• Safety Justin Simmons remains on the market: PFF's top-ranked remaining free agent is a fit with the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Several top cornerbacks are still on the market: Stephon Gilmore to the Lions, Steven Nelson to the Broncos and Xavien Howard to the Ravens are a few potential landing spots.
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While 2024 NFL free agency has winded down after the chaos of the first week, there are still very impactful players finding new homes, most recently with the Carolina Panthers signing edge defender Jadeveon Clowney. We’re identifying our favorite landing spots for the top 20 remaining free agents.
1. S JUSTIN SIMMONS, DENVER BRONCOS
Simmons’ release from the Broncos may have been the biggest surprise of all notable players cut ahead of the offseason, even with the understanding that the safety market is routinely flooded with talent in free agency each offseason. Simmons’ 82.3 coverage grade over the past three seasons is a top-15 mark among safeties, his 14 interceptions lead the position and his 52 defensive stops are a top-30 mark.
Best landing spot: Philadelphia Eagles
2. CB STEPHON GILMORE, DALLAS COWBOYS
Gilmore's trade from the Indianapolis Colts to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason got him back to playing contending football, and he hasn't skipped a beat at any point as he's moved around over the past few years. Gilmore still thrives in single coverage and can jostle with the more physical receivers who play through contact, timing his leap well on contested catches and jumping routes with top-end play recognition. A matchup with A.J. Brown in Week 14 had him playing inspired football after Brown allegedly called him old early on in the contest. Gilmore rose to the occasion and locked Brown down until the game was out of reach in the second half.
Best landing spot: Detroit Lions
3. CB STEVEN NELSON, HOUSTON TEXANS
Nelson was a great fit for the Houston Texans in back-to-back seasons despite a defensive shift from Lovie Smith to DeMeco Ryans. He has logged a healthy dose of snaps in so many different coverage schemes dating back to his days with the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. The ever-consistent Nelson played 950-plus snaps for the sixth consecutive season in 2023, best suited in off coverage with great lateral agility and the instincts to click and close still popping up on tape in coverage and run support.
Best landing spot: Denver Broncos
4. C CONNOR WILLIAMS, MIAMI DOLPHINS
Williams started his career with the Dallas Cowboys at left guard and blossomed in Miami at center, thriving as a run blocker in Mike McDaniel's zone blocking scheme, where he was able to quickly get to the second level and lead the way. While he doesn't have the world's strongest anchor in a phone booth, his fast first step off the line enables him to seal off defenders on the backside of runs by getting in position. Williams suffered a torn ACL in Week 14, which has impacted his market.
Best landing spot: Pittsburgh Steelers
5. CB XAVIEN HOWARD, MIAMI DOLPHINS
Howard was released after a great eight-year run in Miami, with his coverage grades dipping into the 50s in each of the past two seasons. He has expressed a strong desire to play for a contender, and has even said he’d be open to taking less money to chase a ring. Pivoting to playing more man coverage could get him back to where he excelled earlier in his career.
Best landing spot: Baltimore Ravens
6. T MEKHI BECTON, NEW YORK JETS
The No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 draft has always had the athletic ability to play at a high level in this league; injuries have just destroyed a promising young career. More importantly than anything else, Becton played more snaps in 2023 than he did over his first three seasons combined. The 6-foot-7 and 363-pounder looked leaner in training camp and performed admirably as a pass protector despite the revolving door of quarterbacks operating behind him. He can be the lead blocker to the play side but often got caught up in the muck this past season when pull-blocking across the formation, getting his feet tangled and ending up on the ground.
Best landing spot: Green Bay Packers
7. G DALTON RISNER, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Risner's 2023 free agency didn't pan out as he'd hoped, so he bided his time before joining the Minnesota Vikings a few weeks into the season on a one-year flier. Risner quickly supplanted Ezra Cleveland at left guard and was a plus pass protector for the fifth season in a row. Risner does well to initiate contact with a solid punch, ensuring he doesn't expose his chest or get his hands swatted away. Even on bull rushes when Risner is driven back and gives up pressure, he keeps his feet square and stays in front of the rusher to prevent a hit on the quarterback, frequently providing his signal-caller with just enough time to still get a pass off.
Best landing spot: Seattle Seahawks
8. S JULIAN BLACKMON, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Blackmon started for two seasons in college at cornerback, and he has logged more than 350 slot snaps since 2022. In Gus Bradley's Cover 3-heavy scheme, Blackmon spent plenty of time as a single-high safety. Almost half of his snaps were down in the box in 2023. Blackmon appears to be a better fit near the line of scrimmage due to his average recovery speed, but his plus lateral movement and solid ball skills from his days as a cornerback show up more often when closer to the line of scrimmage. Blackmon's 30 defensive stops in 2023 were more than his career total before this season, and he missed a career-low 7.4% of tackle opportunities.
