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junker-town · 5 years ago

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The NFL’s best remaining free agents, by position

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

The new league year is here, but not every big name has been signed yet.

The official start to the new NFL league year is here, with a new collective bargaining agreement and all. It also comes at a time when the world is upended by the coronavirus pandemic, but other than changes to travel and locking down team facilities, NFL free agency is continuing unabated.

With the legal tampering period beginning on March 16, many deals were already agreed upon before free agency actually began. Some became official right at 4 p.m. ET when the new league year kicked off, while others have yet to be finalized until teams can conduct physicals. We’ve also seen a high number of franchise tags this offseason, with players like Dak Prescott and Chris Jones sticking with their teams.

Even after all that, there are a slew of free agents looking for a landing spot in 2020. Below, we’ll point you to the best available players at each position, with updates throughout free agency. Note that not every signing is included, namely for players at the bottom of the roster.

Quarterback

Signed: Kyle Allen, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Chase Daniel, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, Taysom Hill, Brian Hoyer, Case Keenum, Marcus Mariota, AJ McCarron, Colt McCoy, Sean Mannion, Nick Mullens, Nathan Peterman, Dak Prescott, Philip Rivers, Nate Sudfeld, Ryan Tannehill, P.J. Walker, Jameis Winston

Best available: Blake Bortles, Joe Flacco, Josh McCown, Matt Moore, Cam Newton, Kyle Sloter

A strong group of free agent quarterbacks has been quickly depleted, with Dak Prescott getting the franchise tag and Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater, and Marcus Mariota landing with new teams. Cam Newton’s reported release made him a late addition to the list and an intriguing option for teams that. missed out on the first wave of QB signings.

Running Back

Signed: Ameer Abdullah, Peyton Barber, Matt Breida, Kenyan Drake, Austin Ekeler, Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, Derrick Henry, Jordan Howard, Kareem Hunt, Dion Lewis, J.D. McKissic, DeAndre Washington, Jeff Wilson

Best available: Devonta Freeman, Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde, LeSean McCoy, Lamar Miller, Ty Montgomery, C.J. Prosise, Wendell Smallwood, Chris Thompson, Jonathan Williams

The value of the running back position continues to swing wildly, but that didn’t stop the Titans from putting the franchise tag on Derrick Henry. Other names like Austin Ekeler and Jordan Howard were quickly locked down, too.

Wide Receiver

Signed: Geronimo Allison, Nelson Agholor, Danny Amendola, Robby Anderson, Travis Benjamin, Kendrick Bourne, DeAndre Carter, Randall Cobb, Keelan Cole, Amari Cooper, Phillip Dorsett, Keelan Doss, Larry Fitzgerald, Devin Funchess, A.J. Green, David Moore, Zach Pascal, Breshad Perriman, Demarcus Robinson, Emmanuel Sanders, Tajae Sharpe, Laquon Treadwell

Best available: Taylor Gabriel, Rashard Higgins, Johnny Holton

We already saw two blockbuster wide receiver trades involving DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. The Cowboys didn’t let Amari Cooper hit the open market, as they signed him to a lucrative long-term deal. The Bengals tagged A.J. Green, but that still left some compelling names on the market.

Tight End

Signed: Ross Dwelley, Eric Ebron, Tyler Eifert, Darren Fells, Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, Hunter Henry, Jacob Hollister, Austin Hooper, Blake Jarwin, Marcedes Lewis, Greg Olsen, Quinton Spain, Levine Toilolo, Jason Witten

Best available: Charles Clay, Jordan Reed, Luke Stocker, Geoff Swaim, Delanie Walker

A weak draft class at tight end put a premium on the free agents who became available. Hunter Henry got the franchise tag, while Austin Hooper was quickly snatched up. Veterans Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham and Jason Witten had no troubles landing with teams, either.

Offensive Line

Signed: Daniel Brunskill, Bryan Bulaga, Anthony Castonzo, Jack Conklin, Rashaad Coward, George Fant, Cam Fleming, Ereck Flowers, Marcus Gilbert Graham Glasgow, Joe Haeg, D.J. Humphries, Joey Hunt, Roderick Johnson, Ted Karras, Alex Lewis, Justin McCray, Connor McGovern, John Miller, Justin Murray, Cedric Ogbuehi, Andrus Peat, Ty Sambrailo, Brandon Scherff, Brandon Shell, Matt Skura, Xavier Su’a-Filo, Joe Thuney, Ricky Wagner, Andrew Whitworth, Elijah Wilkinson, Daryl Williams, Stefen Wisniewski, Andrew Wylie

Best available: Demar Dotson, Cordy Glenn, James Hurst, Ronald Leary, Jason Peters

The Colts held on to left tackle Anthony Castonzo with an extension. Guards Joe Thuney and Brandon Scherff would have been next to new deals, but both received the franchise tag fairly quickly. Still, there’s a lot of beef out there!

