with Latest York for a similar rate (3/54) but outdid the others in total guarantees ($38MM) due almost actually to his age (25 on the time).
Taylor is identical age Murphy was when he re-signed with the Vikings and carries an analogous skillset, playing extensively inside and on the perimeter. He has logged, per PFF, 1,664 profession slot snaps and 1,597 boundary plays. Former Saints teammate Chris Harris had an analogous profile. While not exactly on the All-Decade-teamer’s level, the flexibility here should allow for a contract north of Kyler Gordon’s $13.33MM-per-year deal – the ceiling for pure slots. Deommodore Lenoir secured a $17.96MM-per-year take care of a $43.27MM guarantee as essentially a two-position player. That set the table for Murphy last 12 months.
The Saints have tried to retain Taylor, but he’s now days away from free agency. PFF ranked the 6-foot CB outside the highest 110 at his position in 2023 and ’24 and tabbed him 52nd last 12 months. The advanced metrics site’s view is unlikely to reflect Taylor’s market, which is believed to be robust.
Set to show 28 before the 2026 season ends, Taylor might want to rating big during this free agency. Unlike the Ward/Davis/Reed contingent, he’s unlikely to have the posh of signing a three-year second contract and coming back for one more big payday down the road. The Lenoir and Murphy markets should provide a preview of what’s on the market for Taylor.
13. Jaylen Watson, CB. Age in Week 1: 27
For readers recent to this space, let’s run down the Chiefs’ M.O. at corner (as the method received a pertinent update Wednesday). Since Andy Reid has been Kansas City’s HC, the Chiefs have authorized one eight-figure-per-year cornerback deal – Kristian Fulton’s two-year, $20MM pact that’s more likely to be shed from the payroll – and made a brigade of homegrown starters one-contract players.
Marcus Peters (2018) and L’Jarius Sneed (2024) were traded, while Steven Nelson (2019), Kendall Fuller (2020) and Charvarius Ward (2022) left as free agents. The Chiefs have now traded All-Pro Trent McDuffie to the Rams for a four-pick package, scrapping the newest round of extension talks. The team has continued to churn out quality corner play at rookie rates, but with McDuffie gone, is re-signing Watson in the image now? Giving Watson a deal south of $20MM AAV could also be more palatable to the stingy CB organization than putting McDuffie within the Derek Stingley/Sauce Gardner $30MM-per-year bracket.
The primary five of the above-referenced one-contract Chiefs cashed in elsewhere, and Watson could be poised to hitch this club. The Chiefs’ 2024 Sneed trade gave Watson the CB2 job alongside McDuffie, but a broken leg hijacked his season. Watson did return for the playoffs, but he was seen giving up a back-breaking Jalen Hurts-to-DeVonta Smith touchdown in Super Bowl LIX.
Watson’s 2025 went higher, and he has created what ought to be a pleasant market. PFF graded Watson seventeenth amongst corners last season, and over his past 21 regular-season games, the 6-2 CB has allowed only one touchdown.
Although Watson just isn’t a third-contract-seeking player just like the Ward-Carlton Davis–Byron Murphy–D.J. Reed quartet was last 12 months, his age (28 in mid-September) moves him near that CB cadre. With the cap rising, Watson could goal the Sneed-Tyson Campbell–Jaylon Johnson tier (though, those deals having not worked out yet may cause teams worry moving past $19MM AAV). But it surely ought to be in play here.
A large guarantee gulf exists between The Sneed-Campbell-Johnson trio and the Ward-Davis-Murphy-Reed foursome, with the higher-priced troika each seeing $50MM-plus guaranteed in comparison with sub-$40MM. Watson’s camp will no less than look to bridge that gap on the second-tier CB market.
14. Riq Woolen, CB. Age in Week 1: 27
A size-speed freak who displayed ball-hawking stretches, Woolen is a candidate to attain big money. Inconsistency, a job adjustment under Mike Macdonald – during a season by which trade rumors swirled despite the Seahawks vying for a No. 1 seed – and a persistent penalty issue could work against the previous fifth-round pick, but there are elements to love here.
The 6-4 corner blazed to a 4.26-second 40-yard dash time on the 2022 Mix, elevating the mid-major product’s draft stock. He continued a banner 2022 by intercepting six passes to assist the Seahawks to the playoffs. Woolen intercepted 12 passes on his rookie deal and broke up 53, rating within the 93rd percentile in forced incompletions (per PFF).
Macdonald used Josh Jobe in front of Woolen in the course of the season’s second half, when the taller CB only topped 70% usage in one in every of the team’s final eight regular-season games. He still allowed a passer rating of 78.5, rating twenty fifth amongst 200-plus-snap CBs in 2025, in accordance with The Athletic.
Woolen did clear the 70% snap barrier in each Seattle NFC playoff games, notably being whistled for a costly taunting penalty before allowing a third-quarter Rams touchdown. Woolen also defensed two passes against the 49ers and Rams within the postseason. Woolen is probably not a boom-or-bust player, however the range of possible outcomes is wider than you’d like here. Free agents commonly carry these variety of profiles; otherwise, they’d be prioritized by their initial teams.
The three-year, $54MM deals given to Murphy, Ward and Davis went to more reliable CBs – though, Ward was coming off a down 2024 – while ex-Seahawk Reed (3/48) was more consistent in Latest York. All 4 of those more experienced CBs fetched no less than $32MM guaranteed. Woolen’s age and ball skills should warrant a commitment on this level or simply south of it.
15. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR. Age in Week 1: 25
Robinson hitting free agency a 12 months ago would have shown a player coming off a measly 7.5 yards per reception. By far the Giants’ leading pass catcher in 2025, the previous second-round pick created a solid market. This will probably be one in every of the more interesting FA derbies this 12 months, as Robinson’s slot skillset and slight frame (5-foot-8, 185 kilos) won’t be for everybody.
The Kentucky alum’s age works in his favor, nonetheless, and he’s coming off his best season – a 92-reception, 1,014-yard showing. Robinson’s average depth of goal rocketed from 4.8 in 2024 to eight.5 in ’25. With Malik Nabers taking place early and Darius Slayton also fighting injuries, Robinson benefited and helped Jaxson Dart’s development. Having the ability to attack more downfield boosts Robinson’s stock, but his role and stature do bring some likely limitations.
The Bills gave Khalil Shakir a four-year, $53MM deal as a surehanded slot/de facto WR1. Robinson put up higher numbers in 2025 than Shakir has in any season, doing so with far worse quarterback play. With the cap rising to $301.2MM and Robinson hitting free agency – somewhat than negotiating with one team on an extension – he’ll have the ability to aim higher. Is he the most effective wide receiver on this FA class? No. But Shakir landed $31.8MM guaranteed without the advantage of a bidding war. Robinson should outdo that number too.
16. Isaiah Likely, TE. Age in Week 1: 26
For a bit, it looked just like the Ravens would pay Likely and let Mark Andrews discover a third contract in free agency. As an alternative, Andrews closed his age-30 season with one other Ravens extension. Likely is now days away from searching elsewhere for his second contract. Andrews hitting free agency before turning 31 is barely less interesting – as we’ve just a few available players at this position in that age range – than a profession No. 2 tight with plus athleticism being unattached before his age-26 campaign.
Likely ate into Andrews’ workload over the past three seasons. Between the 2023 and ’24 slates, Likely combined for 11 touchdown receptions. The 6-4 goal averaged 13.7 yards per catch in 2023, playing as Baltimore’s lead tight end for that season’s second half – on account of Andrews’ seminal ankle injury (as hip-drop tackles became scrutinized henceforth) – and averaged 11.4 yards per grab over the past two seasons. Despite Andrews returning in 2024, Likely posted a career-high 477 receiving yards.
If Doubs advantages from George Pickens’ tag, Likely is probably the lead beneficiary of the Falcons cuffing Kyle Pitts. Likely has shown himself to be versatile, playing inline or within the slot, and has come down with a number of impressive catches – and two memorable near-TDs (against the Chiefs and Steelers). Entering his prime with out a full season of full-fledged TE1 work, Likely will probably be a player targeted heavily soon.
Mutual interest exists between the Ravens and Likely, and a Lamar Jackson extension would drop his cap number from its untenable $74.5MM place. A Jackson restructure will occur absent an extension, giving the Ravens more spending room. Andrews scored a three-year, $39.27MM extension – a decrease from his second contract. Would the Ravens be fantastic joining the Steelers because the only teams with two eight-figure-per-year TEs? (Pittsburgh may not be long for that setup, with Jonnu Smith a cut candidate).
