Before Derek Carr moved to New Orleans, Geno Smith stayed in Seattle, Daniel Jones got a big new deal, and Lamar Jackson led a list of franchise-tagged players that also included Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne, Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, and Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, the upcoming 2023 class of free agents was packed with marquee names.
Now that those names are off the board, this class is less exceptional in a headline sense — but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t still all kinds of players that could positively alter the course of any team. This class is now wider than it is tall, but it’s very wide. Which is to say, there is impressive talent soon to be available when the new league year begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday March 15. And a lot of that talent will be more available to the teams that have really done their homework.
With that in mind, we have done our homework here at Touchdown Wire. This list of the top 151 players who will be free agents when the new league year starts is based on comprehensive tape study, and scouring all kinds of metrics to make sure everything matches up as much as possible in the inexact science of player evaluation. The guys up top are (or should be) still marquee names, though most of them are not offensive skill players.
As you go down the list, you’ll see players who may have tried their best in the wrong systems, players who may have failed to live up to their potential at this time, players who are just getting the hang of things, and players who might just need the right circumstance and opportunity.
Here, without further ado, is our list of the top 151 free agents for the 2023 league year, starting with Nos. 1-75.
1. DI Javon Hargrave
2. CB Jamel Dean
3. LB Lavonte David
4. CB James Bradberry
5. S Jordan Poyer
6. S Jessie Bates III
7. DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson
8. OT Orlando Brown Jr.
9. DL Dre'Mont Jones
10. C Jason Kelce
11. WR Jakobi Meyers
12. TE Mike Gesicki
13. CB Cameron Sutton
14. LB Tremaine Edmunds
15. EDGE Brandon Graham
16. DL Zach Allen
17. WR DJ Chark
18. CB Patrick Peterson
19. EDGE Arden Key
20. EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
21. CB Jonathan Jones
22. LB David Long Jr.
23. DI Dalvin Tomlinson
24. LB Germaine Pratt
25. DL Charles Omenihu
26. OG Isaac Seumalo
27. EDGE Marcus Davenport
28. TE Dalton Schultz
29. LB Drue Tranquill
30. WR Odell Beckham Jr.
31. DL Justin Houston
32. S Vonn Bell
33. DI Fletcher Cox
34. EDGE Frank Clark
35. S Juan Thornhill
36. LB Eric Kendricks
37. WR Allen Lazard
38. QB Jimmy Garoppolo
39. OT Donovan Smith
40. S Taylor Rapp
41. LB Kyzir White
42. EDGE Melvin Ingram
43. WR Robert Woods
44. LB Bobby Okereke
45. C Rodney Hudson
(Note: The Arizona Cardinals are expected to move on from Hudson. This ranking is based on Hudson not retiring after that).
46. CB Rock Ya-Sin
47. DB Jimmie Ward
48. LB Bobby Wagner
49. DB Tavierre Thomas
50. OT Mike McGlinchey
51. CB Marcus Peters
52. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
53. LB T.J. Edwards
54. DL David Onyemata
55. RB Jamaal Williams
56. S Tashaun Gipson Sr.
57. WR Darius Slayton
58. RB Kareem Hunt
59. QB Jacoby Brissett
60. OT Jawaan Taylor
61. DL Dawuane Smoot
62. RB Damien Harris
63. QB Andy Dalton
64. DB Julian Love
65. LB Denzel Perryman
66. RB Miles Sanders
67. S John Johnson III
68. RB Devin Singletary
69. WR Marvin Jones Jr.
70. DL DeMarcus Walker
71. DL Larry Ogunjobi
72. OG Will Hernandez
73. EDGE Samson Ebukam
74. DI Sheldon Rankins
75. DI Linval Joseph
