Every year, the free NFL agency has a great start. The first week of the subscription period is usually when the biggest and most innovative deals are delivered, and this year was no different. We saw Trent Williams and Leonard Williams get a lot of money to sign again with the 49ers and Giants, respectively, and Bud Dupree and Joe Thuney got considerable deals to join the Titans and Chiefs.
But while the first week of a free agency usually brings with it the most impactful hires, it is usually the second and third weeks in which NFL teams find the best bargains. That’s why we are here today. In the space below, we’ll take a look at some of the best second-wave signings, where teams have found the necessary updates without breaking the bank.
With Robert Saleh taking control, the Jets needed two things to properly play their defense style: a versatile edge rusher that could withstand both running and passing, and an interior penetrator that could do the same. They got the first at Carl Lawson last week, and the last at Rankins this week. Rankins has had some injury problems and is coming out of one of his less effective seasons, but has shown a peak production level that is rare for a player his age (26) who signs a bargain contract.
Alex Mack played for Kyle Shanahan in Cleveland and Atlanta, and now joins him in San Francisco. There are few centers better at executing exactly what needs to be done in Shanahan’s attack, and now Mack will be back on the pivot for a unit that needs its offensive line to operate at a high level for maximum efficiency. Ebukam, for his part, is just an underrated player. He can press the dowel off the ledge and fall for cover, and should benefit from playing in a defensive line full of talent.
This is an absolutely classic Patriots. New England switched to Van Noy at its lowest point in 2017 and made him a versatile and incredible player. He worked as an internal linebacker, a leading rusher and an internal attacker and everything. He signed a major contract with the Dolphins last season, giving the Pats a compensatory choice in next month’s draft. He was released by the Dolphins at the beginning of the off-season and is now back in New England. The Pats literally did just that with Jamie Collins. Now they did it again. Amazing.
Fuller will miss Week 1 of the 2021 season while serving the rest of his six-game suspension for violating drug policy to improve the league’s performance, but the Dolphins bringing him to a $ 14 million one-year deal is one of my favorite off-season moves. He is a perfect complement to DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki, and puts Tua Tagovailoa in a much better position to succeed than last season. Deshaun Watson was always at his best when he had Fuller in front of DeAndre Hopkins, and the Dolphins can expect the same to be true for Tua (or any defender they take as No. 3). If he drops out, they can hire him for a long-term contract or get a compensatory choice when he signs an even bigger contract elsewhere in the off-season, when the limit returns to the normal level.
Reddick accumulated 12.5 sacks in his first season as a pure-edge scrubber. Now, he manages to chase the quarterback while working alongside Brian Burns and alongside Derrick Brown. On a $ 8 million one-year contract, he’s an excellent value for the Panthers, who didn’t even have to commit to him on a long-term contract to try the positive side he showed last season. Considering that her relationship with Matt Rhule dates back to Temple days, Carolina must have a good chance of hiring him again if things go well.
Bengals’ high school plays (Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton) drew more attention, but I think this was my favorite signing for them. Ogunjobi was overshadowed by Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson in Cleveland, but he is a quality player. He’s coming off a bit of a low season in 2020, but in 2018 and 2019, he had 11 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 28 hitting from his place inland. He is not an individual replacement for Geno Atkins, of course, but in a one-year contract with a maximum value of around $ 6.2 million, he is a bargain.
The Cowboys have been plagued by a deficient intermediate defense for some years. Both players should help with this. Neal has extensive experience with the new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn from his days together in Atlanta, and his ability to play safely in base defense and the linebacker in nickel packs should bring an additional element of versatility that the team lacked and free the players. Cowboys trust Jaylon Smith on the roof. Urban is one of those guys who keeps jumping in the league and playing very well against the race for a few years, and then moves on to his next stop. He must fit perfectly into Dallas’s defensive rotation.
The Seahawks lost Shaquill Griffin to the Jaguars in a big deal and replaced it with a corner that fits the scheme perfectly (Witherspoon played on a very similar system in San Francisco) and costs about a third of the price. No one has more confidence in his ability to train defensive backs than Pete Carroll, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Griffin’s fall to Witherspoon wasn’t so great.
Hollister did very well with the small number of opportunities he received during his time in the league. In the past two seasons in Seattle, he has taken 66 of 99 passes for 558 yards and six hits. He showed some ability to flex out of the slot occasionally. He’s basically the same size as Dawson Knox, giving the Bills two beefy athletes that they can launch into teams when they want to use heavier personnel and still throw the ball, as usual.
Is Reynolds as good as Corey Davis? Probably not. But he did very well as an injury substitute during his first three years in Los Angeles, then had a good season in a broader role last year, despite the general struggles of the attack. As a complement to AJ Brown, it works well, even if its roof is not that high. It helps that he knows the system, is a good blocker and is not afraid to overtake the middle in action throws, which will make him a good player in Tennessee.