Readers of this space commonly see how underpaid the tight end position is. The gap between the tops of the tight end and wideout markets already differ by greater than $22MM AAV. With Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba extension-eligible, that chasm should grow this 12 months.
Likely just isn’t a robust candidate to exceed Trey McBride’s $19MM-per-year market-setting terms, but don’t be surprised if he finally ends up not too far off that level. Only five tight ends are tied to $30MM guarantees; expect Prone to turn out to be No. 6 by next week, with Cole Kmet’s $32.79MM guarantee – negotiated without free agency – serving as a floor here.
17. Boye Mafe, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 27
Relegated to a rotational rusher because the Seahawks’ defense ascended within the franchise’s second Super Bowl-winning season, Mafe submitted plus production under Pete Carroll in 2023 (nine sacks, 16 QB hits, six pass deflections) and was more impactful in Mike Macdonald’s first Seattle season (six sacks, 12 QB hits).
The Seahawks, who saw each Uchenna Nwosu and DeMarcus Lawrence stay healthy after injury-plagued 2024 seasons, dangled Mafe on the trade deadline. While Lawrence’s retirement decision may affect Seattle’s Mafe plans, his 2025 demotion gave a fairly clear indication of his path. One other team pays Mafe as a starter, though he’s more more likely to command No. 2 rusher money based on his profession so far. Mafe’s best finish in pressures is thirty seventh (2023), when he charted 25. The previous second-rounder checked in with just three sacks and 17 pressures in 2025, however the Seahawks reduced his playing time.
Considered one of the picks acquired within the Russell Wilson heist, Mafe played 50% of Seattle’s defensive snaps last season. That makes his two-sack, four-QB hit totals uninspiring. That separates him from the Phillips-Oweh wing of first-time UFA edges, but Mafe is a greater athlete than Kwity Paye, who disillusioned in his contract 12 months. It continues to be difficult to peg this market, but quality speed rushers of their primes money in.
Mafe landing somewhere between Jonathan Greenard’s $18MM-per-year deal and Jonathon Cooper’s $13.5MM AAV is sensible. Cooper scored $31.7MM guaranteed on a four-year deal without the advantage of free agency. Nearly 18 months later and with the cap $46MM north of where it was when the Broncos paid their No. 2 EDGE, Mafe could secure favorable terms. While it’d take this to land the formerly productive player fresh off a Super Bowl role, a shorter-term deal that enables a team further evaluation and Mafe more time to lift his price could begin as well.
18. Jauan Jennings, WR. Age in Week 1: 29
What a period for 49ers receivers. Deebo Samuel earns first-team All-Pro acclaim in 2021 and requests a trade before a 2022 extension. Samuel doesn’t justify the deal and is shipped out in 2025. Brandon Aiyuk becomes a more successful traditional receiver, earning second-team All-Pro acclaim in 2023 – the duo’s fourth 12 months together. Aiyuk requests a trade in 2024, shops around extensively (Aiyuk rumors nearly reached 2018 Kirk Cousins-level saturation on the PFR pages) before an extension. Aiyuk then suffers an ACL tear, deletes the 49ers from his phone and is near an exit.
Meanwhile, Ricky Pearsall suffers a terrifying gunshot wound before flashing brightly – while also missing eight games on account of separate injury issues in 2025. Jennings served as vital insurance amid this drama.
The previous WR3 who moonlights as a gadget QB zoomed to 975 yards in 2024. Jennings was then linked to trade rumors before the 49ers gave the underpaid wideout an incentive package for 2025. Jennings plays through injuries during a 643-yard season that features a career-high nine TDs. With Aiyuk’s exit imminent and Pearsall’s outlook foggy, the 49ers suddenly want to offer Jennings a 3rd contract.
That is an interesting free agency, because the previous seventh-round find is nearing 30. He has proven to be a tenacious blocker who provides a big-bodied goal. Sans Aiyuk and with Pearsall unreliable, Jennings got here up big for Brock Purdy and Mac Jones last season, playing a critical a part of the 49ers’ injury-ravaged playoff voyage. After an RFA tender preceded a two-year, $11.89MM extension in 2024, the recently outed instigator will outdo that by a large margin soon.
The 49ers can have a glaring WR need if Jennings walks, but this will probably be his first time on the open market. Debuting at 24, the 2020 draftee must money in now.
Jakobi Meyers’ deal (three years, $60MM, $40MM guaranteed) represents a very good comp here, as Jennings is just a few months younger. Though Jennings lacks Meyers’ longer run of starter-level production, it’s unlikely this market drops where Darius Slayton’s ended last 12 months (3/36, $22MM guaranteed). Something in between seems reasonable. That ought to still produce a solid guarantee for the late-blooming goal.
19. Kwity Paye, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 27
Bringing more of a power-based approach, Paye is coming off a contract-year regression. He joined teammate Zaire Franklin in seeing his numbers dip under recent Colts DC Lou Anarumo. Within the Gus Bradley system, nonetheless, the bull-rushing Michigan alum fared a lot better. Paye combined for 16.5 sacks and 18 TFLs from 2023-24, and he notched six sacks and 10 TFLs in ’22. Paye may be more of a high-floor player than someone with an All-Pro ceiling; those still receives a commission at 27.
A career-long 4-3 D-end at 265 kilos, Paye just isn’t especially twitchy for a player together with his draft pedigree (No. 21 overall). He only tallied 4 sacks and nine QB hits in his contract 12 months. Even in an apparent down 12 months, Paye tallied 23 pressures – one behind Oweh’s 2025. Paye’s 2025 pressure count topped where he finished in 2023 (17), ’24 (22) and ’22 (20) in that category; he just got home more often in the opposite years. But pressures represent a more reliable measuring keep on with judge a pass rusher in comparison with sacks.
The Colts drafted JT Tuimoloau in Round 2 last 12 months, pairing him with 2024 first-rounder Laiatu Latu. Although Tuimoloau saw little motion, Paye should still follow fellow 2021 draftee Dayo Odeyingbo out the door. The Colts preferred larger DEs in previous years, with Odeyingbo joining Paye and Tyquan Lewis as such options. Paye looks to want a brand new team to consider in him. Fortunately, he plays a premium position.
Even when rookie deals are excluded, 27 edge defenders are tied to a guarantee of no less than $20MM. Odeyingbo, who has not produced on Paye’s level as a pass rusher, scored a three-year, $48MM Bears pact that got here with $32MM guaranteed. It could be odd if Odeyingbo (one six-plus-sack season) outdid his longtime Indy teammate, especially when the cap spiked by $20MM-plus once more. Paye does probably need a 4-3 scheme to secure this level of payday, but good money ought to be on the market for the 30.5-sack player.
20. Rashid Shaheed, WR. Age in Week 1: 28
Shaheed made a major return-game impact in Seattle, taking a punt and a kickoff back for scores. Each momentous sequences powered the Seahawks on their championship journey, but the previous Kubiak Saints charge didn’t fit seamlessly into the offense. At the very least, the Seahawks didn’t use Shaheed just like the Saints had at receiver. That would well be personnel-based, however the speedster only amassed 15 receptions for 188 yards in eight Seattle games.
The Saints paid Shaheed early, turning his ERFA tender right into a two-year deal price $6.19MM. That got here after the Weber State alum’s best season – a 46-catch, 719-yard, five-TD 2023 – but by 2025, the parties were headed toward a split. That led to the trade, which brought back greater than the Meyers deadline swap, giving the Saints fourth- and fifth-round picks.
Shaheed was on pace for nearly 900 receiving yards in Latest Orleans last season, and he didn’t spend much time working with ascending rookie Tyler Shough. The Spencer Rattler goal still totaled 499 yards on a career-high 44 catches.
Teams are buying speed with Shaheed, who will almost actually be deployed commonly on special teams. Earning two Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro selection (2023) for return work, the previous UDFA should do well. It may be argued nobody would profit more from Pierce being taken off the market than Shaheed, a faster deep threat – albeit one without Pierce’s impressive numbers.
Each Darnell Mooney and Gabe Davis scored three-year, $39MM deals as long-range threats in 2024; Davis busted, while Mooney was effective in the primary of his Atlanta seasons. Shaheed’s speed may even help release space for teammates on underneath routes. That component combined with the special teams capabilities will help the Division I-FCS product. Mooney’s $26MM guarantee from 2024 ought to be the ground here.
21. Bryan Cook, S. Age in Week 1: 27
Some safety talents on this 12 months’s class will probably be underpaid, as a buyer’s market forms here. There are several starter-level options available, which naturally could reduce the price. No Xavier McKinney– or Jessie Bates-like player looks set to separate himself this 12 months, though just a few names should still do well. Cook is one in every of them.
