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.
