The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Strengths and weaknesses of the 2026 free agent class

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Free agency might begin next week, but we already have plenty of player movement news to tackle. The Bears are surprisngly in th emarket for a tackle after Drew Dalman's sudden retirement. The Cardinals will be shopping for a new quarterback next week, and Kyler Murray will be looking for a new home. Daniel Jones (most likely) and Breece Hall are staying put. Thats' where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show. After that, the guys dig into the contours of this free agent class, focusing on the positions where needy teams can find answers, and those at the opposite end of the spectrum.Connect with The Athletic Football ShowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowPodcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/viewX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshowBuy our merch! http://theathletic.lnk.to/tafsmerchCall us: 847-448-0701Email us: [e-mail]: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerVideo Producer: Katy DuffyAudio Producer: Michael BellerSocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. A little free agency primer today. We're about a week away from free agency kicking off in earnest. The first day of the league year is a week from, if you're listening to this on Wednesday, is a week from today. Obviously, the tampering period starts on Monday. As I mentioned at the end of this show today with Derek and Dave, we're going to be doing a five-hour stream throughout the entire first day of free agency. Monday, March 9th, 11 a.m. Central will be starting right here on the YouTube channel.

We're going to have 15 guests over that entire five-hour period. It was going to be rolling through people like every 15 minutes, similar to what we did last year. Truly one of my favorite things that we do. It's an absolute blast. Excited to be doing it from the studio this year. So please be on the lookout for that. Today, we took our first kind of foray into what that class looks like.

We talked about positions that are strengths in this group, guys, where if you want to be looking for a safety, you might be feeling pretty good. If you want to be looking for a running back or a linebacker, you might be feeling pretty good. If you're trying to find a tackle or an interior defensive lineman in this class, other end of the spectrum. So that's what we did today, kind of a big picture bird's eye view at the 2026 free agent class. We started the show with some news right before we started recording.

I think I deserve some credit for bouncing back. Drew Dalman announced his retirement came across the timeline per Adam Schaefter. Also had the transition tag for Daniel Jones. Jonathan Grenard being available via trade. We talked about Kyler being released or being told that he's going to be released by the Cardinals. So that's what we did at the top for digging into this free agency group. Fun show. We enjoyed doing it. Hope you guys enjoy it as well. Let's get to it right now. We were about six-ish days from NFL free agency kicking off in earnest. And we are going to spend

today just kind of doing what, I don't know, let's call it a primer. Let's call it a primer on this free agent class. We're going to dig in a little bit deeper over the next couple days, hit some categories, our favorite fits, bargain signings, guys that might be a little bit scared of. But before we really dug into the nitty gritty Dave, I wanted to just zoom out a little bit and talk about the makeup and the quality of this class overall because I think that I'm guilty of this. I've painted free agency in recent classes with some broad strokes over the last year as we've just discussed the types of players who are available. And I wanted to be a little bit more careful and specific about it than we have been. And so I wanted to spend a little bit of time today just

taking stock of the pool of players who are going to be hitting the market here the next week or so. And I'm glad we're doing that. And can I give you the analogy I came down with? You sure can. This is an Aldi free agency class. Because the first time you go to Aldi, you're like, that's like the cheap grocery store. Like should I be doing that?

Like, is this really where I want to be shopping? And then you go to Aldi and you put your little quarter in the card and you get it. And you're like, holy crap, all of this was 60 bucks. There are some deals to be found at the Aldi. And before you know it, you're excited to go there. And that's how I felt digging into this free agency class. I don't love very many of the big ticket items, but looking through it, looking at a few different positions, I found myself getting really excited. There are a lot of good players to be found here at what I think will be decent prices if you're willing to go to Aldi and look.

You got to actually go. You can't just turn up your nose without trying it. There are some bargains and some values to be had, and we will be digging into all of that. Derek, what do you got? I don't have any special analogy like that. Like Dave has already blown me out of the water. That was too good. For me, it was just like when I looked at this class and like what positions are good,

it's like to me like the stitching, the middle of the roster spots are actually kind of interesting. Running back, interior offensive line. Linebacker, I think is pretty interesting. Like the very middle of the roster spots are pretty good. You try to expand to like edge corner wide receiver. I think it gets a little bit more sticky and hard to find the big ticket guys that you might want. Oh, so that's interesting. We'll talk about this, but I actually think the edge group is much better than it typically is in free agency in a typical given year.

I think it's deep, but I think when I look at the guys that are at the top of the edge class, except for maybe Phillips, I think I'm just not as excited about that group as I wanted to be coming in. See, this is going to be a good conversation. Before we dig into the free agents, we have some news to hit. About 10 minutes before we started recording, I'll lay it out for you and how it all happened. We're all sitting here in the studio in the office. And Scott, Crancher, social media. What's your actual title, Scott? Social media producer. I always say he's like our social media guy, but I actually don't know that. If I should be saying that.

Scott, who was our social media producer and a huge Bears fan, is sitting over there and he goes, Drew Dalman just retired. And we were like, what? What the fuck are you talking about? We were having like a grand old time, too. We were cutting up and joking around and just all the air went out of the room.

The mood changed. And then Derek, in our Slack channel, as Drew Dalman is retiring. And I was like, I know, Darren, I'm aware of I saw the news. So I'm currently working through that right now. I mean, just a massive blow to the bear's offseason plans and what the strength of this roster was supposed to be. And you think about the job they pulled off last spring,

reworking that interior of the offensive line, signing Dolman free agency, the trades they swung for Joe Tuny and Jonah Jackson. It was masterful. And it changed the fortunes of the offense and the roster and kind of the outlook for this team over the last couple years. And then Adam Schefter comes across the timeline, 27 years old,

Drew Dolman walking away from a heck of a lot of money. So this leaves the Bears in a pretty tough spot. Who knows his reasoning? You know, good for him getting out while he's still healthy if that's why he was ultimately trying to do it. But if you were a Chicago Bears fan, you were somebody looking at the football ramifications of this, they are pretty intense, is what I would say.

This shit's hard, man. you could do everything right and all of the stuff they did to retool the interior of the offensive line worked like gangbusters and the minute you assume that that might be something you can work with for the next at least one to two years hopefully two to three years you just you can't predict what it's the off season so the rosters are bigger now you can't predict what like 90 different human beings are going to do or what their timelines look like what they prioritize and it's really, really hard to put a championship contender together with all of those different variables. And I lean toward thinking Drew Dalman is just like walking away from

football on his own terms, which yeah, I absolutely commend him for doing that. But you never, you never can say for sure what motivates 90 different guys in a locker room. It's always interesting seeing these guys. I feel like once every like three, four years, we get one of these guys who is 26, 27, 28 years old just kind of walks away. And like I think obviously it's in a really tough spot for the Bears because Dalman was, I think we knew Dalman was going to be good for them, right? Like he made sense as a scheme fit. Like they paid for him.

He was going to be a good player. I think he was even better than he was sold to be last year. Like he was sensational. And so losing him, I think is going to hurt, obviously, that being with the young quarterback, I think it helped having a veteran like that. The silver lining, if anything, and I kind of joke to you about this in the Slack channel before we got started, it is a like weird. deep center free agency class.

At least as it stands now, you know, maybe Linderbaum goes back and a couple of these other guys go back to their spots. But like, there should be enough options for them to replace. Whereas, like, I feel like in a lot of years, if this has happened, they might have just been screwed for the rest of the off season. I mean, you saw it right now. So, I mean, two bits of news that kind of crept out after the Dahlman thing became public. Albert Breer reported that the Bears have been sniffing around Tyler Linderbom a little bit.