The Chiefs have doled out more free agency dollars at safety in comparison with corner, but they’ve established an analogous one-contract trend for starters. Through the Steve Spagnuolo DC era, Kansas City let Mathieu, Juan Thornhill and Justin Reid leave after contract expirations. Cook was a part of that assembly line. It could be a blow to the Chiefs’ secondary, which needs CB help after Trent McDuffie‘s trade exit (and may wish more if Jaylen Watson leaves), to lose Cook. But Kansas City has continued to switch departing talent with rookie-deal cogs. It has turn out to be routine for the underrated coordinator by this point.
PFF ranked Cook fourth amongst all safeties last season. The Chiefs have primarily used Cook as a free safety, which can help the previous second-round pick’s market. Free safeties are inclined to be valued more, though Cook doesn’t have great ball production (three INTs in 4 seasons). He did rebound from a season-ending ankle injury – one which kept him out for the Chiefs’ championship stretch run in 2023 – but has not missed a game since.
With Reid leaving in free agency last 12 months, Cook became a helpful piece for a K.C. team that – its 6-11 faceplant notwithstanding – still ranked sixth in scoring defense. Reid filled more roles than Cook under Spagnuolo, but Thornhill also used a starting Chiefs safety role to money in. Cook will do higher than each.
Cook, though, has lower mileage in being 4 NFL years younger. The 47-game starter saw Tre’von Moehrig and Camryn Bynum respectively land $34MM and $32MM guaranteed last 12 months. Jevon Holland received a $30.3MM Giants guarantee. The crowded market may impede a few of this 12 months’s mid-tier safeties, but Cook is a candidate to turn out to be the ninth lively safety to see a $30MM guarantee.
22. Kenneth Walker, RB. Age in Week 1: 25
Nobody advantages more from Breece Hall’s franchise tag than Walker, who already ended his contract 12 months on a high note. The primary running back to earn Super Bowl MVP honors since Terrell Davis 28 years ago, Walker is a candidate to re-sign with the Seahawks — but his price may be too high for the defending champs. The Seahawks saw Zach Charbonnet, who had forced a near-even timeshare in 2025, suffer an ACL tear within the divisional round. He’ll likely start the season on the reserve/PUP list, strengthening Walker’s leverage.
Walker’s 161 Super Bowl LX scrimmage yards aside, the Seahawks didn’t commonly entrust him with pass-catching or pass-blocking duties. Charbonnet was commonly utilized in this spot in the course of the regular season, infuriating Walker fantasy GMs (who saw the slower back rating 12 touchdowns to his five), and gave sub George Holani some pass-down work within the Super Bowl. The Iowa State alum has not proven himself a three-down back.
PFF, nonetheless, graded Walker – a two-time 1,000-yard rusher – because the NFL’s best back last season despite a woeful pass-blocking assessment. Deemed the sixth-worst pass protector amongst qualified RBs, Walker dazzled within the open field – because the Patriots discovered – in Klint Kubiak’s scheme. That may be a somewhat popular offense presently, and Walker staying healthy last season got here at a very good time. The previous second-rounder missed six games in 2024 and two each in 2022 and ’23, injecting reasonable injury concerns into the equation. But he will probably be the highest back available.
RB value has fluctuated a bit, but it surely stagnated to the purpose quality runners became bargains lately. The highest of the market didn’t move from April 2020 (Christian McCaffrey’s Panthers extension) until June 2024 (his 49ers extension). But a flood of veteran bounce-back showings in 2024 led to some notable extensions (namely Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry).
This got here two years after not one of the three teams to tag a running back prolonged those players on the July deadline. While Barkley and Josh Jacobs each did well as 2024 UFAs, last 12 months brought a dud available on the market. Walker is healthier than any RB to succeed in free agency in 2025, though.
The 2023 draft class is poised to update this market, with Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and De’Von Achane offseason extensions in play. The sector of $30MM guarantees for RBs may double (from three to 6) based on these deals. Hall’s absence on this market – a troublesome break for the four-year Jet – could see Walker threaten to succeed in that guarantee number.
The Kyren Williams and James Cook extensions ($11MM and $11.5MM per 12 months, respectively, with guarantees at $23MM and $30MM) represent a spot to begin for Walker. With no RB guarantee topping $36MM, nonetheless, it’s difficult to rank Walker too high even at 25 and because the top player available on the position.
23. Connor McGovern, OL. Age in Week 1: 28
Offering multiple full seasons of center and guard work, McGovern brings versatility with out a swingman profile. He’s poised to proceed as a starter for the foreseeable future, extending the Connor McGovern pipeline – one in place for the reason that since-retired Missouri alum’s 2016 debut – well right into a second decade. The younger of the NFL’s two interior O-line Connor McGoverns is coming off a season by which he helped power James Cook to a rushing title. The Penn State alum often is the second-best center available.
Cade Mays rivals McGovern as the highest Linderbaum consolation prize on this market, but McGovern just isn’t an excessive amount of older than the late-blooming Panthers starter and has offered a greater body of labor. ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranked McGovern third amongst all interior O-linemen in 2024 and fifth in ’25, helping Josh Allen to MVP honors and allowing the longer term Hall of Famer to proceed flourishing despite a continued post-Stefon Diggs receiver problem. PFF ranked McGovern as a top-10 center in each of the past two seasons.
Signed to a three-year, $22.35MM Bills deal as a guard in 2023, McGovern spent the 2022 season as a Cowboys guard as well. The previous Dallas third-rounder has logged no less than 600 snaps in any respect three interior O-line positions, specializing at center and left guard. Given the Bills’ success and their likely interest in extending younger RG O’Cyrus Torrence, McGovern has a transparent path to free agency – where he should do higher than he did three years ago.
The NFL only has 4 eight-figure-per-year center AAVs. Linderbaum will raise the market’s ceiling past $20MM per 12 months. McGovern has virtually no likelihood of unseating Creed Humphrey because the next-highest-paid snapper, but a handful of teams (another as of Tuesday, with the Bears’ Drew Dalman retiring) need assistance on the position. Matching Dalman’s three-year, $42MM Bears pact may very well be in play for the proven blocker. Dalman received $28MM guaranteed; McGovern should command something in that range
24. David Edwards, G. Age in Week 1: 29
Edwards saw a lengthy bout with a concussion – during a rough Rams Super Bowl title defense – in 2022 disrupt his profession arc. He signed for barely the veteran minimum in 2023, and the Bills used the ex-Rams Super Bowl LVI starter as a backup initially. After cutting Mitch Morse in 2024, nonetheless, Buffalo re-signed Edwards and inserted him into its starting lineup. It’s time for Edwards to money in on a deal well beyond his two-year, $6MM Bills pact.
It could surprise if Buffalo retained each Edwards and McGovern and keeping one will probably be costly for a team doing work to carve out any cap space before the 2026 league 12 months. We’ve seen consistent guards money in on many occasions in recent free agency periods. First-time UFAs have obviously been more attractive to groups lately. Aaron Banks, Robert Hunt, Will Fries, Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson have each signed or re-signed for no less than $16MM each year since 2024. But guards past their second contracts have cashed in recently too.
Patrick Mekari signed a three-year, $37.5MM Jaguars deal ($22.5MM guaranteed) as a 2025 free agent. Known more as a super-utility player in Baltimore, Mekari – who signed that deal ahead of his age-28 season – has not proven himself like Edwards has.
Edwards finished last season tenth in run block win rate amongst all interior O-linemen, joining McGovern in helping Cook to the rushing title. The previous fourth-round pick also ranked twelfth amongst guards in pass block win rate. PFF slotted Edwards twenty second amongst guards last season and has viewed him as a top-30 guard in each of his previous three starter seasons (2020, ’21, ’24). On a market not housing as many strong first-time UFA candidates at guard, the persistent blocker should profit ahead of his twenty ninth birthday.
25. Mike Evans, WR. Age in Week 1: 33
The best offensive player in Buccaneers history has never hit free agency. He got here close in 2024 but re-signed on a two-year, $41MM pact that included $29MM guaranteed at signing and $35MM guaranteed in total. Evans could also be a one-year contract player at this stage of his profession, but a two-year deal would make him worthy of this list. Considering the Rams gave Davante Adams a two-year, $46MM deal at 32, Evans landing something approaching those terms at 33 just isn’t out of the query.
Actually more reliable than remarkable, Evans will find yourself within the Hall of Fame sooner or later. His 11 1,000-yard receiving seasons smashed the NFL record to begin a profession and tied Jerry Rice – albeit in a much easier time to compile receiving numbers in comparison with when the WR legend played – with 11 straight 1,000-yard years at any point of a profession. Evans only has two All-Pro nods – each second-team accolades – but one got here in 2023. The 6-5 boundary receiver continues to be a difficult matchup for smaller corners in press coverage, and he’s one in every of the era’s defining contested-catch presences.