Best landing spot: New York Giants
9. QB RYAN TANNEHILL, TENNESSEE TITANS
Tannehill will be 36 years old in 2024, coming off a $27 million salary on the final year of his extension signed in 2020, but he could still be a bridge starter to a young quarterback, much like he was this past season with the Tennessee Titans and Will Levis. Tannehill is a good athlete who wins off play action and with solid intermediate accuracy on rollouts. His pressure-to-sack rate has been too high for a few years now, but in his defense, he was operating behind a very porous offensive line with a pass-catching corps that did not create quick separation.
Best landing spot: Denver Broncos
10. WR ODELL BECKHAM JR., BALTIMORE RAVENS
Beckham progressively looked more and more like his old self as 2023 wore on. His 90.0 receiving grade from Weeks 9-14 trailed only Tyreek Hill among wide receivers. Beckham’s usage declined later in the season, but he can still make a huge impact on any given Sunday.
Best landing spot: Miami Dolphins
11. DI TEAIR TART, HOUSTON TEXANS
Tart had a very strange and tumultuous 2023 season with the Titans after the two sides were unable to come to terms on an extension before the year. Tart played on the second-round restricted free-agent tender for $4.3 million, but his effort and focus were questioned at times by the coaching staff before he was ultimately waived ahead of Week 15. The Houston Texans claimed Tart, with two other teams also putting in claims, so clearly the concerns weren't so bad as to scare off suitors. On the field, Tart is difficult to displace with just one blocker in the run game, and he has solid juice as a pass rusher. He makes a great member of a platoon as a zero- or one-technique who can push a pocket or knife through double teams, and he shows good recognition as to when to get his hands up for a batted pass.
Best landing spot: Cincinnati Bengals
12. WR TYLER BOYD, CINCINNATI BENGALS
Boyd is a big slot receiver with solid blocking chops in the run game. He rarely ever drops a target and does well to sit in soft spots of zones on key passing downs. However, Boyd posted several career-low marks in 2023, and with so many big financial decisions facing Cincinnati, the Bengals may not be willing to offer him as much as other teams looking to upgrade their unit over the middle.
Best landing spot: Pittsburgh Steelers
13. CB ADOREE' JACKSON, NEW YORK GIANTS
Jackson cross-trained this offseason for a move to a full-time slot role but ended up moving back out wide after just two games. The first half of the Giants' season featured an aggressive defense that ranked second in blitz rate but still couldn't get home on the quarterback with any consistency, regularly leaving their cornerbacks on islands with extremely difficult assignments. Wink Martindale's unit turned a corner over the second half of the year, and Jackson looked improved once returning from injury. Injuries have limited him in four of the past five seasons, but he has true inside-outside versatility with good lateral agility and a knack for making plays on the football, often laying out for acrobatic pass breakups after goading quarterbacks into the occasional throw into his coverage area.
Best landing spot: Houston Texans
14. DI CALAIS CAMPBELL, ATLANTA FALCONS
Campbell is an ageless wonder who continued to be one of the strongest players in the NFL at his new stop in Atlanta this past season, with a dip in burst off the line when rushing the passer made up for by an anchor against the run as difficult to displace as any defensive lineman in the NFL.
Best landing spot: New York Jets
15. EDGE CARL LAWSON, NEW YORK JETS
Lawson signed a reworked contract heading into the 2023 season that lowered his salary to $6 million, but he still found himself as a healthy scratch for much of the year as part of a crowded edge defender room. The seventh-year pro has good burst off the line and wins with a combination of speed to power and quick hands, but he isn't necessarily the bendiest edge rusher. Lawson earned a 72.8 pass-rush grade with 49 pressures and eight sacks in 2022, his first season back from the torn Achilles he suffered in 2021. Injuries have impacted his career, but he's still a productive player off the edge.
Best landing spot: Dallas Cowboys
16. EDGE MIKE DANNA, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Danna is the epitome of a solid, high-floor player who understands his role, controls his gap and makes plays when they come to him. He's not the burstiest player off the line, but he does well to drive opposing tackles back into the pocket. In an increased role in 2023, we saw him improve at detaching his hands from blockers to get after the quarterback.
Best landing spot: Atlanta Falcons
17. WR DEONTE HARTY, BUFFALO BILLS
Harty’s speed is a weapon for any offense, and he could have increased value with the new kickoff return rule recently passed by the NFL, with the added threat of returns boosting his contributions in both phases.
Best landing spot: Denver Broncos
18. WR D.J. CHARK JR., CAROLINA PANTHERS
Chark has struggled to separate at the intermediate and deep levels in recent years, and inopportune drops also plagued him a bit over the tail end of the 2023 campaign. That said, he still brings field-stretching ability and should be more productive in any other offense besides Carolina's.
Best landing spot: Arizona Cardinals
19. WR MICHAEL THOMAS, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Thomas is still a smooth glider who can make contested catches with great hands and footwork along the sideline. He doesn't quite have the same explosiveness of his heydays, but elite athleticism was never necessarily how he won. He is more of a master technician, so it's all a question of health.
Best landing spot: Jacksonville Jaguars
20. T ANDRE DILLARD, TENNESSEE TITANS
Dillard’s short stint with the Titans did not go well, but he was a student of Jeff Stoutland University with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the former first-round pick has experience at both tackle spots as well as at guard.
Best landing spot: Kansas City Chiefs
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