I assume just to try to figure out what his market is just in case they needed a starting center. that seems very expensive for where this team is right now and just all the other positions they're allocating money toward and the fact that I believe just looking at it pretty quickly if they were to the way that the money would work for Dolman, I'm pretty sure even if they made them like a June 1 cut, it's $11.5 million in dead money this year. And so you're going to be paying a lot for a center

who's not going to be on your roster. We'll see what happens with the signing bonuses, all of that stuff. But the other bit of news was, per Ian Rappaport, the Bears are already hosting Tyler Beaudish, who was cut by Washington. in last week had been their starting center. He's only 28 years old. And I'm not surprised that that's the mindset.

You know, Dane believes that maybe there's three to five guys outside of the top, like, 75, who might be starting caliber centers in this draft class. I don't think you can roll with a guy you draft in the third round and have that be the plan. Maybe you do both. But the idea that they want a veteran in there to make sure they have that solved to at least a certain extent before we really get into the teeth of the offseason, I'm not surprised. that they're showing that level of urgency. And to reiterate what Derek said,

I mean, it sucks that you had somebody playing at Dalman's level and you can't guarantee that whoever you bring in will be as good as he was, but you have some choice. Like there are options available to you, whether you get something done with Beiotish early or you wait for free agency to open

and work with some of these other guys, whether it's Linderbom, I mean, Cade Mays. We brought up the fact that Lloyd Cushenberry is another guy that got cut. Connor McGovern. Luke Fortner did some good stuff for the Saints this year. Like there are options for guys who can do this. It just sucks that it looked like you had this taken care of

and you got to turn around and fish it at this position again one year later. The Linderbaum thing is obviously appealing, not just because he's the best player of all the options, but just stylistically and skill set wise. Like it's just a one-for-one replacement, just a little bit better arguably to what Dolman is giving you, especially as a run blocker. And so if I'm just like, all right,

What is the thing that can allow the bear's offense and the engine of that offense to look similar heading into next year? That's the place my mind goes. But obviously, he's going to be extremely expensive. And this team does not have that much money to throw around. I don't know about you, Derek. I wasn't budgeting for a $20 million center for the Chicago Bears a week ago when I was trying to figure out what their finances are going to look like. I don't think I was either, but they've proven they'll throw around all those resources for the offensive line, whether it's first round picks, trading guys, spending 20 million on guards, all that stuff.

So maybe they'll do it. That's a really good point, though, about the scheme fit. Like a lot of these other guys looking at it, like McGovern is coming from a system that was a lot of power. May is coming from a system that was a lot of power. Lloyd Cushenberry, they did a lot of that stuff. Like, these are guys who are a little bit bigger and burlier. And not that they can't do some of the zone stuff that Ben Johnson wants, obviously. But if they did want to pay up the nose for Linderbom specifically because it makes so much sense, I would get it.

Even if it was, you know, that's probably their entire budget for the off season. You know what is cool about this? It's not cool for you. I'm sorry. Like, it's cool. This whole thing sucks. It's cool for me. As a neutral observer, if they were to go after Linderbom, if they were to get Linderbom,

it sends a very clear signal that Ben is like, we have to, we need this, we have to have this, bring me the best option. Whereas, like, it's easy for me as an outsider to be like, ah, this guy could do it for a third of the cost. But if you're really going after Tyler Linderbom, it sends a very clear signal what the shot collar and the architect of everything for your team thinks about it. I'm very intrigued as a neutral observer to see just how much Ben Johnson prioritizes this. That's obviously the pie in the sky option.

My assumption is they signed Tyler would be honest to like a one-year $7 million contract. He went to Wisconsin. That's what I assume who ended up having. It feels perfect for him. A few more news things to dig through today. The Colts officially put the transition tag on Daniel Jones, which is $37 million. Transition tag means that they have the right of first refusal to match any contract that is offered to Daniel Jones. If they choose not to do that, he walks for nothing, unlike.

the franchise tag where you obviously get some draft compensation back. The appeal of the transition tag versus the franchise tags, it's about $6 million cheaper. Them like trying, whether they believe it or this is just cope or people trying to frame it a certain way of all, they had spent $6 million less for the transition tag. This entire thing to me, Derek, is extremely frustrating because I understand why if you are Shane Steichen and Chris Bauer, you feel compelled to make sure that that Daniel Jones is your quarterback next year.

You don't want to wait into the wilderness again. You don't want to dive into the unknown with all these other teams. At the same time, $37 million for Daniel Jones. We're doing this again with the tagging of Daniel Jones. In a vacuum, right? If you were making your choices in an optimized way, you would look at $37 million for Daniel Jones.

And even if you didn't like the alternatives, you would say, you know what? We'll take our chances. Unfortunately, they are not in a position to do that. that pushes you to make a decision you probably shouldn't be making. And that's exactly how I feel about everything that's going down right now. Yeah, I don't really care about the saving the six million. You're still spending 37 million on him for a quarterback that is, I know the first six weeks or whatever the season were great, but the first like six years of Daniel Jones's career were not

of somebody who you would pay $37 million, even though a different team already did it. So I'm, I'm kind of in the boat of like, I understand that they don't really have many other options. Like, that it's they're not going to be the maliquitous team they already have proof of concept that this is going to work for them or can work on some level but i just i think we've talked about this before when it obviously happened but paying daniel jones to this amount of money is after one year basically is a little bit scary as is it's especially terrifying coming off of the injury which makes it exactly like like we have no idea because the think the thinking is like okay if you just had the normal year didn't get hurt we would all be like kind of like sam darnal last year it's like

okay i still don't know if i believe that but it was good enough you can try it again. But coming off the injury, it's like, how am I supposed to to believe that he's supposed to be the player that he just was? Like, it's hard to get there. Oh, this is really interesting because I don't, I don't agree at the end of the day. So I look at it like this. I mean, it's hard to think of a team that's gotten just screwed by fate harder than the Colts over the last like year or so. And so, I mean, over the last eight years. Well, some of that's their own doing though. I mean, like Andrew Luck is certainly, I mean, that's fate.

But like the Anthony Richards thing is that Richardson thing is their, I was mostly talking about Andrew Locke. Yeah. They're doing well. Maybe we invest in a better offensive line and Andrew Luck is in. That was not hit Chris Bowen's fault, but there are layers to this. Like drafting Anthony Richardson is your own fault. Him snapping a workout band back into his face, not your fault.

So a little bit of everything. Let's keep it in this short window of like since Daniel Jones got there. I think they're up shit creek. But like what are they supposed to do? Like it's easy, it's easy in a vacuum to say there's, there is a cheaper qualified option that you could pursue. But A, is that guy going to be better? B, is he going to fit in our building in our offense

the way that Daniel Jones did when he was healthy? I certainly get the impression that Daniel Jones won over a lot of the, a lot of people in that building from his teammates to the owner, Carly Ursa, Gordon, obviously Ballard and Stuyken. You know what it can look like when he's there. And on top of that, if you screw this up, we're all gone. That's the reason, though. It is.

That's the reason. I mean, the uncomfortable truth is that self-preservation is a big part of this, but I think you've got to make the decision that gives you the best chance of not getting fired in December. That's the problem, though, is when you start making decisions solely based off that, you think you make mistakes. And I, this is my issue. And I don't disagree with anything that you just said. I just think that often the biggest missteps that NFL teams and NFL forces can make is that they look at this decision and be like, well, I know what this is.

And so I have to have this thing that I know what it is. When in reality, I would bet, I think it's a very real argument that let's just say Gino gets cut, right? I'll just throw out like one of these guys who you're going to pay the minimum. And you have to pay Gino Smith a couple million bucks to be your quarterback or you pay $37 million to Daniel Jones. Even if there is some semblance of familiarity and security and certainty to an extent with Daniel Jones for $37 million, I just don't think.

that is the best allocation of resources when there are other options that are cheaper available. Why wouldn't you find the next Daniel Jones? You turned Daniel Jones into a $37 million a year player. He was not that. And I think in a lot of other, in like, again, a non-injury case, the idea would be like, okay, well, we're thinking about some of the throws

that these guys can make. Like, Gino Smith makes a lot of the similar throws that Daniel Jones made last year. And I think part of the reason that the offense worked a little bit differently than just whatever we're talking about in the passing game is obviously Daniel Jones was really helpful in the running game. And when his leg started to go, the running game didn't work, especially all that being in the gun. But if he's not going to be healthy next year, then that doesn't matter.