Evans lost eight games to a broken clavicle last season, however the 2014 first-round pick battled back to assist the Bucs down the stretch. It was for naught amid a Tampa Bay collapse, however the runaway leading receiver in franchise history – nobody is inside 5,000 yards of him – caught six passes for 132 yards in his first game back last December. That got here in a loss, and the Bucs fired play-caller Josh Grizzard weeks later. But Evans showed he still has juice in Yr 12.
Prior to that two-month injury absence, Evans carried an unconcerning medical sheet. He missed three games in 2024 but none in ’23 and just 4 from 2020-22. His Marshon Lattimore feud has brought multiple suspensions, but though the Pro Bowl corner entered the NFL three years later, it is feasible Evans outlasts his rival.
Khalil Mack signed the biggest non-QB one-year deal (excluding franchise tags) by inking a completely guaranteed $18MM Chargers accord last March. Evans could top that. If the bidding runs high enough, a contract comparable to his 2024 agreement will probably be in play.
This receiver market just isn’t exactly bereft of talent, but it surely just isn’t too impressive, either. Evans’ presence inflates its Q rating, and he could be a direct starter on nearly any contender that wins this FA derby.
26. Braden Smith, RT. Age in Week 1: 30
The Colts paid left tackle Bernhard Raimann last summer and have Quenton Nelson – the NFL’s first $20MM-per-year guard – looming as an extension candidate in the ultimate 12 months of his deal. Oh, they usually have Jones transition-tagged and Pierce unsigned. With Smith entering Yr 9, he is nearly definitely headed out of Indiana. Within the back half of his prime, the veteran right tackle should still do reasonably well. Unavailability, though, has turn out to be a priority.
Smith missed five games in 2024, landing on the reserve/NFI list for what he later confirmed was a type of OCD. He battled no less than 4 injuries – to his knee, hip, wrist and foot – in 2023, missing seven games, and was shut down last season on account of a neck malady and a concussion. The longtime Indianapolis right tackle played out a four-year, $72MM deal but accepted a 2025 pay cut. The litany of issues over the past three seasons have probably hurt his value.
On the other hand, Smith made 105 starts before age 30, being a part of some strong Colts lines – one in every of which driving Jonathan Taylor to the 2021 rushing title – during a two-contract Indiana stay. PFF graded Smith as a top-20 tackle from 2019-23, slotting him outside the highest 40 in each of the past two years. ESPN ranked Smith nineteenth in pass blocking and eighth in run blocking in his injury-shortened 2023. And this market just isn’t teeming with good RT options.
At the very least five teams have glaring RT needs, with multiple others probably considering an upgrade. This draft brings a few high-level RT prospects – Francis Mauigoa, Spencer Fano – that ought to fill two such openings, however the top end of the FA market will help other clubs.
Mike McGlinchey scored a $17.5MM-AAV deal ahead of his age-29 season (2023), while the Falcons gave Kaleb McGary a two-year, $30MM extension before an injury worn out his age-30 slate (2025). Something on this range seems appropriate, though it will not surprise to see a team take a shorter-term route – which would cut back the guarantee number – on account of Smith’s recent health concerns. Fourteen RT guarantees top $30MM.
27. Quay Walker, LB. Age in Week 1: 26
We come back to the pesky linebacker fifth-year option. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst effectively admitted Walker would have seen his exercised if the CBA separated 3-4 OLBs with non-rush ‘backers, but Walker as a substitute joins Devin Lloyd as a lovely ILB option. Walker has offered prolific tackling work and sustained health, sprinkling in some moments as a blitzer throughout his Green Bay rookie contract. The Packers can have a tough time keeping him.
Walker has produced three seasons with no less than 118 tackles, doing so despite missing 10 games during his rookie deal. The career-long starter also has nine profession sacks and 29 TFLs. PFF doesn’t despise Walker’s work on the extent reserved for Devin White ire, however the advanced metrics site has never ranked the Georgia product higher than sixty fourth amongst off-ball LBs. His market is unlikely to align with those assessments, nonetheless.
Lloyd will likely command more cash, but Walker shouldn’t fall to the Kenenth Murray-Titans level (two-years, $15.5MM). It is feasible the Zack Baun–Nick Bolton–Jamien Sherwood tier ($15-$17MM AAV) could also be out of reach – on the other hand, none of those players ultimately tested the market – but it surely could be surprising if Walker didn’t outdo Robert Spillane’s three-year, $33MM Patriots pact. Seeing a $30MM guarantee is in play but bridging a spot between there and the next-closest guarantee number (Terrel Bernard’s $25.2MM) could also be doable.
The Packers have until 11am CT Monday to barter exclusively with Walker. The Chiefs and Jets used that point correctly, respectively re-signing Bolton and Sherwood just before last 12 months’s tampering period began. That figures to be a vital window for the Pack and Walker.
28. Coby Bryant, S. Age in Week 1: 27
A starter on probably this decade’s defining defense, Bryant will join Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe in cashing in – from the Seahawks or elsewhere. While I’ve predicted the Seahawks will retain Jobe and let Woolen walk, Bryant’s road is a bit cloudier. The Seahawks have already got Julian Love signed to a three-year, $33MM deal. That may be a bargain, but with Devon Witherspoon on course for a monster extension and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on that course on the opposite side of the ball, concessions will have to be made. Bryant should have the ability to command more outside the Pacific Northwest.
Moving from the slot to free safety, Bryant excelled on deep patrol in Mike Macdonald’s suffocating defense. The Pete Carroll-era draftee intercepted a career-high 4 passes, after a three-theft 2024, and established himself as one in every of this market’s top DBs. Despite Love and Ty Okada commonly playing closer to the road of scrimmage, Bryant added 4 TFLs. PFF ranked Bryant as a top-30 safety in each of the past two seasons.
The Seahawks have loaded up at safety before, paying Quandre Diggs after (regrettably) giving Jamal Adams then-safety-record money. However the team has other priorities, together with Okada and the dynamic Nick Emmanwori (on a rookie deal through no less than 2027) rostered. Even in a crowded market, it will surprise if Bryant didn’t command an eight-figure AAV.
Although the 2023 and ’24 safety markets featured one big payday apiece (Jessie Bates, Xavier McKinney), 2025 featured five deals price no less than $10.5MM per 12 months. All five of those pacts brought no less than $20MM guaranteed. Bryant will easily command that, with the Super Bowl bump – as excelling on a Macdonald-led defense (as Kyle Hamilton had) is suddenly price more. Bryant won’t sniff Hamilton’s outlier $25MM-per-year terms, but the extent where Bynum and Holland ended up ($15MM per, just greater than $30MM guaranteed) is possible.
29. Travis Etienne, RB. Age in Week 1: 27
Forced right into a timeshare with Tank Bigsby after having the backfield to himself previously, Etienne saw haze creep into his contract-year outlook once the Jaguars drafted two running backs (Bhayshul Tuten, Round 4; LeQuint Allen, Round 7) while keeping Bigsby entering the season. But Etienne dominated in Week 1, and Bigsby was traded to Philadelphia. Etienne proceeded to finish a resurgent season. Like Kenneth Walker, the four-year Jaguars starter advantages from the Jets tagging Breece Hall.
Etienne recovered from a foot injury that erased his 2021 season – a somewhat good Jaguars 12 months to miss – and has since submitted three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Najee Harris delivered 4 on his rookie deal and only signed for $5.25MM. Etienne is a more dynamic back. He has a 476-yard receiving season (2023) on his resume, and Liam Coen’s offense received six aerial scores from its RB1. Nearly as vital: Etienne has missed just two games since that foot injury.
Etienne is sort of two years older than Walker, but their profession carry counts (897-821) are comparable. Though, Walker’s 480 college totes are favorable to Etienne’s Clemson workload (686 carries). Etienne didn’t necessarily make a mistake by staying at school for his senior season, but that was before NIL reshaped college sports. NFL-caliber RBs, especially in that era, typically left school as early as possible. College workloads will not be discussed enough with regards to long-term RB value. We could have a case to check based on where Etienne’s free agency deal lands.
There may be also a case to be made Etienne should rival what Walker receives. While Walker is a marginal receiving option and is viewed internally and externally as a poor pass protector, PFF ranked Etienne fifth in pass pro amongst RBs last season. He also avoided a 12 months of wear and tear and tear because of the foot injury he has proved to be well past. That ought to factor into teams’ assessments.
Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs hit free agency after their fifth seasons. Jacobs did higher when it comes to AAV ($12MM). Etienne’s camp could goal the newly formed James Cook–Kyren Williams tier formed last 12 months. A deal between $11-$12MM per 12 months may very well be there for Etienne; Cook received $30MM guaranteed, Williams $23MM. Each contracts featured partial year-out guarantees while also providing the teams flexibility. Etienne would profit more if the Seahawks re-signed Walker in the following few days, but with it perhaps being likelier the latter tests free agency, slotting Etienne in the course of the general pack seems fair.
30. Jamel Dean, CB. Age in Week 1: 29
Carlton Davis hit free agency a second time after his seventh season. After a contract adjustment that removed a season from his four-year, $52MM contract, his former Buccaneers teammate will follow suit. Davis was entering his age-28 season when he hit the market, while Dean is a 12 months older before his second FA foray. Still, the previous Super Bowl LV winner enjoyed a robust season in 2025. Though, myriad injuries could cause an issue together with his market.
Last 12 months, the oldest of the late-20s contingent of proven CB starters – Rasul Douglas – was ignored within the cold, eventually settling for a one-year Dolphins deal price barely $1.5MM. That marked a drastic disparity between he and the opposite 4 vets he was grouped with (Davis, Byron Murphy, D.J. Reed, Charvarius Ward). This 12 months’s market features younger options – but most have questions. There aren’t as many proven 20-somethings like Dean, helping him carve out some space for FA pitches.
Dean agreed to a major pay cut last 12 months, dropping his 2025 base pay from $12.5MM to $4.25MM. He responded by allowing a 49.2% completion rate because the closest defender and a 63.1 passer rating (each his best marks since 2021). Amongst CBs to begin no less than half the season, Dean’s completion rate-allowed mark ranked ninth. Dean intercepted a career-high three passes, and PFF ranked the previous third-round pick because the league’s fifth-best corner. Were injuries not a problem, Dean should be a Bucs priority. But they do cloud his earning power.
Missing five games in 2024, Dean was forced out of others on account of injuries. He missed 4 games in 2023 after which missed three 2025 contests, battling hip and shoulder maladies. While Reed and Ward landed between $32-$35MM guaranteed before age-29 seasons, not too many big-ticket guarantees go to soon-to-be 30-year-old CBs. Darius Slay scored $24.5MM at 32, while then-teammate James Bradberry re-signed for $20MM guaranteed before his age-30 season. Jalen Ramsey was irresponsibly given a three-year, $72.3MM pact before his age-31 slate.
After just one free agent corner received greater than $30MM guaranteed between 2021 and ’24, last 12 months’s market brought a course change – and it centered around players comparable to the 6-2 Dean. With less competition amongst this genre of CB this offseason, Dean must have many suitors. Will any pony up a three-year deal that comes with a comparable guarantee to his 2025 peers?
31. Jermaine Eluemunor, RT. Age in Week 1: 31
The Giants could have scared the NFL away from giving HBO’s fascinating Hard Knocks: Offseason project a sequel, but several vital storylines emerged from season one. A subplot involving Eluemunor indicated the Giants desired to lock him up for longer, but he preferred a two-year agreement. That call looks sensible, as a player who was tied to low wages (for the NFL, no less than) for many of his profession did well on a two-year, $14MM accord. Regardless that Eluemunor is past 30, he’ll do higher this time around.
Latest York was planning to make use of Eluemunor at left guard in the course of the 2024 offseason, but Evan Neal issues prompted the team to kick the UFA addition to his most familiar O-line post. It worked out, with Eluemunor starting 31 Giants games during his two years with the team. Eluemunor subbed for the injured Andrew Thomas at LT in 2024 and played a full season at RT last 12 months. The previous Ravens fifth-round pick has turn out to be a late bloomer, and his past with John Harbaugh (2017-18) will probably be price monitoring because the ex-Baltimore czar takes over in Latest York.
Eluemunor played for $990K in 2021, $1.25MM in ’22 and $3MM in ’23. It turned out he was undervalued in Las Vegas. The Giants have made many transactional missteps under Joe Schoen, but Eluemunor is one in every of the embattled GM’s success stories. With Jaxson Dart on a rookie contract, it will help the Giants’ cause in the event that they re-signed the RT. market should await the sneaky-reliable pass protector.
Several teams need RT help immediately. The FA crop is slim, and with Braden Smith coming off three seasons shortened by injury or illness, Eluemunor’s stock has likely gone up. Eluemunor has missed just six games over the past five seasons. Something between the Morgan Moses (three years, $24MM) and Kaleb McGary (2/30) deals is affordable. Although the Panthers gave Taylor Moton a two-year, $44MM deal at 31, the Carolina blocker is a higher-regarded player. But an enormous Eluemunor raise ought to be coming.
32. K’Lavon Chaisson, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 27
It’d take one other “prove it”-type contract given how underwhelming Chaisson’s Jaguars rookie-deal performance was. The Panthers also cut the previous first-round pick in 2024. After quietly registering five sacks as a 2024 Raider backup, Chaisson became a key presence for the Super Bowl-bound Patriots. Chaisson finished with 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 18 QB hits. The 18 hits were nine greater than the LSU product totaled in any prior season.
He of 5 sacks in 4 Jags seasons, Chaisson is on a poor man’s Haason Reddick trajectory. Nevertheless, it only took the previous miscast Cardinals off-ball LB only until Yr 4 to interrupt through. The previous No. 20 overall pick – the primary of the Jags’ two Round 1 decisions within the Jalen Ramsey trade – did so in Yr 6. But first-round picks normally receive just a few possibilities, and Chaisson finally showed something in Latest England. He stuck the landing on an unexpected breakout by sacking Justin Herbert twice and C.J. Stroud once; Chaisson finished with a playoffs-high 4 TFLs.
This market has a buyer-beware light blinking incessantly, but a team will bite. There are too many clubs in need of EDGE assistance. Actually higher as a team’s No. 2 edge defender in comparison with an anchor, Chaisson could command something within the Alex Wright–Jonathon Cooper–Carl Granderson range ($11-$13MM per 12 months). Teams’ comfort zones will probably be tested if the guarantee reaches Cooper-Granderson territory (between $31MM and $35MM). The Browns prolonged Wright for just over $21MM guaranteed. Something in between these price points may get it done.
Arden Key went from LSU bust to a player who commanded $7MM per 12 months (in 2023 money), being productive on that Titans deal, while Chase Young – a greater player than Chaisson but someone who spent years as an uncertain commodity – rewarded the Saints on his three-year, $51MM deal in 2025. Chaisson won’t command that, but he may not find yourself too far south of it.
33. Cade Mays, C. Age in Week 1: 27
A handful of starter-level centers are due without cost agency, with two cap cuts (Tyler Biadasz, Lloyd Cushenberry) and one potential release (Elgton Jenkins) providing options. But greater than 1 / 4 of the league needs help on the pivot. Mays joins Connor McGovern because the Tyler Linderbaum consolation prizes.
Taking up because the Panthers’ full-time center in Week 3 of last season, Mays also began eight games on the position in 2024. Within the half-season 2024 sample, Mays ranked eighth in pass block win rate. A former sixth-rounder out of Georgia, Mays could sign an eight-figure-per-year pact soon. Linderbaum is about to vary the marketplace; that can only help Mays as a fellow first-time free agent (versus the above-referenced cap casualties or McGovern, a seven-year vet).
Mays just isn’t an especially agile player, but he brings power that will probably be useful to some center-needy clubs. Fellow two-season starter Luke Wattenberg recently inked a four-year, $48MM Broncos extension that got here with $27.37MM guaranteed in total. That’s an affordable comp. It should be price wondering if the Biadasz, Mays and McGovern (and if he’s released, Jenkins) markets cannibalize one another, but there are enough needs and sufficient cap growth for all three to do well.
34. Cade Otton, TE. Age in Week 1: 27
While not a top-shelf athlete at his position, Otton is a young tight end on a market that lost Kyle Pitts to the franchise tag. Otton doesn’t bring Isaiah Likely’s upside, but he might present a better floor. The Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski successor caught 59 passes in each of the past two seasons and combined for 1,172 yards in that span. Also a capable blocker, the previous fourth-round pick will generate interest in a league that has seen more multi-tight end sets spring up lately.
It ought to be reminded that Austin Hooper once set a good end salary record by hitting free agency, signing a four-year, $42MM take care of the Browns in 2020. As this space has discussed, the Patriots holding Gronkowski to his six-year extension in 2012 and Travis Kelce not maximizing his value (on the sphere, no less than) suppressed the TE market – to the purpose the league still doesn’t have a $20MM-per-year player on the position. Hooper’s 2020 reminds of the facility the market brings, even at an undervalued position.
