The 2026 Free Agency Thread

Yeah, but that's not (and KDawg or someone else can correct me here) a fire zone blitz. That blitz as shown was just 5 guys on the line and all 5 go. The other LB playing more off just drops into coverage like normal.

Key thing here, to marry that above blitz to what Daronte Jones would do, is have the other LB also on the LoS. Showing both as blitzers. And then somebody drops off the line and into coverage. Could be a LB, but often it's a DL as the OL least expects that meaning somebody like a OT or Guard is blocking just air and the defense gets a free rusher at a different gap.

Flores would also at times have both LB's and a Safety all on the LoS. Showing a Cover 0 look, but then some of those defenders drop into coverage. Occasionally 3 of them drop back and it's not even a blitz.

The LB's need to be fluid and faster to make it work. Can't be stiff hipped. Athletic and Smart safeties help. Much of the athleticism requirements are about change of direction.

The more legit an OLB/Edge defender is as a pass rusher and zone dropper (Van Ginkel, Arvell Reese, hopefully Luvu), the more it causes hesitation in OL and QB reads.

I think I read (and it sounds this way now) is that all of the defenders regardless of position will, at the start of training camp, be taught technique on how to drop into hook zones off the LoS. Johnny Newton's time to shine, let's see that plus agility for 1 second to get into a throwing lane.
 
With all the talk of finding the next AVG, why don't we try to trade for him?

- The Vikings are $45M in cap hell currently
- He is entering the last year of his deal and the Vikings save $7M+ in cap room by trading him
- He is blocking their 2024 1st round pick in Dallas Turner who played in his role when he was hurt last year and did a good job (AVG is going into his age 31 season)
- He missed 5 games this past year with a neck injury (first time he hasn't played a full season since 2019)
- If the Vikings were big time believers in him, they would have given him more than a 1 year extension last offseason

Now, he is not chopped liver. He still played very well when he did play in 2025. He is also clearly a Flores guy given they were in Miami together.

I don't see them giving him away.

With Eric Wilson a FA, I wonder if there is an All Pro for All Pro trade to be had where we send them Luvu + 5th or 6th for AVG. Both guys are entering the last year of their contracts and both guys fill a need for each team. If we trade Luvu, he costs them $8M for a year so would be cap neutral for the Vikings but would negate the need for them to go find a FA replacement for Wilson. Flores would probably have a lot of fun with Luvu while letting Cashman green dot.

For us, it allows us to start Magee as the non green dot LB and bring back Wagner who is more synergistic with Magee or find a new green dot.
 
Didn't seem like he did it a lot but it was part of the scheme


Here’s a good example of a zone blitz from the Commanders last season. The Bears face third and eight, so the Commanders want to bring pressure as its third down, but also want to have a relatively safe zone coverage behind it as the Bears still need eight yards for a first down. So defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio calls for a zone blitz.

In this example, we can see how the defense starts in a two deep safety look, but one safety ends up rotating to the deep middle with the cornerbacks sinking either side of him, while the other safety steps up into the underneath hole. Linebacker Cole Holcomb joins the rush as the fifth rusher, lining up on the line of scrimmage with the four defensive lineman and looping from the left side of the line to the right as part of a defensive line stunt.
This is not a zone blitz. This is a coverage roll with a blitz and stunt.
 
This is not a zone blitz. This is a coverage roll with a blitz and stunt.

Does that mean they are rolling coverage to one side of the field or another to take away a certain player?
 
Does that mean they are rolling coverage to one side of the field or another to take away a certain player?
Not necessarily but possibly. They are rolling coverage to cover for a vacated zone.
 
I would love a lot of these top end FAs but realistically how many of them can we give 8 figure AAV contracts to? My guess is 2-4 depending on the AAVs and cap hits
 
Sheehan asked Quinn on his podcast in FA what type of player does he want in FA. Quinn goes a player who put points on the board on offense. And a rusher who can effect the QB and corner.

lol, so that was fairly specific -- reminds me of when Quinn was asked about the QBs in the 2024 draft and said game changer when referencing Jayden.

So Edge, CB and WR-TE maybe RB.
 
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I am extrapolating based on those Quinn comments but it sounds like LB-S might not be priorities in FA.

Putting points on the board is a broad statement but that's what he led with -- I'd take it as WR first but don't know.

But yeah the defensive part was very specific -- an edge who can effect the QB and a CB who is sticky in coverage
 
Not much respect here from Fowler from ESPN, Cowboys in the 2nd tier, Giants third tier, Washington 4th tier


NFL overhaul tiers: Rebuild time for 18 non-playoff teams​


A few moves away​

Dallas Cowboys

2026 cap space: minus-$66.8 million
Top free agent: George Pickens
Projected 2026 draft picks: 8

The hope for a quick turnaround: The offense was humming in 2025, and the core players will return, with the team expected to franchise-tag receiver Pickens. Quarterback Dak Prescott is squarely in his prime under coach Brian Schottenheimer. The defensive line is stocked with talent, and Dallas has two first-round picks with which to address its defense because of the Micah Parsons trade.

Why it might take longer than hoped: Last season's defensive back seven underperformed, forcing a look in the mirror this offseason. The addition of defensive coordinator Christian Parker will help, but reinforcements are sorely needed. Bringing back Pickens and running back Javonte Williams would be prudent.