I would almost rather have whoever I think is the better passer, like a Gino Smith or whoever that might be in this free agency class, which, again, it's not very many options, but still. We are a firmly Gino podcast, but like, what if it's gone? Oh, I don't care about that. You give me five other guys that I'm paying $2 million a year. It doesn't have to be Gino Smith. It was solely a placeholder. Respectfully, like, Kyler is the guy we keep coming back to. Outside of that, though, like who?

I mean, listen, man. The pause is my point. The pause right there is my point. I just, we keep doing this. Like, this is the exact same thing that the Giants did. Like this idea of like, well, it's Daniel Jones at $37 million or it's nothing. In reality, it should be nothing. You should just figure it out.

And because they are up against it, they can't do that. And I understand that, but I don't have to like it as a solution or a plan. You're paying $37 million to Daniel Jones, which means Alec Pierce is about to walk in free agency. Like, I just, nothing about this is good. No. It worked last year because you paid him $15 million. Find the next one. It's undecidedly bad, but I am willing to give them grace and say, like, I'm, I just feel like they're painted into a corner.

And some of that is their own doing. And honestly, like, if you could guarantee me that the Colts could get Kyler Murray, I'd probably pivot and go that way. But if Kyler Murray gets cut, then I assume there will be other suitors for him. And maybe you wind up in a bidding war for Kyler Murray, which doesn't sound overly fun either. Like, I don't think there is a tidy answer to this. Maybe other than, yeah, if you could get Gino on the cheap. But if we get to September of 25th and Gino looks more like Raiders, Gino than Seahawks, Gino,

then everybody's getting fired before Halloween. And that's not a fun place to be either. My concern is that $37 million of a guy coming off of torn Achilles is that he's not going to look very good either and you're paying him $37 million. Also, does Raiders Geno look like Raiders Geno because he's washed or because he was on the Raiders? Look, I get it, man. I know. And I am cautiously optimistic that Gino's got one more act.

But if I was the one signing the quarterback to try to save my job, I'd be a little, I'd be a little dubious. I'd be a little nervous. But that applies to every single option on the market right now. The Achilles thing is what really worries me. It's a certain point if he's healthy and you're paying him 37 million for, again, that level of certainty to me only applies if he's healthy in the same guy that he was last year. The fact that you have no idea if that's going to happen. We have multiple recent examples and those guys were older, but we have multiple recent examples of quarterbacks coming off Achilles injuries and being heinous in that early stretch after they're coming off that injury. And so the idea that you're paying a guy operating under those circumstances, $37 million for one year is just,

Again, it is not to me an optimized way to be using these resources, but the culture in a place where we have moved past optimization. The other tag news from today, this one is like, whatever, Brise Hall tagged. The Jets have infinite amount of money. Breece Hall is a very good player. I have no issue with this whatsoever. I got a take on this and I was debating if I should save it for like half-bake takes

like in the summer. Like we don't have to do it right now or would you rather hear it? I want to hear it. Let a rip. I think if you, like, if you have not made a good faith effort, no, I can't even say good faith because the Jets obviously tried. But like, if you have not sniffed the postseason over a running back time on your team, running back specifically, I think we should be able to bar teams from tagging guys like that. Because like, they're just going to run this guy's odometer into the ground on a team that's going nowhere. And that sucks.

I want to see Brees Hall on a good team. and I think we should be able to bar teams from tagging guys like this where it's like you had four years to get this guy into meaningful football and you haven't done it and by the time he's done like by the time you're done with him nobody will want him because that's the life of an NFL running back I think we should be able for running back specifically we should be able to bar bad teams from tagging good running backs I actually like this a lot I think that there should be a like how competitive are you

consideration with using the franchise tag you don't have to even make the playoffs but has Breeze Hall ever played in a truly meaningful football game, like a December high stakes football game? If the answer is no over four years, you don't need to be tagging this guy. Go draft the next Breeze Hall. I love this because my immediate thought was like, man, that stinks for Breece Hall.

Because it does. Like, if you're the, he's going to get a shitload of money, like, that's great. It's extra Bruce Hall and for us. Like, I would love to see Breece Hall like an actually competitive team in a good situation on a good offense next year, and we're not going to see that.

My, my, like, ambivalence towards the whole thing is mostly a product of, like, it's fairly harmless to the Jets overall. But my, right, I'm with you guys 100%. And the other question is kind of like, you're tagging him to what end? Like, what's the end game here? Like, Breeze Hall is going to be on your team as you win four games this year and we're going to do the whole song and dance again next year. And because of the money that he makes, he's going to be the guy that has to face the music after any Jets loss. And that just sucks. And like I said, by the time, or you know what, I'll, I will addend this.

Like, if you want to offer Breece Hall a great contract and get him there for the long term, and if Bruce Hall wants to sign that and he likes the Jets organization that he's willing to re-up, that's fine. But what we can't do is tag him and keep him from hitting the market. He should be able to have suitors that are more competitive while he's still in the prime of his career. So the 2025 Jets. won three games. Should we say that you have to win at least six games the previous year in order to use the franchise tag?

On a running back. Like, I don't feel that way about all positions. But yeah, like, I don't know. I don't hate it. You got to. Like a 45% win percentage over that player's window with your team. That's too much math. I was told there'd be no math.

I think at some point in your rookie contract, your team needs to have been on the in the hunt graphic. That's my arbitrary definition. Yeah, it's definitely the least fun outcome possible for Breece Hall and for the rest of us. But for the Jets, it's kind of like, I can't get worked up over this. He's going to make like $800,000 a week. So he'll, I mean, he will be okay. That is. And we don't have to.

And the running backs are a different consideration, absolutely, because the shelf life is shorter. For players overall, right? Like the franchise tag we treat it as this villainous thing that's so terrible for players. And I do understand that there is a downside because you're taking away a long-term security. For the most part, if you are, player worth being franchise tagged. Even if you get injured outside of like a career altering injury, you will probably be in demand later on.

And in that single given year, you make a shitload of money. George Pickens is going to make $28 million this year. Running backs and maybe linebackers are like those are the positions where I feel some type of way about it. And the tough thing with that is obviously the running back tag is lower because of the way that we pay running backs. And so the running back thing is a different consideration. At some other positions, I do think that we overstate how detrimental the, or how prohibitive the franchise tag is to players ultimately making money.

The last bit of news from today, just we can talk about this very quickly. Adam Schaefter reported that it sounds like the Vikings are opening to trading Jonathan Grenard, which Jonathan Grenard has been a really good player for the Vikings over the last couple of years. He is still, I want to look to before he started recording and I forgot to. He'll be 29 in May, so he's a little bit older than you might think as a guy on a second contract, but has been really productive. and we're looking at two years, $36 million,

none of it guaranteed left on his deal. Sounds like Derek, Jeremy Fowler reported this, that they're looking for like a day two pick in exchange for Jonathan Grenard. Would you be throwing like a third round pick at the Vikings if you were a team in the mix for a pass rusher? I think I might. Absolutely, because I think Grenard is a really good player

and like in some ways suffers from narrative in a couple different reasons. Obviously, he was the guy who goes in and replaces DeNeil Hunter and Jonathan Granard is great. Daniel Hunter's a better player and now plays on maybe the best defense in football and so I think there's that part of it and I think when we talk about the Vikings defense a lot

it's a lot of like Brian Flores this, Brian Flores that and rightfully so right he's incredible and sometimes you just forget how good some of the individual players are and Gernard has been really really good for them and so I would say like him he's maybe not like an elite pass rusher but he's like a really good like 1B type of pass rusher

and then he gives you a lot in run defense like if you're a team that is looking for edge stuff and maybe don't love some of the other like young-ish options and free agency, I would be pretty willing to give up a pick for him, yeah. The team, the fit that to me makes the most sense on a couple different levels.