Otton has only cleared 10 yards per catch in one in every of his 4 seasons (2023, 10.2), but he has operated each as an inline tight end and within the slot. He helped Baker Mayfield considerably as his skill-position players kept dropping last season, catching 29 passes for 319 yards from Weeks 5-9. The Bucs, who’ve enjoyed great success retaining their very own under Jason Licht, can have an enormous need if Otton departs next week.
The $12.5MM-per-year Cole Kmet–Jake Ferguson tier ought to be a spot to begin for Otton. The 6-5 goal’s 11 profession TDs and 9.7-yard profession average per grab should keep him out of the market’s upper reaches, but Kmet and Ferguson each topped $30MM guaranteed on four-year deals. David Njoku did the identical on a 2022 extension. The cap is greater than $90MM higher in 2026. Even when Otton’s guarantee falls into the Mark Andrews–Dalton Schultz–Pat Freiermuth area, that continues to be north of $21MM.
35. Dallas Goedert, TE. Age in Week 1: 31
In fall 2021, Goedert and Mark Andrews signed second contracts. They inked near-identical extensions. The Ravens gave Andrews a four-year deal price $56MM, while Goedert inked a four-year contract price $57MM. It is feasible history repeats itself here.
Andrews, a 2018 third-round pick, signed a second Ravens extension – a three-year, $39.27MM pact – in December 2025. Like Goedert, Andrews will play an age-31 season in 2026. A superior blocker coming off a greater 2025 season, Goedert ought to be in position to make use of an Andrews deal as a springboard once more.
Unlike Andrews, Goedert has no Pro Bowls on his resume. That’s an increasingly less meaningful distinction, but it surely is a bit surprising one in every of the sport’s best all-around TEs – granted, the Eagles’ Super Bowl appearances in 2022 and ’24 nixed any alternate invites – has never been honored. Goedert also deals with injury issues annually. Last 12 months brought just one missed game on account of injury, but the previous second-round pick missed six contests with injuries in 2024, three in 2023 and five in 2022. That will probably be a problem for teams.
But Goedert was a key a part of Saquon Barkley’s 2024 dominance, and he caught 11 touchdown passes last season – an Eagles TE record. Goedert has averaged greater than 11 yards per reception 4 times, most recently in 2024, and he has been a plus blocker throughout his profession. The South Dakota State alum is declining, as a 9.9-yard average in 2025 partially shows, but he still totaled 591 yards in Kevin Patullo’s disjointed offense.
The Eagles gave Goedert a pay cut after trade rumors swirled last 12 months, and he could thoroughly head elsewhere soon. Andrews’ late-season extension brought $25.94MM guaranteed (eighth amongst TEs). If a team signs off on a Goedert three-year offer, it can need to incorporate no less than that much guaranteed.
36. Nick Cross, S. Age in Week 1: 25
Free safeties occupy more slots among the many top 20 highest-paid players at the security position, but a few of their strong safety brethren – Xavier McKinney, Talanoa Hufanga, Grant Delpit, Julian Love – reside here too. It is feasible Cross will probably be caught within the wash of a crowded market, but his age and production point to considerable interest.
The Colts are highly unlikely to pay Cross, as they overhauled their secondary payroll – by signing Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward (to go along with Kenny Moore’s $10MM AAV) and trading for Sauce Gardner’s monster extension – in 2025. There isn’t any room for Cross in Indy. Cross will have the ability to buy around. If he is wise, he’ll use his age advantage to ink a medium-term take care of a watch on being back in free agency – or using a possible market trip as extension leverage – in his late 20s.
Whereas a lot of the players on this market will probably be of their late 20s by Week 1, Cross turns 25 this offseason. Having two more mid-20s seasons to market, after playing well in two defensive systems over the past two years, represents a weapon Cross has his peers don’t. That would well matter, even when this position often is the most crowded on this 12 months’s FA class.
Deemed unready over his first two seasons, the Maryland alum combined for 266 tackles (11 for loss) and 4 interceptions from 2024-25 in Gus Bradley and Lou Anarumo’s defenses. Bradley charge Julian Blackmon’s free agencies have been a dud, but Cross was more productive. His 16 pressures ranked third amongst safeties last season. This can be a box player, but Moehrig’s move to the box in 2024 helped garner him a three-year, $51MM Panthers accord. Cross has also seen nearly 700 free safety snaps over the past two seasons, offering some versatility – even when he’s best closer to the road of scrimmage.
37. Chig Okonkwo, TE. Age in Week 1: 27
Greater than a fourth of the league will probably be in search of a starting tight end this offseason. The early emergences of Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta notwithstanding, this position traditionally includes a steep learning curve. Eyeing rookies and expecting immediate impact can prove frustrating. With Kyle Pitts off the market, there may be more cash on the market for a good end coming into his prime.
Okonkwo may be graded on a curve. He played with a breaking-down Ryan Tannehill and an overmatched Malik Willis as a rookie, and far of his next two years got here with Will Levis targeting him. The 6-3 pass catcher, who clocked a 4.52-second 40-yard time on the 2022 Mix, has two 500-yard receiving seasons on his resume. He has not been especially consistent, but QB issues have followed the Maryland alum for much of his profession.
The previous fourth-round pick is coming off his best season – 56 catches, 560 yards – and a team pays to have him start in 2026. Undersized at 238 kilos, Okonkwo still will generate intrigue on account of his production with basement-level – Cam Ward’s rookie 12 months qualifies as such – QB play. Fourteen TE contracts carry $20MM-plus in guarantees. Juwan Johnson fetched $21.25MM guaranteed last 12 months and broke through, at 29, for a career-best season. A team selling itself on Okonkwo’s late 20s should occur.
Although this market has another notable options – Isaiah Likely, Cade Otton, Dallas Goedert, David Njoku, Travis Kelce (though, it’s Chiefs or retirement for the all-time great) – Okonkwo presents a pleasant speed-age combination. And having never missed a game represents an enormous plus for the intriguing starter.
38. Kamren Curl, S. Age in Week 1: 27
Curl’s market underwhelmed two years ago, settling at just two years and $9MM. That two-year deal was purposeful, as Curl knew he could make it back to free agency in his prime. A glut of talented safeties exists this 12 months, but Curl is among the finest available. And last 12 months showed a crowded market can still yield rewards for its best players, with five eight-figure-per-year safety pacts handed out.
Curl played nearly 300 snaps within the box and greater than 650 at free safety last season, while also logging greater than 100 within the slot. The Rams prolonged Quentin Lake but used the young safety in slot more, though Los Angeles also has Kamren Kinchens. This offseason probably breaks up the two-year all-Kamren pair on the L.A. back line. PFF ranked Curl eleventh amongst safeties last season, grading him second overall in run defense on the position.
Not set to show 28 until March 2027, Curl has three late-20s seasons to market. Teams desired to see more in 2024, though the security market has yoyoed over the past decade. Curl registered two sacks last season and intercepted his first two passes since his 2020 rookie 12 months. He also made a career-high 122 tackles. With ability to play within the box and at FS, the previous Washington seventh-rounder is running out of time to money in. He should do well this time around.
39. Leo Chenal, LB. Age in Week 1: 25
Were it not for Chenal, the Chiefs could be on a five-game losing streak to the Broncos. The young linebacker, nonetheless, bulldozing Alex Forsyth resulted in a dramatic blocked field goal in November 2024. That helped put the Nick Bolton sidekick on the map, and Steve Spagnuolo found an increased role for the previous third-round pick last season. Chenal played a career-best 53% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps in 2025, but his Kansas City place is murky because of the Bolton contract and Drue Tranquill’s presence.
The Chiefs found money to franchise-tag Trey Smith last 12 months, essentially swapping Joe Thuney’s money for Smith’s payday. K.C. could orchestrate an analogous switcheroo with Tranquill and Chenal, as the previous goes into an age-31 season; Chenal will turn 26 in October. Tranquill may be cut for $6MM in savings, possibly opening the door for a Chenal payment. The Chiefs also just traded Trent McDuffie to clear nearly $14MM in cap space. A Jawaan Taylor release then added $20MM more, giving Kansas City $24MM-plus as of Wednesday night.