Edge

Signed: Mario Addison, Arik Armstead, Shaquil Barrett, Vic Beasley, Ronald Blair, Bud Dupree, Dante Fowler Jr., Rodney Gunter, Bruce Irvin, Quinton Jefferson, Matt Judon, Roy Robertson-Harris, Branden Jackson, Carl Nassib, Yannick Ngakoue, Robert Quinn, Stephen Weatherly, Leonard Williams, Derek Wolfe

Best available: Jadeveon Clowney, Markus Golden, Everson Griffen, Clay Matthews, Cameron Wake

Getting to the quarterback is becoming more and more important as crazy-athletic passers continue to enter the league. The 49ers gave Arik Armstead a huge extension, while the Jaguars were quick to tag Yannick Ngakoue.

Defensive Tackle

Signed: Beau Allen, Andrew Billings, Michael Brockers, Adam Butler, Maliek Collins, Tyeler Davison, Sheldon Day, Brandon Dunn, Javon Hargrave, Shelby Harris, Chris Jones, Linval Joseph, Star Lotulelei, Gerald McCoy, Michael Pierce, Dontari Poe, Mike Purcell, D.J. Reader, Jarran Reed, A’Shawn Robinson, Danny Shelton, Ndamukong Suh, Josh Tupou, Antwaun Woods

Best available: Damon Harrison, Margus Hunt, Brandon Mebane

Chris Jones got the franchise tag, which is unsurprising because of how important he was to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. After him, D.J. Reader got a huge contract with the Bengals, and the market is beginning to be pretty depleted.

Linebacker

Signed: Vince Biegel, Jon Bostic, De’Vondre Campbell, Jamie Collins, Brandon Copeland, Thomas Davis, Kyler Fackrell, Leonard Floyd, B.J. Goodson, Jordan Jenkins, Devon Kennard, Christian Kirksey, Nick Kwiatkoski, Sean Lee, Cory Littleton, Blake Martinez, David Mayo, Kevin Minter, Nicholas Morrow, Denzel Perryman, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Reggie Ragland, Elandon Roberts, Joe Schobert, Danny Trevathan, Kyle Van Noy, Nick Vigil, Tahir Whitehead, Kyle Wilber, Eric Wilson

Best available: Mark Barron, Anthony Chickillo, Kareem Martin, Alec Ogletree

There are a lot of tackling machines available this year, even after guys like Jamie Collins, Cory Littleton, Thomas Davis, and Joe Schobert got big deals elsewhere.

Cornerback

Signed: Mackensie Alexander, James Bradberry, Bashaud Breeland, Anthony Brown, Ronald Darby, Michael Davis, Pierre Desir, Grant Haley, Vernon Hargreaves, Chris Harris Jr., Byron Jones, Nevin Lawson, Jalen Mills, Emmanuel Moseley, Brian Poole, Xavier Rhodes, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Bradley Roby, Jimmy Smith, Desmond Trufant, Levi Wallace, Trae Waynes

Best available: Prince Amukamara, Eli Apple, Darqueze Dennard, Johnathan Joseph, Logan Ryan

It’s unbelievable that someone as good as Byron Jones hit the open market, and he wasn’t there for long, signing a megadeal with the Dolphins. There are still quite a few corners worth kicking the tires on, however.

Safety

Signed: Vonn Bell, Tre Boston, Chuck Clark, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Anthony Harris, Jeff Heath, Eddie Jackson, Malcolm Jenkins, Karl Joseph, Devin McCourty, Jordan Poyer, Damarious Randall, Andrew Sendejo, Justin Simmons, Jimmie Ward

Best available: Morgan Burnett, Blake Countess, A.J. Howard, Tony Jefferson, Colin Jones, Reshad Jones, Eric Reid

Several big names at safety, like Devin McCourty, Anthony Harris, and Jimmie Ward, were scheduled to be free agents. Unfortunately for teams in need of safety help, all three are staying put, leaving the next tier of safeties for the rest of the league.

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