Durante Jones, who is just the past game coordinator for Minnesota, is now the defensive coordinator for Washington. Washington has a shitload of cap space. They have no picks. They don't have a second. They don't have a fourth. And so are you the team that wants to throw some draft picks around? Probably not. But if you're another one of these teams that is going to be in the

free agent market looking at these guys, Dallas, teams like that, I absolutely think it's worth at least making a phone call. Dallas is also short on day two draft capital with the pickings trade. But if you're a team that has the picks, I haven't looked at it top to bottom yet,

but I absolutely think it is worth a phone call because while there are guys in this group that are going to be making probably around that same number and you could get without the pick, I think he might be better than them, right? Just like purely as a pass rusher, would you rather have a Daphé O.A or Jonathan Grenard? I would rather have Grenard.

I tend to prefer the players that have a little more punch to him like a Grenard, but like I would rather prefer a massive pass search. And then even then, I think Gernard's a way better run defender than OA is right now. Yeah, I think I'm in the same boat. I think he probably, to me, slots probably right behind Jalen Phillips if you were stacking up all the edge guys who are available in free agency, like Trey Jalen Phillips, Grinard. Or he's like, would you rather have Jalen Phillips or Jonathan Gernard?

Phillips. Probably Phillips just barely. And like Phillips is a little bit younger. And so if he can say healthy, that would probably help you there. But like I, it is pretty close. I would probably put him in that tier, especially because I'm pretty, probably slightly lower on Hendrickson right now than maybe the market might end up suggesting. And so I would put him in that year.

Right, exactly. And coming out injury. I do. Two years 36. I still think it's a market inefficiency where we value these picks so much. And for good reason to a degree. But if you can get a guy like that off his team and the contract's not detrimental and all Minnesota's asking for is a day two pick, odds that that is going to be more useful

than whoever you draft with the 74th overall pick, I think are extremely good. I'm looking at one. This is not technically a day two pick, but the Tennessee Titans have pick 101. First pick on Saturday, the first pick of the fourth round, almost a top 100 pick.

Throw that to Minnesota with all the cap space that you have to absorb it. And that's Minnesota probably once more, but depending on how robust the offers are, yeah, there's half a dozen different teams, I think I'd be more than happy to do that. That'd be one to watch

because again, I think he's a really good player. Just one-on-one pass for our situations. I agree with Derek on the run defense stuff. So that's something that I would be sniffing around there if I were team that needed edge help. All right, let's take our first quick break here and then come back and dig into this free agent class. All right, so let's start this conversation

with kind of a high-level look at this. And Dave said it, this is not the year where you want a lot of these marquee guys. But there are, I think, a lot of starting caliber players available in this free agent class. And so I just did a very quick exercise, kind of looking at the last five-ish years and then I also looked back a little bit further just to compare. And it actually was pretty similar if you go back to like 2017, 2018. So just for context. So last year, we had about, we had 14 guys in the 2025 free agent class that made more

than $16 million Aav on the deals that they got in free agency. That's about six percent. of the salary cap, $16 million was last year. If you go back over again, the last like five, six years, typically that number, how many guys on their AAV made over 6% of the cap, you typically land between like 10 and 15ish players. It's usually around like a dozen. So last year was 14, 11 guys did it in 2023. We had 10 guys do it in 2024, which was on the low end.

You look at it this year. 6% of the 226 cap is going to be $18.3 million a year. How many guys in this free agent class do we think are going to make more than $18.3 million a year on their new deals? I can't do a number, but it can't be very many. It's going to be a small, small number. I was looking at maybe like seven or eight.

Yeah, I can't get to a dozen. So, I mean, you're looking at it. Trey Hendrickson will, Tyler Linderbaum will, Alex Pierce. Rashid Walker will. Alec Pierce will, which is that we did not discuss that as part of the Colts thing,

by the way. Now by transition tagging Daniel Jones, Alex Pierce is going to hit the market and I'm sure he knows what his market is already. We just spend a week in Indy, but if you're Alec Pierce, what incentive do you have

to not wait until free agency and see what else is out there? What an exciting notification for him and his agent to get. I mean, now you're looking at potentially a massive number for Alex Pierce. I'll guarantee you it's over $18.3 million. So we got Linderbaum,

Trey Hendrickson, Rashid Walker will just because that's the going price for tackles in that range, right? Like that's the Dan Moore, all Eric Jackson, you know, $20 to $22 million a year number. So he's going to get that. Devin Lloyd will see, right? Like that one's probably on the edge. That's near the top of the linebacker market. It's very rich for an offball linebacker.

O.A will probably get there. Just age production, what edge rushers get paid. And then maybe Jaylon Phillips, throw that in there. So we're talking seven when in a given year it's between. like 12 and 15. So it's not just a, ah, the top isn't as good as it normally is. I think if you actually look at the numbers and what these guys are going to get paid, we are going to see the top of the free agent group not be rewarded like we typically do in a

given year. Malik Willis, did we mention him? This is non-quarterbacks. Oh, okay. Non-quarterbacks. Obviously the quarterbacks are all, you know, that's if you look back in history. So it was always non-quarterbacks. I appreciate you pointing that out.

Okay, no, that makes sense. Because, yeah, otherwise, I can't really find a whole lot. Like, there are other free agents that I'm excited about. but there's just, it's not a huge class for a lot of these big ticket guys. You think Mike Evans could still get to 18? Mike Evans might. Yep, Mike Evans is one I would throw out there.

So that was like seven names that I said. I think between like... It's 10 or fewer probably. Yeah, it's probably less than 10. It would be my guess. And who knows when we actually get there, but even if you're, let's say David Edwards makes a ton more money

than we expect that, I think would still be surprising. The edge rushers, it's always an interesting one. Like Khalil Mack, quitty pay, like, Diobanobo made more money than we expected him to last year too. So is Quitty Pay this year's version of Dai O'Dangbo?

Somebody like Wondale Robinson, what does he get paid? So maybe there are guys that like bump up against that $18 million a year, but I still feel like it's probably going to come in short of what we typically see in a given year. So I think that just, when you're looking at the top of the group, I felt like that was kind of a useful method and a useful measure to see how it compares to previous years. But like Dave said, there is still value. you to be found, even if the top of this thing is not quite what we might come to expect in a given free agent class. So let's dig into where some of that mall you might exist. And let's

start with the positions, Derek, that you feel like have the most options in this class specifically. So when you were looking at that, the spots where you think it would be wise to be shopping in this year's free agency group, where did you start? Yeah, I think a couple of these positions are maybe not the ones that have some of the top tier players. Like I do get like the top of the edge class does have a couple of good guys compared to some of these other positions. But the three positions for me, running back, interior offensive line and linebacker have guys that kind of like every tier that you would want to pay them that I would be

pretty interested in. And I think the running backs one is really interesting too because you have a lot of different style of guys like Kenneth Walker, obviously the Seahawks said that they are not going to tag him. So he's going to hit the market. Travis Etyn is probably going to be on the market. those are two, if you want the explosive, we're hitting home runs, those are two types of backs that you can go and get. And then I think kind of on the other end,

you have a couple of guys that I think there are going to be teams that need some sort of bell cow, a guy who can take 15 carries in a game if he needs to and kind of beat down the wall on like third and two or something like that. Tyler Aaljeer is a guy that I'm super interested in in this class because obviously he's not the caliber of player of Milton Williams, but like last year Milton Williams with the Eagles, he was obviously barred behind two better players than him and the Eagles just didn't want to pay him.