Chenal has functioned as Kansas City’s No. 3 linebacker. Just like Azeez Al-Shaair’s role in the course of the Fred Warner–Dre Greenlaw duo’s heyday, Chenal played far lower than the highest two LB cogs on his team. But PFF has rated him as a top-20 off-ball LB in each of the past two seasons. And Spagnuolo has used the Wisconsin alum in myriad roles. This included a spy position on Lamar Jackson. Chenal has also been effective as a blitzer, totaling six sacks and 13 QB hits over the past three seasons.
Free agency commonly rewards promising part-time players, and Chenal’s age – being younger than each Devin Lloyd and Quay Walker – works in his favor here. Like safety, nonetheless, this 12 months’s ILB class supplies depth. But a guarantee at or near $20MM shouldn’t be ruled out.
40. Josh Jobe, CB. Age in Week 1: 28
Jobe figures to be the simplest member of Seattle’s free agent DB starter trio – which also includes Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant – to retain. Considering the Seahawks developed him – after the Eagles moved on following their 2024 training camp – right into a starter exclusively during Mike Macdonald’s tenure, it will stand to reason this can be a solution to ensure some continuity alongside Devon Witherspoon. A Jobe deal probably could be the simplest to enrich Witherspoon’s upcoming windfall.
A 12 months older than Woolen, Jobe brings now-or-never vibes as a free agent. We saw last 12 months this age range be rewarded on the position, but 2025’s group of late-20-something corners carried more starter experience. Jobe may not have time to build up that if he accepts a one- or two-year deal. It could seem needed for the previous UDFA out of Alabama to capitalize on the momentum being a Super Bowl LX starter has generated and take his FA swing now.
Playing a career-high 818 defensive snaps (and starting more games than Woolen – 15-7), Jobe allowed a measly 49.5% completion rate because the closest defender last season. Amongst boundary corners with no less than eight starts, that ranked ninth leaguewide. Jobe’s statistical resume is obvious, with just two profession INTs (granted, he only saw extensive defensive motion in two seasons) and 0 TFLs. He did break up a career-high 12 passes last season while starting three postseason games for a dominant Super Bowl-winning defense.
Unexplored guarantee territory exists between last 12 months’s late-20-something CB signees and pure slots. Amongst veteran CBs, only Jalen Ramsey’s outlier contract (on account of his age) resides between Brandon Stephens’ $22.98MM Jets guarantee and D.J. Reed’s $32MM Lions number. The Seahawks could explore that territory to retain the 5-11 Jobe on a medium-term agreement.
41. Wyatt Teller, G. Age in Week 1: 31
Teller slogged through an unusual contract 12 months. Extension rumors emerged early in the autumn, and Teller lost playing time to backup Teven Jenkins. Cleveland doesn’t have Jenkins under contract, either, because the three-year Bears starter was surprisingly available for just $3.1MM in 2025. Because the Browns have their entire starting front five from 2025 unsigned, Teller has confirmed he won’t be a part of Todd Monken’s offense. Teller is hitting free agency either on the tail end of his prime or early in his NFL twilight years.
The marketplace for 30-something guards is probably not robust, but there will not be many sure things amongst first-timers this 12 months. Alijah Vera-Tucker’s three season-ending injuries in five years make him a “prove it” deal candidate. Dylan Parham, Ed Ingram and Daniel Faalele also carry questions entering their first free agencies.
Teller can be nearly two years younger than Isaac Seumalo, who played out his Steelers contract. He’s three years younger than longtime teammate Joel Bitonio and nearly five years younger than the historically experienced Kevin Zeitler – a trusted guard mercenary at this point.
It’s undeniable Teller peaked just a few years ago, helping Nick Chubb to a string of 1,000-yard seasons. The Bills erred when giving up on Teller, a 2018 fifth-round pick, in 2019. He then began six-plus seasons in Cleveland. That worked out to 94 starts; in that point, Teller teamed with Bitonio to form a top-tier guard duo for just a few seasons. Teller earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2020 and ’21 and received three straight Pro Bowl invites from 2021-23.
An MCL sprain sidelined Teller for 4 games in 2024, and he missed 2025 time due to a calf injury – and the Browns reducing his snaps for Jenkins late within the season – but he missed just one game on account of injury from 2021-23. Teller will start elsewhere in 2026. Will the questions on this 12 months’s guard market bump his price up?
Teller played out a four-year, $56.8MM extension. Bitonio signed a three-year, $48MM deal at 30, while the Bears gave Joe Thuney a two-year, $35MM extension at 33. Thuney is healthier than Teller, but those accords show early-30-something contracts are doled out to proven guards.
42. Cor’Dale Flott, CB. Age in Week 1: 25
That is an age-based bet. Teams will probably be intrigued by the prospect of acquiring an experienced starting cornerback in his mid-20s, which is essentially unavailable on this market. Flott outplayed former first-rounder Deonte Banks, with the Giants demoting their top 2023 pick in favor of a 2022 third-round alternative who needed to vary positions — from the slot to the perimeter — during his rookie contract.
Flott, who doesn’t turn 25 until August, began 37 games in Latest York and played nearly 1,200 snaps on the boundary between the 2024 and ’25 seasons. PFF ranked Flott just outside the highest 40 amongst CBs in 2025, when he began a career-high 14 games. The Giants turned to the LSU alum, as Banks’ stock nosedives, opposite 2025 UFA addition Paulson Adebo and are focused on re-signing him even after changing coaches.
The Giants appeared keen on demoting Flott after signing Adebo last 12 months, however the LSU product wrested a starting job back from Banks. The 6-2 defender then broke up a career-high 11 passes and submitted his best coverage work (per Pro-Football-Reference) by allowing merely a 52.2% completion rate because the closest defender and holding QBs to 73.3 passer rating. These numbers were a lot better than Flott’s 2024 work (66.7%, 89.0), but age and a 37-start profile work in his favor. A guarantee north of where the Jets went for first-time UFA Brandon Stephens ($22.98MM) is affordable considering Stephens’ 2024 contract 12 months was worse than Flott’s 2025.
43. Dre’Mont Jones, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 29
Ranked eighth on the 2023 version of this list, Jones indeed cashed in following his Broncos rookie contract. He didn’t live as much as the three-year, $51MM Seahawks pact – a then-record for an outdoor Seattle FA signing – and was released because the NFC West team built a Super Bowl roster last 12 months. Amongst Seattle’s cap casualties before the 2025 league 12 months, Jones did the most effective job bouncing back. He delivered a career-high seven sacks and 24 QB hits, being traded from the Titans to the Ravens on the deadline.
Jones can be back on a PFR top 50 in a special position. The Seahawks converted the previous 3-4 defensive end into an edge presence, but he was not as effective in his first full-time 12 months in that role. After a four-sack season featuring 13 QB hits (and a demotion), Jones received his walking papers and signed a one-year, $8.5MM Titans deal. Jones then led the Ravens in pressures following his arrival. His 28 pressures between Baltimore and Tennessee ranked twenty eighth last season. That matched Josh Sweat and outflanked higher-profile UFAs-to-be Odafe Oweh, Kwity Paye and Joey Bosa.
An influence rusher stemming from his time as an interior D-lineman, Jones has made an unusual transition. After continuing as a 3-4 D-end in 2023, the previous third-round pick played 523 outside snaps in 2024 and 699 in ’25. Jones still offers the flexibility to match up well with interior O-linemen, nonetheless, supplying versatility. Not a conventional EDGE with high-end athleticism and a bevy of pass-rush moves, Jones still has 37.5 profession sacks and 47 TFLs despite spending greater than half his profession inside.
Dayo Odeyingbo parlayed his time as a Colts power DE right into a three-year, $48MM Bears deal. At this stage of Jones’ profession, that’s overly aspirational. As a sidekick edge rusher still in his 20s, Jones will still command an affordable market after his turnaround 2025.
44. Alijah Vera-Tucker, G. Age in Week 1: 27
Players have cashed in after an injury-wrecked season. Allen Robinson scored a monster Bears free agent deal after missing almost all the 2017 season. Kirk Cousins commanded a $100MM guarantee after an Achilles tear, while Daniel Jones is following within the savvy earner’s footsteps. But what about when three years are worn out by injury?
Vera-Tucker could be this market’s top guard perhaps even when he still had two of those years shortened by major injuries, but No. 3 last 12 months makes this one in every of 2026’s strangest markets. PFF graded Vera-Tucker because the No. 9 overall guard in 2024, when he logged 916 RG snaps after the Jets made good on their pledge to stop toggling him between guard and right tackle. The Joe Douglas-Robert Saleh regime viewed Vera-Tucker as having Pro Bowl potential at guard.
The Jets modified regimes and stopped their extension efforts after the Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner deals, and Vera-Tucker suffered a triceps tear just before the season. This got here three years after a separate triceps tear; Vera-Tucker also sustained an Achilles tear in October 2023.
