2024 NFL Free Agency: 6 pending free agents on defense who deserve to get paid

• The consistently elite Chris Jones is primed for a big payday: While ranking behind Aaron Donald for most of his career, Jones has been even more productive since 2021 than the highest-paid player at the position.

• Antoine Winfield Jr. is arguably the best safety in the NFL: As he gets set to negotiate a new contract, he should have no problem garnering one of the top deals at his position.

• Dig into the numbers for yourself: PFF's Premium Stats is the most in-depth collection of NFL and NCAA player performance data. Subscribe today to get full access!

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

With NFL free agency right around the corner, plenty of star players are set to get new contracts, both big and (relatively) small. Several players on the defensive side of the ball truly deserve bigger deals, and they’ll be highlighted here. Check out the offensive players here.

These are players who deserve to be paid among the 12 highest-paid players at their position during this free agency cycle based on their body of work.

S Antoine Winfield Jr.

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While Winfield may not get the biggest payday in this year’s defensive free agent class, there may not be a better all-around player on that side of the ball set to hit the open market. He has been among the league’s best safeties since entering the league, finishing among the top three players at his position in at least one of the main defensive grade categories in each of his four NFL seasons

Winfield earned a position-leading 91.2 defensive grade and ranked first in run-defense grade (92.5), third in tackling grade (86.1), tied for second in pass-rush grade (92.7) and eighth in coverage grade (85.3) in 2023.

He proved that there weren’t many weaknesses in his game this past year, made all the more impressive by the fact that he lined up all over the field and wasn’t limited to only the slot or a deep safety alignment. Winfield finished second among safeties in PFF WAR in 2023. Since he entered the league in 2020, no safety has generated a higher WAR value (1.38) over that span. Winfield certainly has an argument to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, and there’s no doubt that he should be paid as a top-five player at his position when he signs his new contract.

Antoine Winfield | Ranks Among Safeties Since 2020, Regular Season

EDGE Josh Allen

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The 2019 seventh-overall pick has consistently improved, even if the sack numbers haven’t always been there. That finally shifted in his favor with a massive 2023 season that yielded 17.5 sacks. Allen has steadily increased his overall grade each season, delivering an 89.5 mark in 2023 (11th) and an 89.4 pass-rush grade (eighth) to solidify himself as one of the best at his position.

Allen is more than likely going to get the franchise tag this offseason and, at 26 years old, is certainly deserving of a long-term payday. Over the past three seasons, Allen has finished among the top 15 edge defenders in PFF WAR. And he has generated the 11th-highest WAR value (1.12) at his position since entering the NFL in 2019.

Josh Allen | Ranks Among Edge Defenders in 2023, Regular Season

DI Justin Madubuike

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2023 was a true breakout season for Madubuike, who improved his pass-rush grade and doubled his pass-rush production from 2022. Madubuike posted 32 pressures in 2022 and brought that number up to 64 in 2023, which ranked sixth among interior defensive linemen. He also more than doubled his sack production, going from 5.5 in 2022 to 13 this past year, in large part thanks to an NFL-record-tying 11 straight games with at least a half-sack.

Madubuike continued his strong play into the playoffs, posting 13 pressures and a half-sack to go along with a 76.7 pass-rush grade and a 78.7 overall grade across two games. He also cracked the top 15 at his position in PFF WAR for the first time in his career. At just 26 years old, Madubuike is likely to push for a deal similar to what Daron Payne got from the Washington Commanders last offseason (four years, $90 million).

DI Chris Jones

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No interior defensive lineman has more sacks since 2019 than Chris Jones, and it isn’t particularly close. His 35.5 sacks across the past three seasons are 10 more than the next closest players, Aaron Donald and Javon Hargrave. He also has the most total pressures (217) across his 31 regular-season games since 2021.

Jones isn't just a beneficiary of volume, either. He has been as dominant as any other pass rusher from the interior defensive line position, according to his grades and underlying metrics. This didn’t change in 2023, as he finished third at his position in pass-rush grade (90.3) and second in pressures (75). He has now earned a top-five pass-rush grade for his position in each of his past six seasons and has never finished outside of the top 10 in a regular season. Jones comes in as PFF’s top-ranked free agent across all positions.

Chris Jones | Ranks Among Interior Defensive Linemen Since 2018, Regular Season

CB Jaylon Johnson

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After a somewhat average start to his NFL career, Johnson broke out in 2023 to the point where he became one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. A second-round pick out of Utah, Johnson has been a starter at outside cornerback for Chicago since 2020 and never surpassed a 65.0 overall grade until this season, when he finished as the highest-graded cornerback in the league (90.8). He led the position in coverage grade (91.0) while allowing an incredibly low 33.3 NFL passer rating when targeted across 530 coverage snaps.

Johnson allowed just a 50.0% completion rate on his 50 targets, which went for 195 total yards and one touchdown. He also came up with four interceptions and a strong 18% forced incompletion rate. He vaulted himself up the PFF WAR rankings, placing as the third-most valuable cornerback in after ranking outside the top 50 in his previous three seasons. Should the Bears not re-sign him, Johnson would fit best in a zone-heavy scheme. He has consistently earned higher coverage grades in zone, which was the case again this year, as he posted a 90.4 mark in zone versus a 74.9 in man.

Jaylon Johnson | Ranks Among Cornerbacks in 2023, Regular Season

CB L’Jarius Sneed

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The Kansas City Chiefs made Sneed a fourth-round pick in 2020, and he has excelled and played at least 900 defensive snaps in three straight regular seasons, earning a strong 74.7 coverage grade over that span. Sneed also ranks 10th among cornerbacks since 2021 in PFF WAR (1.56) and leads the position in defensive coverage stops (56) over that span.

Sneed has been a key piece of Steve Spagnuolo’s defense over the past few seasons, playing primarily in the slot before moving to the outside this past year. The Chiefs have utilized Sneed as an effective blitzer throughout his NFL career, where he’s been able to rack up a position-leading 6.5 sacks and 36 total pressures on 171 regular-season pass-rush attempts.

Kansas City isn't afraid to let star players, such as cornerback Charvarius Ward in 2022, walk in free agency, which could result in Sneed also hitting the open market. He is expected to net close to $17.5 million per year, according to PFF’s free agency contract projections, which would land him among the 10 highest-paid players at his position on an annual basis.