Tyra Lauerjia has been barred behind, I don't know, the second best running back in the NFL. He is a starting caliber running back and proved that as a rookie. And so I think there's just a lot of guys like that in the running back market that are interesting to me. And then linebacker, whether you need a three-down guy, a weird guy who can be a run defender

and put him on the edge, whether you just want to blitzer like Nikobi D. And like every kind of linebacker that you need is on the board too. So both of those positions I'm really interested in. I'm really encouraged to hear you say you like the linebackers because I just, you have a high standard for linebacker play. There is a ton of them though. I mean, I think this is fun because I think this is true for all of the positions that we're going to talk about. I think there's depth that a lot of these spots. Derek just mentioned a bunch of them.

There are a couple more that I would throw out. There's also depth that is comprised of a bunch of different flavors, right? The linebackers are like that. The running backs are like that. The edge players are even like that a little bit. And with running back, like the fun full circle moment. I was, this is Derek's a little young for this, but the best case scenario for me, so he's leaving Atlanta, but a guy who went to Atlanta in a very similar situation, is Tower Al Juergis, just Michael Turner?

Oh, I'm not that young. Come on now. I remember. Derek's like, Jesus, I'm not 18. Well, you how did Michael Turner go to the, go to Atlanta? It was like 2010, right? Yeah, but I mean, I'm 13 by then. I'm watching football. Yeah, okay.

Okay, okay. 2008. Okay, Michael Turner went to Atlanta. Atlanta in 2008, which is that's actually where I thought. Because 2006 was early, how old were you in 2008? 11. Okay.

So I wasn't, I wasn't doing the job back then. You weren't grinding Michael Turner tape when you were in fifth grade. So apologies where you're wrong, buddy. I wasn't, but those early Falcons teams, like Michael Vick, when I was like nine was like one of my favorite players, obviously, you know, that blew up after that. But I, the early Falcons, NFC South, I grew up in NFC South territory. I'm familiar. I think before high school, it's okay to qualify it as before your time.

I think I feel pretty good about that. But I agree with you on Alger. Even somebody, and again, this is like what we're talking about with this free agent group. Kenneth Gainwell is not going to be like an extremely exciting name. Screw that. He is an exciting name. I'm so glad you brought him up. He's on my list.

The way that he played last year and like the skill set that he's giving you, like I think you would be a better football team if you had a guy that gave, like, that brought what Kenneth Gainwell brings to the position. I think there's a lot of those types of players in this group. Kenny Gainwell was awesome. Catch of the year, Kenny Gainwell. That's right. The fact that the Steelers got him for,

it was a silly deal. It was like a million dollars, like 1.1. Yeah, I'd be super excited to have him. I know his star kind of waned because of another guy that they drafted, but I don't, I assume Rashad White's price is not going to be very high. Great call.

For a low price, If Rashad White's my RB2, I'd be very excited about that. Gainwell and White were like the two big ones for me. Yeah, I think Rashad White absolutely falls into that category. What were your positions that jumped out to you? Anything that other than the linebackers and the running backs, which we can revisit here in a second. I just want to go through all of them before we do that.

Running back really stood out to me. Another one that I really love, I think there's a lot of value to be had at tight end. And again, it's... Interesting. It's just across the board. Like, I mean, you've got your big names and your guys that can be a big part of your passing game if that's what you want them to be like i'm i'm this is all depending on price but like

i'm more than willing to kick the tires on david njoku dallas goddard is available um depending on the room that you have darren waller showed a surprising amount of juice when with miami last year and then this is just my my personal pet cat but i'm i didn't even mention isaiah likely excuse me, but that's because I'm so fixated on the other Ravens tight end, Charlie Kohler. I'm so glad you're saying this. He was going to come up later in the week for me as we talked about like bargain type guys. Charlie Kohler is like one of my, like if I was making a short list of guys I would be excited to add to my team, Charlie Kohler would be like a top five guy like because I don't think

the price will be crazy. I think he is a capable and willing blocker who's going to do all of the nitty gritty shit that you love from a tight end. And I'm not saying he's ever going to be an amazing receiver, but he's done it. And I would have to imagine there's more opportunity for it when you're not playing behind Isaiah likely and Mark Andrews. So if you're talking about like a buy pretty low and feel great about it, Charlie Kohler is absolutely in the middle of my short list. I was saving all my Charlie Kohler takes for later in the week.

I'm so sorry. I'm going to spring them on us right now. We can save it. We can save it for later. But I mean, no, I'm into it because I feel the exact same way. Chig O'Conquo is another one. Obviously, Kate Otten is like one of the biggest, like, second contract tight-ins. I get a little nervous about how high that price might be, but there is a tight end that fits

damn near every archetype you could want. My thing is, if you're paying K. Dotten $10 million a year, would you rather just pay Charlie Kohler $3 million a year? Yes. My only thing, I wonder if Charlie Kohler can get more than that because people are hip to his game. The other one that I, and this to me is a, this is a larger kind of, of theoretical conversation. So like Chigacanquo, right?

Like Chigacucoe is attractive in a very specific way. Like we know what he is. Like he's explosive. He can be a pass catcher for you. But I think the way the league is going with tight ends, I'll be interested to see how that shapes this market specifically, Derek. Because Chigoconkwo, I'm looking at PFF right now. So they do contract projections for everybody.

Obviously there's going to be a little bit of marching for error when it comes to this stuff. But their deal for Chico is three years, $9 million a year. would you rather have that skill set for $9 million a year within your offense? Or would you rather have a somewhat more well-rounded Y for less than half of that per season and what he gives your offense? Even if it's the same amount of money, I would rather have Kate Otten for the same amount of money. And he's obviously way less sexy.

He's like not as explosive, all that stuff. But he's, I would much rather have the guy that I feel like I can put in line. He can do a little bit of blocking. But it's a good point. Like six years ago, a guy like Oconquo clearly gets paid a lot more. and probably does more for your offense than a guy like maybe Kate Ottenwood or obviously like Charlie Kohler,

but I don't know, man. With the way that things are right now, I feel like it's a little bit easier to find that kind of like ancillary, just useful, put them on the field every now and then past catching piece of tight end than it is these guys who are like true, why, play him 50 snaps a game type of tight ends. Another one I wanted to shout out,

and I think this is going to be fascinating because I love the safety class. I'm surprised neither of you guys. Oh, you love the safety. safety draft class. No, I love this. I love both. And that's why I think it's so interesting. Yes. There are a shitload of like very capable safeties that are about to become available. I can't believe you guys, neither of you said that right off the bat. That was my first one. I just wanted to talk about Charlie Kohler. That's all. I think a couple of the safeties that are going

to get paid at the top of the market give me pause. Like, namely Brian Cook and Jaquan Brisker, who are probably two of the top four or five that most people would pick. I think both of those guys give me a lot of pause. So maybe that's why I'm not as high on the safety class. right now. Well, what's interesting to me about the safety group is that I think there's, so if you look at it, last year there was a real star power at Free Agent, the Free Agent Safety's. There has been over the last like four, three or four years. Two years ago, we had Xavier McKinney. Year before that we had Jesse Bates. And so this is just kind of how the league works. Like safety is a position that not every team is going to value. And so a lot of the guys that

are up near the top of the market at that position are going to be hitting Free Agency, unlike a lot of other spots in the NFL. This year, there is not the same star power that they're was last year when Trevin Merrick or Javon were hitting the market. Holland was, I think, $15 million a year last year, and Merig was $17 million a year last year. I don't think anybody in this group, maybe Brian Cook will hit $15 million a year

in the same way Javon Holland did. But even if there aren't the names at the top, I think if you go down like one or two rungs beyond that, I think there's a lot, there's like 10 to 12, like starting caliber players who are going to be available at safety in this free agent group. Cam Curl, Jalen, Thompson. Jalen Hawkins played really well for the Patriots last year.