Vera-Tucker has encountered triceps tears in each arms; teams could be advised to proceed with caution here. That said, the dearth of second-contract guard options could allow for the malady-prone blocker to attain a multiyear deal somewhat than merely a “prove it” pact.
Ex-Jets OCs Mike LaFleur and Nathaniel Hackett reside in Arizona, while Saleh needs a Peter Skoronski complement in Tennessee. It’d take until 2027 for Vera-Tucker to money in, but he is healthier than Mekhi Becton. A team may perhaps roll the dice early in what may very well be a buy-low opportunity.
45. Isaac Seumalo, G. Age in Week 1: 32
Seumalo is a 10-year veteran searching for his fourth contract, but he could have played too well to disregard here. The Super Bowl LVII starter brought good value on a three-year, $24MM Steelers contract. Because the team has modified coaching staffs, Seumalo is days away from testing the marketplace for a second time.
The Steelers needed to offer the previous third-round pick a greater contract than the Eagles did in 2019, when he signed a three-year deal price $17.55MM. On a Pittsburgh line flooded with rookie contracts, Seumalo did his part and was 3-for-3 in playoff berths together with his second Pennsylvania club. Seumalo ranked third in pass block win rate and fourth in run block win rate last season. In 2024, Seumalo placed seventh within the run-blocking category.
Like Wyatt Teller, Seumalo could reap the benefits of a number of first-time UFA guards with big questions – be it injury- or performance-related. Joe Thuney’s two-year, $35MM Bears extension included $33.5MM guaranteed. Seumalo won’t command that, but a three-year pact including two guaranteed years – or a partial Yr 2 guarantee – ought to be reasonable. If that’s the case, a possible $20MM-plus guarantee will await a proven blocker who would help a handful of contending teams at a position that has been treated increasingly well in free agency.
46. Joey Bosa, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 31
For teams uneager to wade into the deep waters at the sting defender position in free agency, Bosa represents an interesting midlevel alternative. On a Hall of Fame trajectory before injuries slowed him in Los Angeles, Bosa has played 29 games over the past two years – after suiting up for less than 14 from 2022-23. He’s actually a dangerous bet, and the sack production has waned lately. However the 10-year veteran made an impact with Buffalo and will do damage as a No. 2 rush presence.
Bosa led the NFL with five forced fumbles last season. While he only tallied five sacks – his second straight 12 months with that total – the previous No. 3 overall pick matched Odafe Oweh with 24 pressures. Bosa’s 16 QB hits were his most since 2021. Bosa also finished fourth amongst edge rushers in run stop win rate in 2024, after the Chargers gave him a pay cut.
The Bills probably overused Bosa last season as well, giving him a 64% defensive snap rate after he had played between 50-54% of the Chargers’ snaps over the previous three seasons. Moving the previous Pro Bowler back toward that level as a wingman for a high-profile EDGE may very well be a scenario that entices contending teams. Though, it’s actually possible Bosa takes one other one-year deal. His last got here with $12MM guaranteed.
DeMarcus Lawrence secured a three-year, $32.5MM Seahawks deal last 12 months; that pact got here with $18MM guaranteed ahead of an age-33 season with the longtime Cowboy coming off a Lisfranc injury. After Bosa stayed mostly healthy over the past two seasons, something similar – adjusted for 2026 inflation – may very well be within the cards.
47. Jaquan Brisker, S. Age in Week 1: 27
This free agent class just comprises so many first-stringers at safety; some proven back-line defenders might want to accept below-market deals. Brisker is probably not where that line is drawn, but it surely also may not come too far south of here. Brisker would probably rank higher were he not shut down by a concussion in 2024. A concussion apiece caused Brisker to miss time in 2022 and ’23, and his most concerning head injury got here in 2024, when a 12-game absence commenced.
Complementing 2025 INT leader Kevin Byard to offer Chicago a high-level safety tandem, Brisker resurfaced with a 17-game season. The hard-hitting DB topped 100 tackles in 2022 and ’23, despite missing two games in each season, and combined for eight TFLs in those campaigns. While the previous second-round pick has only 4 profession INTs, he broke up nine passes in 2023 and eight in ’25.
PFF has never ranked Brisker contained in the top 40 on the position, and the depth of this class – not included on this list: Byard, Jalen Thompson, Jaylinn Hawkins, Kyle Dugger, Andre Cisco, Harrison Smith, Donovan Wilson, Alohi Gilman, Reed Blankenship, Xavier Woods, C.J. Gardner-Johnson – will make it difficult for too many safeties to land near the market’s upper reaches.
But 4 UFA safeties scored $20MM guarantees last 12 months, with three of those – Tre’von Moehrig, Jevon Holland, Camryn Bynum – topping $30MM. Brisker is a candidate to no less than climb past $20MM guaranteed on his second contract.
48. Joseph Ossai, EDGE. Age in Week 1: 26
Regardless that Ossai signed a one-year deal as a 2025 free agent, he is simply heading into his age-26 season. That makes the longtime Trey Hendrickson supporting-caster an atypical 2026 free agent. Ossai’s sack stats don’t excite, but he has been a gradual pressure artist over the past two seasons. He’ll do higher than a one-year, $6.5MM contract – his 2025 terms.
Perhaps destined to be eternally often known as the player whose late hit on Patrick Mahomes moved the Chiefs into field goal range during an AFC title game by which the Kansas City megastar was hurt and throwing to a skeleton-crew WR forged, Ossai has quietly recovered from that sideline misstep. The previous third-round pick finished in the highest 40 in pressures in 2024 (with 23) and added 22 in 2025. The latter number could also be more impressive considering Hendrickson (10 missed games) was not there to command attention from O-lines.
The Nigerian rusher, who missed his full rookie season on account of injury, added nine TFLs in a 14-game 2025. He also ranked sixth in ESPN’s run stop win rate amongst edge players in 2024. Ossai offers plus speed at this position, which is a trait a number of the edges on this 12 months’s market lack.
The youngest EDGE on this list, Ossai will fare higher as a 2026 UFA. This draft does feature some strong first-round options, but teams won’t be viewing Ossai as a lead rusher. At best, Ossai is a No. 2 option with reasonable upside. Aiming for an Alex Wright– or Dorance Armstrong-level deal – the 2 are respectively on $11MM- and $10MM-AAV pacts, each seeing just greater than $20MM guaranteed – could also be nearby for a player who must have higher sack seasons ahead.
49. Dylan Parham, G. Age in Week 1: 27
Parham just isn’t carrying much FA buzz, but he’s a four-year starter (63 games) in his prime. There isn’t any major injury history here. Although the Raiders are coming off a miserable season – during which Pete Carroll fired OC Chip Kelly – one of these guard gets paid annually.
Kelly and Brennan Carroll received criticism for mismanagement in 2025, and PFF ranked Las Vegas’ front five because the NFL’s worst. A part of that stemmed from Kolton Miller’s half-season absence and major struggles at center and right tackle as well. But Parham, who has logged seasons at LG and RG, held his own. The previous third-round pick graded in the highest 20 in pass block win rate last 12 months (nineteenth) and in 2024 (14th). PFF graded Parham seventeenth amongst guards two seasons ago and thirty seventh last 12 months.
Great players rarely reach the market. As an alternative, average and above-average talents are commonly overpaid. This FA guard class has some third- and even fourth-contract candidates set to see notable money, partly due to issues involving a number of the first-timers. Parham may be a sleeper candidate to see eight figures per 12 months or near it in a league with a $301.2MM salary cap.
50. Jalen Nailor, WR. Age in Week 1: 27
Nailor is among the many late-20s receivers set to be available. With Justin Jefferson’s at-signing guarantee ($88.7MM) still a receiver record and Jordan Addison a first-round pick (albeit one who has encountered legal trouble), Nailor’s second contract likely comes from outside the Twin Cities.
When the previous Jefferson-Addison third wheel (K.J. Osborn) hit free agency, no notable market formed. Also a 5-11 slot-based wideout, Nailor has differentiated himself with gaudy yards-per-catch figures (14.8, 15.3). He has benefited from fiddling with Jefferson, but per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, coaching staffs are high on the previous sixth-round pick – drafted in Kevin O’Connell’s first Minnesota offseason.
We saw Dyami Brown receive $10MM from the Jaguars last 12 months despite zero 400-yard seasons in Washington. Nailor has two, the second despite concerning QB play from J.J. McCarthy. A spot as a midlevel No. 2 wideout or a high-end slot – on a team that may afford it, perhaps one with a rookie-deal QB in place – could unlock a brand new level for the crafty Michigan State product.