You know, Bayard is older, but for the right team, I think that may sense. He'll be in the right place at the right time. Reblankenship, Nick Cross, even like a loby, a lohe Gilman is like, that is a start, a guy I can start at safety. That's literally all he is for the teams that have had him. The Ravens traded for him because their thought process was, I can start this guy at safety and I can use Kyle Hamilton the way that I want to. And so if your bar is, I can start this guy at safety, I, do think there's like 10 to 12 guys in this group. You, so I said Charlie Collar and you just said one of my other favorite guys,

shortlist guys for my hypothetical NFL team that I'd be running out to try to sign, Nick Cross is one of my favorite guys in this whole free agent class. I think he's awesome. I think he's versatile. He's also like 22 years old. He's 25. No, he's turning 25 this year. Okay, sorry.

He's 24. This is age 25 season. He's awesome for Indianapolis, man. Like they play him everywhere. He's a willing to tackle. He's good in coverage. I don't know if he's like an elite coverage safety, but he can do it all.

And he's turning 25 years old. I would be so pumped to sign him. Reed Blankenship, I'm not the only one connecting these dots, but when you think about a guy like Christian Parker going to Dallas, like looking for people who can implement his scheme, I think that makes a lot of sense.

But the interesting thing. That's perfect, by the way. Yeah. Like I think we'll see where Dallas spends its money. We'll get to some of the team needs at the end here. Like teams I'm just interested to watch. Dallas and just how they spend their money on defense is a huge question for me. If you can get re-blanketship for $7 million a year and you can throw some money around elsewhere,

I think that absolutely makes sense. The thing that makes this doubly fascinating, and I know this isn't building the beast, Dane and I talked about this two days ago. Dane's got 10 safeties that he thinks are worthy of top 100 pits. That's wild. It is a wild safety class. There are so many good ones. And maybe only one or two of those guys go in the first round,

but that means you've got a glut of day two, and teams drafting guys that they think are good enough to play an immediate role. So what does that do to the market? I mean, it's not unusual to see good veteran safeties sitting out there until June, July, August. And so if I can get these guys even cheaper because NFL teams would rather draft their safety of the future, that's fine with me. And that's what happened to running back last year. I mean, you look at the running backs in free agency last year. I mean, Naja Harris made $5 million.

RICO Dadoe made 2.7 because teams were looking at the running back. group in the draft last year and be like, I can find one. I don't need to spend a lot on free agents. And so if you're a team looking for safeties this off season when you combine the draft and free agency and how the draft might depress these values even further, it's a good time to be looking for safeties. I may root for a team that needs two starting safeties and free agencies. We just mentioned both of the bear's safety.

Yeah, both guys. So safety was my number one. Derek, it's interesting to hear you say that you don't think Corner has a lot of guys. because obviously the top of the market doesn't have a lot of guys, but I think it's adjacent to the conversation we just had about safety. If you need a guy who is a certified corner three, maybe an okay corner two, I actually do think that there are a lot of good guys,

and that's actually, I'll kind of talk about that in the show we do a little bit later this week. I think it's just especially coming off last year where there were like three, four, five like CB ones that you could sign that I think a lot of people felt good about. And there are a couple in this class. but I just, I think to me, like, it doesn't, I'm not quite as sold on like the top end corner group as I was a year ago. Whereas like the Carlton Davis, like even DJ Reed, Trivarious Ward, it was like, if those guys are healthy, I feel really, really good about them. And so I think that's kind of the slight difference for me.

Yeah, I think that's totally fair. So if you look at it, there were five free agents, they all signed the same deal. So we had four different guys that signed three years, $18 million a year. Byron Murphy, Chavarius, were Carlton Davis-Polson-A-Dibo, and then DJ Reed was right behind them at $16 million a year. I don't know if any of the guys in this group

bump up against those numbers. We'll see if a team wants to roll the dice on Tarek Woolen. Jamel Dean played well last year, but does he have the same sort of Mike? Does Jamel Dean have DJ Reed's market? I don't know. And Dean is hurt all the time. Exactly.

And so I don't know if the top of the market is going to look the same. At the same time, I think if you're paying a lot of these guys between like six and 10 million a year. Like Jalen Watson will probably be worth more than that. Dean will probably be worth more than that. But like the year that Monterec Brown had

or the year that Eric Stokes had for the Raiders or Cordell Flot for the Giants, like can you find a starting caliber corner for a reasonable price in this market? I think the answer might be yes. There's question marks with all of them, but that's just the nature of free agency. And then you get beyond that,

like Rassul Douglas played well last year in like a stopgap role for the dolphins. If you want to roll, do that again, you can. Cater Cohoo, speaking of the dolphins, was hurt all of last year, but is he a nickel option that you could get at the right price? Like, I think that there will be, if there were half dozen starting corners that came out of this free agent group, even if the names aren't that sexy, that would not be surprising to me.

Speaking of nickels, though, the one thing that I think is interesting in this class, is Alante Taylor really the only, like, big ticket type of nickel corner that you would sign? Like, there are a couple of other options that you can be like, maybe we can get away with this, maybe he can be. pop for us, but Alante Taylor to me is the only guy where I'm like, yes, that is a good starting corner. Let's get him in the building. Put some respect on D. Alford, who is also available. But again, if you're paying D. Alford like $6 million a year or whatever it's going to cost, $5 million a year, he can probably give you like starting level stats. He did last year.

I love the corner class. And this is just my personal calculus when I'm watching football. I love the corner class as long as I've made my piece that this guy's probably going to drive me crazy at times. Because that's anybody but a lockdown CB1 is going to do that. And I think it's one of the biggest disconnects in football is like, ah, our CB2 gets beat all the time. It's like, well, yes, that's what he does. That's what happens in the NFL.

And so if you're comfortable with being frustrated by these guys, I'm 100% serious about D. Alford. Another really veteran guy, Robert, that I thought played well for the most part was Chito Ouzier in his stint with Baltimore last year. I'd be like depending on the price, comfortable doing that. I'm not giving up on Kobe Durant.

I know the playoffs were rough, but depending on what the rest of your DB room looks like, I'd be willing to pay Kobe Durant to play cornerback for me. And then I'd be curious what the market is, and this might be playoff glasses in the good way. But like Josh Job was awesome for Seattle last year. Like there's all kinds of role players that I'd be comfortable signing. As long as we're not under the impression that these guys are going to be like

the foundation of my cornerback room. Like there's all kinds of guys. guys, I'd be pumped to sign in supplemental roles. Bit of breaking news as we're recording this. Adam Schafter reporting that the Cardinals have informed Kyle and Murray they intend to release him on the first day of the league year, which is next Wednesday. And so Kyle Murray will be playing for somebody on the minimum this year. And we talked about this at length yesterday on the mailbag.

Kyle Murray for a million and a half bucks, like whatever you think of Kyle Murray's shortcomings, you could do a lot worse, a quarterback in this cycle, a lot worse. if you can get, let's even say Kyler's not his best self. Let's say he's quarterback 20. Quarterback 20 at a million dollars. It's pretty. Exactly.

Yes. It's exactly what we said yesterday. It's like, we need to divorce ourselves from like what we think of these guys when they're making $46 million a year and what you think of him for the minimum. Daniel Jones made $15 million bucks last year

and was a very good value for the Colts. Like I'll be very curious to see who chases Kyler and where he ends up. The Jets have been a team that people keep throwing out. And like, I guess I kind of understand that. But if you're Kyler, why in the world would that be the choice you would make? The money is the same no matter where you go. Yes, at this point, yeah, that to me, Jets made sense where it was like if somebody's going to trade for him,

obviously the Jets have capital, the most capital to wield in a way that other teams didn't. So now it made sense. But now that he's on the market, absolutely not he shouldn't sign with them. He should be looking at, obviously, the indie thing is kind of complicated now where it's going to be. But like Minnesota, that should be like free, like just walk in there. If Minnesota and Pittsburgh, and I'll throw in even Atlanta, like, why aren't you kicking the tires on that? Yeah. I like.

Atlanta has me interested. That's good. I joked about it yesterday. Like, it makes me sound like a Kyler Murray stand. It's more just like what is the risk versus what could the reward be? Like, it's just playing the odds. And if you are a team with a need, a modicum of a need at quarterback with any sort of ambition to be a contender or a team that matter, for the price it would cost you, why the hell not?

I don't understand if decent teams are not interested. Atlanta's a fun one. The Drew Pets and Kevin Stefansky connection is like the first thing that comes to mind there. Obviously, they come from the same place. And so whether or not Kevin Stefansky wants Cala Murius' quarterback, I think that will be a conversation worth having. But those are the types of teams absolutely that should be sniffing around. You know who else should have been sniffing around?

The Colts after they decided to not transition tag Daniel Jones. I mean, knowing that he's about to become available, my opinion on that changes a little bit because I would rather have Kyler at whatever he's going to cost than the Daniel Jones recovery program. Last couple of positions that I want to throw out that I think are strengths of this group. Derek, you mentioned this.

Interior Offensive Line is much better than last year at the very least. Last year, we were looking at Will Frye is making $17 million a year or nothing. It was like McKinjee. It was dark. The guard market last year was dark. this year, there's not a lot of star power,

but you're looking at Connor McGovern, AVT, which is like, we'll see what the market is for that. I mean, it's obviously a guy, second contract guy with that level of talent that's played as well as he has when he's been on the field. Somebody will take a chance,

but the injury history is what it is. Zion Johnson, second contract player, even if he's flawed, he'll have some interest, Dylan Parham, same kind of deal, Ed Ingram. I think there's a lot of guards that are going to be making double-digit millions

in this group that are going to surprise some people. Even a guy like Chris Paul, right, who played for Washington last year and kind of took that guard job over. I think there are a lot of guys that could be starters in this group that just didn't exist last year. Like, again, you got past Bechtin last year who, because of his injury history, signed for, I think it was 10 million bucks a year. Like, it wasn't, it was a very low number and it was a very low risk contract. I think a lot of guys will be topping that in this group and maybe that might surprise some people. And to me, it just feels like there's a lot of like, whatever your appetite for what you want to chase,

I think is there. Like David Edwards is probably the big ticket guy that you're going to get to guard. But like if you, David Edwards is who I meant. David Edwards is who I meant. Stupid bills. But if you want to go like a little bit of a rung down from that and a guy who's a little bit older but still playing well, like Isaac Samalo, I think could just step in for somebody and be like,

I put him on 20 teams in the last two weeks. He's going to go in and be like a league average guard for somebody at 32 years old. And that's going to be all somebody needs to help you. fix their offensive line. I think he could be really good. AVT to me is like he feels like the Jonah Jackson bet this offseason where it's like a guy who is like supremely talented. It's just the injury history has been up and down. But if he can be out there, we know what he can be at his peak. And then like you mentioned some of the other depth guys like a Chris Paul could be maybe fringe starter or just really good depth for us. I think Sean Ryan from the Packers has been out.

Like obviously when he stepped in at center having to take over that was a little bit tougher. But I thought in stretches over the last two years, he played fairly well at guard. And so maybe he's a guy you bring in for a competition and draft a guy and just see who wins. Like it's just, it feels like at every level of this thing, there's guys that you could want at guard. And then throughout the entire show, we've talked about the 7 million centers that seem to be on the market already. The last one I'll throw out is the edge group.

Like, I think it's a pretty good group relative to other seasons. 2024 to me is the best recent year for edge free agents. If you look back at that group, Danielle Hunter, Jonathan Granary, Bryce Huff was a free agent that year, Chase Young, Dorrance Armstrong. this one to me doesn't have those guys at the top top. Like Hendrickson is not the player right now that DeNeil Hunter was when he signed that deal with Houston. But if you look one step down from there,

even after you get past like the Hendrickson tier, O-A, Jalen Phillips, Kille Mack still played really well last year. Like if you need a one-year flyer, Kaleel Mac, Joey Bosa is like, it's kind of on the opposite end of the Kaleel-Mack thing. Like there are these two aging pieces

where I think I know exactly what Kaleel Mac is where with Joey Bosa, I have no idea. a week to week what he's going to be. Like the high-end version of him and what he was for stretches last year was awesome. And the back half of the year was much more concerning. But I still think somebody will roll the dice on him. Bradley Shub is in that same kind of mold,

like those older guys that could still have something in the tank. We talked about quitty pay being this year's Di-O-Dangbo. And then I just think there's so many useful role players. Maffei and Draymond Jones are kind of like two opposite types of skill sets you could add to your defense. Joseph Osai played well last year for the Bengals. with Claib and Chase and we've talked about a million different times on this show over the last year and even guys like Kingsley and I'm Barray

right? I think he's the one. He's the one in this class that I am most interested that he could be somebody signs him to be your edge three run defender and he's a guy who's only 26 years old but like if he just get like sometimes with some of these guys who like it's all about power sometimes like as they get into that 26 27 28 range that's when they really start to figure out

how to like play the position and really crush the pocket efficiently. He's, I know I already said a little bit early in the show. I'm like a little bit iffy on some of these edge guys. Like maybe I'm a half rung lower on a lot of these guys individually.

And I'm gonna pinning that like somebody's gonna get pretty good value out of that guy, I think. I think that I'm a little bit scarred because he made a lot of plays against the Bears last year. And so like maybe I'm pumping up. Here you say it makes me feel a little bit better because I, NFL teams do that.

They do that all the time. They're like, this guy kills us every time we play. Give him whatever he wants. As a run defender, I just, I think there's something to him. I think if he's part of your edge, if he's part of your defensive line rotation, I think that he's a winning player. I really do like him.

And so I think there are a lot of guys like that in this edge group. There are some positions where it's not quite as well stocked as we headed into free agency, and we're going to talk about some of those when we come back in a quick second. All right. So it's not all sunshine and rainbows here. Like there are some spots where if you need a player at this position, you're probably going to be pretty upset with what the market is looking like. Dave, where did you think this group may be falling a little bit short positionally as you were digging into it?

The wide receivers make me nauseous. This is an annual thing, by the way. Yeah. This will be an annual thing. And this wide receiver group is better than last year. Here's what I will say about the wide receiver group, though. I think if you specifically need a little bit of size and ball winning, you can get that. If you need...

Eric. Is it just Mike Evans and Joanne Jens? Mike Evans and Joanne, Joanne, Romeo Dobbs, I think, gives you some of that. Alec Pierce is going to give you some of that. Like, I think if you are looking for that specifically, you can get it. If you need just about any other skill set,

good look. I meant to ask you this yesterday, Robert, because you brought up Dobbs. And I like Dobbs. Dobbs strikes me as a guy where the price tag could, like, boggle your eyes compared to the actual production. And like, he's been a productive.

clearly well last year. No, that's what I'm saying. But what I'm saying is like, you're sitting here saying, oh, it would be great to add Romeo Dobbs, but at what cost? Like, what if he, like, breaks the bank? And good for him for him if he does, but I don't know if I want to get into like a free agent bidding war for Romeo Dobbs. I don't want to do that for damn near anybody on this list.

That's the problem. All right. So I'm looking at free agent contracts handed out to wide receivers, just contracts handed out to wide receivers over the last couple years. The two that I think this is maybe the range we might be talking about with Dobbs, let's start with like the Darno Mooney contract from 2024, which is three years, $39, $13 million a year for Darno Mooney. Khalil Shakir came in at 13.2 right above that.

And then you have Cooper Cup last year. And then Jacoby Myers just signed for $20 million a year. I think he probably ends up in that range of guys. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was closer to the top end than the bottom end. Yeah. Did you say Dobbs is an $18 million a year guy? You might have. I don't remember.

I did not. He could be one of those guys. And there's a guy every year where you're like, oh, I'd love to have this guy on my team for $6 million a year. And then the real price tag is like $10 million a year. And you're like, oh, we're in deeper water than I thought we were. And Romeo Dobbs strikes me as maybe that type of guy. All right, Derek. Let's say it's Monday, right?

We're recording. Nate is on. Just a little hypothetical. Let's just throw it out. Nate's on with us for the 15 minutes he's going to be here. Comes across the timeline. We get Romeo Dobbs three years 60 for the exact. same deal that Jacoby Myers got.

What is your reaction? If it's on the right team, I'm kind of down for it. Like, honestly, I'm kind of into it too. Listen. Is this the HR meme where like if the chiefs do it, you're like, oh my God, that's so good. And if the Titans do it, you're like, oh, no, another bad Titans deal. I just think a guy that, like, is big, is a perimeter guy. He won in man-to-man situations consistently last year.

He was the most reliable receiver on that team last year for stretches of last season. He wasn't more explosive. But when they need a. like a got-a-havit moment. He was the guy on that offense. I think he really did come into his own last season in a way where I'm very curious to see where he lands. And so I actually think like Darno Mooney,

if he goes to a room where he fills it out, it makes sense to me. Like obviously Drake London is their big ball winner. So you bring in a darnel Mooney, he's a little bit more. He's like the long speed can be outside, all that sort of stuff. Romeo Dobs, if he goes to like the Chargers,

that makes a lot of sense to me. Him and Ladd-McConkie, I think makes a lot of sense. You mentioned the Chiefs. I think that that makes a lot of sense. the Jets are like an unappealing because they're a bad team and it would suck to see him go there but him and Garrett Wilson does make a lot of sense to me skill set-wise like there are some wide receiver rooms

where I'm like for that amount of money that actually fills this thing out pretty nicely the team I threw out yesterday and I still like it's just easy for me to imagine him in this role is on the Niners. Oh yeah just a younger slightly smaller like Joanne Jennings I could totally see that Dobbs Mike Evans

Joanne Jennings are the three guys that I'd be pretty pumped about. I like Alec Pierce too, but I just think the price is going to be insane. Yeah, I'm almost not even counting him as a normal free agent because of the amount of money

that he's going to get. Exactly. And so, like, I don't even include Pierce, those three guys. And then after those three, I'm not finding a whole lot that I feel good about.

I'm so pumped for Alec Pierce to get $35 million a year from the Tennessee Titans. I genuinely, I genuinely cannot wait for him to get the DK Metcalf deal. That's all right. I'm on board with that because Camel just chucked that shit 40 yards downfield to him like 10 times a week.

I'm not really kidding. I would be pumped if that actually happened. All right. So I think wide receivers worth throwing out the two that I would say tackle every year is going to be like this. Every year free agent tackles is going to be a wasteland and we are there yet again. Rashid Walker is going to make the, again, the Dan Moore contract that people are going to be like, what? Rashid Walker's making $22 million a year and be like, yes. Because that's how, if you have a pulse and you are a starting caliber tackle hitting free agent,

that's probably what you were going to make. I'll be curious what happens with Braden Smith. Obviously, like, he's played well enough to justify paying him as a starting right tackle, but we had the health issues and just some of the lingering questions with him, age, that's going to be a part of the conversation. I'm curious what happens with Jermaine Illuminaur and his market. Like, he is a starting caliber right tackle. He talking about guys who come into his own.

He has played much better for the Giants than he had at any point in his career. He's talked about this openly. But after that, and Jawan Taylor now is in the mix. after getting released, the list is over. Like, those are the guys you'd want to start for you at tackle. My hot take, I saw, like, as soon as I saw Joanne Taylor was getting released by the Chiefs, I was like, this, his next team will get panned for signing him because everybody knows he's the guy that false starts every snap, or at least that's what people say,

I would be excited to sign him. Like, if my team needed a right tackle, like you, you'd be giddy. The fact that he's available to play right tackle for you is a stroke of, really great luck, even if he is like the most flag tackle in the NFL. The other position that I think is truly like, I can't remember it being this bad. Because historically, you could find guys at this position and free agency and this class, this is not like that at all. The interior defensive line free agent group, holy, moly.

I mean, it's brutal. It's John Franklin Myers and no one. It's the worst position in the class by a lot, I think. Obviously, you can kind of always remove quarterback. because that's always such a different consideration. But I think it's the worst in the class by a mile. Yeah, like, Jfm, I think will be nice for someone. And they're like, you can get me excited about Kyris Tonga,

but even that is like a noseguard that you're going to play for like 20 snaps a game, maybe. And that's what this group is, right? It's like there are like DJ Reader and Kyris Tonga and people like that, Roy Lopez, like guys that, I think players that are worth having on your team. And if you sign them for one year, four million, there is a decent chance that they're going to outperform that deal in like a very specific role.

But you go back even to like last year, all of those third contract guys, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Grady Jarrett, that are making $18 million a year. All of those are probably misguided contracts. But there isn't even an opportunity to hand out misguided contracts on the interior of the defensive line this year.

It is bad and I'm not arguing with you. But one guy that was on my nerdy shortlist who shouldn't be expensive, Neville Gallimore, I thought was like a decent piece of the Colts Road But again, we're talking about a guy who, if you're doing this the right way, you're paying him a modest contract to be your third or fourth guy and rotate in. But I thought he was good for the colds last year. He played more than they probably expected because of the Buckner injury.

I'd be pretty excited to add him. Again, like not for a big contract, but it just speaks to, yeah, like if you're talking about star power or big time starters, it's just not here. And also, how many non-noseguard starters do you think you can sign here? It's like John Franklin Myers, I think Logan Hall because of the age, and I do think he played better this year than he had at any other point in his career. Maybe you can get there. But like outside of that, I don't really don't know if you can sign any like three tech starters. The other guy that I think played really well this year, but he's 32 years old, Sheldon Rankins.

Sheldon Rankins was really good for the Texans last year. but you look back two years ago. Obviously he was hurt and dealing with a bunch of health stuff, but I'm with you. There just aren't that many guys where you feel good about it. And that historically had been a position where there was often a lot of guys available in free agency, and it just feels like that's starting to dry up a little bit.

And you don't want to make sweeping proclamations based on a couple of years, but this really creeping into premium position territory where it's becoming kind of on par with what you need from your edge rushers when you talk about the most impactful players in the league, It's not a surprise that we might be seeing fewer of those guys available in free agency in a given year. Are you excited to see where Clayas Campbell winds up for his age 40, 41 season?

Listen, if he wants to continue playing, I'm happy to continue watching Clias Campbell play. All right. That, I think, is all we've got for today. So there's your kind of high-level look at the class. Tomorrow we're going to be doing a little bit of historical comparison. We're going to look at a lot of 2026 free agents and try to figure out from the last few years, How does this player fit into some of the archetypes we've seen in free agency? I think both good and bad, guys that have worked out, guys that haven't.

So just going to be doing 2026 versions of recent free agent players and types tomorrow. And then on Friday, we're going to be doing a little bit of superlatives. I mean, we talked about some of it on today's show, but we'll have plenty more of them. Favorite fits, guys that we think are good bargains, buyer beware type of players. All of those will be on Friday's show. very much looking forward to that. And I think we've talked about this a little bit or danced around it, Beller,

but we might as well just kind of do this full go. Yeah, let a rip. Next Monday, 11 a.m. Central time, we will be here at this desk, the three of us, and we will be reacting to all things NFL free agency as the news rolls in. We did this last year where we were live for five-ish hours. We're going to do the exact same thing on Monday.

And we're going to have guests the entire time. So we have 15 people, I believe, set up to join us in like 15 minute increments. And so we're just going to be rolling in friends of the show over an entire five-hour stretch as all of the NFL news starts rolling in. And I'm very excited about it. It's one of my favorite days of the year. What could be better? I love live shows. I love having wild shit to react to.

I'll never forget I was on with y'all last year, like right after the darnal deal came down. and we were all very confused, and now he's a Super Bowl champion. So we get to find out what story starts next week. It's going to be the Tyler Lindelbaum signing in Chicago and Roots in the Bears winning the Super Bowl. That's exactly what's going to be happening next week. That's all we got for now. Sincerely appreciate all you guys listening.

We'll talk to you very soon.