...Walder: The Cowboys will win the NFC East. Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense played extremely well last season, which went under the radar in part because the defense was so bad. The latter should improve through regression alone. If Dallas can get its defense to be just OK, the Cowboys could become contenders very quickly.

Sneaky good trajectory​

New York Giants

2026 cap space: $21.2 million
Top free agent: Wan'Dale Robinson
Projected 2026 draft picks: 7

The hope for a quick turnaround: Several head coaches experienced fast success in 2025, and John Harbaugh will try to do the same with a Year 1 turnaround in 2026. The Giants' roster is reaching respectable levels of talent after a few down years. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is a selling point. The defensive line is among the league's most talented. And receiver Malik Nabers will return from ACL and meniscus tears.

Why it might take longer than hoped: The Giants must shake their losing culture. New York has won more than six games once in the past nine seasons. The shift might not happen overnight. The supporting casts on both sides of the ball haven't been good enough in recent years. That has to change.

...Fowler: The Giants will make the playoffs. The Year 1 spike due to a top-shelf coach is a proven formula that worked last season for New England's Mike Vrabel, Chicago's Ben Johnson and Jacksonville's Liam Coen. John Harbaugh hopes to have a similar impact, and New York's roster is on the upswing. A few savvy additions this offseason would make the Giants contenders.

Schatz: The Giants will take a big leap, going from worst to first thanks to the coaching of John Harbaugh, the return of wide receiver Malik Nabers, and steps forward from quarterback Jaxson Dart and edge rusher Abdul Carter in Year 2. Like Jeremy alluded to above, it's not as big a leap as you might think, as their underlying play-by-play performance last season suggested a 7-10 team instead of a 4-13 unit.



Somewhere between contention and reset​

i

Washington Commanders

2026 cap space: $51.2 million
Top free agent: Deebo Samuel
Projected 2026 draft picks: 6

The hope for a quick turnaround: Washington is a year removed from competing in the NFC title game. When healthy, Jayden Daniels is a top-10 quarterback who will move the offense into a more respectable range in 2026. GM Adam Peters has cap space to replenish the roster. Injuries plagued Washington more than most teams last season.

Why it might take longer than hoped: Washington was the hardest team of the bunch to evaluate, so it gets its own category. The Commanders were close in 2024. The roster is problematic in spots, though. Defensive impact players are older. Pass rush is a major need. And some recent high draft picks have been slow to develop. Peters has just two draft picks in the first four rounds this year because of previous trades. Adding a skill player at tight end or running back would be useful.
 
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But I do like this

Mike Tannenbaum, NFL analyst: Commanders over Bills. Quarterback Jayden Daniels stays healthy next season and bounces back in a big way. He plays in every game and finishes the season by outdueling Allen and the Bills in a 45-42 shootout in L.A.

Tannenbaum: Jayden Daniels, QB, Commanders. Daniels will rebound from an injury-plagued 2025 season and reassert himself as the top quarterback of the 2024 draft class. He stays healthy, performs well throwing and running the ball and makes new offensive coordinator David Blough a prime head coaching candidate.

 
NFL overhaul tiers: Rebuild time for 18 non-playoff teams
This is such lazy "analysis."

The Cowboys have a horrible cap situation, as bad a defense as we do, an aging, expensive QB, who is also quite injury prone, and a worse OL. Cee Dee and Pickens put up good-looking numbers, and have 2 first round picks, sure--but again, no cap and this draft isn't good, from most analysts. And, lets not forget their GM is Grandpa Simpson.

As for the typical New York hype for the Giants...who hired Matt Nagy as their OC. They've averaged 5.5 wins per year in the 10 seasons since Coughlin retired, 4.8 if you drop McAdoo's fluke 11-win year. Dart and Skattebo are dumber than a bag of hammers, and their defense is awful, even with that vaunted pass rush. Speaking of Dart he had 15 turnover worthy plays on 339 attempts--that's worse than Mariota who is a turnover machine (4.4% rate vs 3.5%). Meanwhile I see about as much explosiveness out of Skattebo as I did out of Brian Robinson.

Like you said SIP, there is not a more annoyingly, unqualified arrogant team--players or fans--than the Giants. I'll believe it when I see it there.
 
This is such lazy "analysis."

The Cowboys have a horrible cap situation, as bad a defense as we do, an aging, expensive QB, who is also quite injury prone, and a worse OL. Cee Dee and Pickens put up good-looking numbers, and have 2 first round picks, sure--but again, no cap and this draft isn't good, from most analysts. And, lets not forget their GM is Grandpa Simpson.

As for the typical New York hype for the Giants...who hired Matt Nagy as their OC. They've averaged 5.5 wins per year in the 10 seasons since Coughlin retired, 4.8 if you drop McAdoo's fluke 11-win year. Dart and Skattebo are dumber than a bag of hammers, and their defense is awful, even with that vaunted pass rush. Speaking of Dart he had 15 turnover worthy plays on 339 attempts--that's worse than Mariota who is a turnover machine (4.4% rate vs 3.5%). Meanwhile I see about as much explosiveness out of Skattebo as I did out of Brian Robinson.

Like you said SIP, there is not a more annoyingly, unqualified arrogant team--players or fans--than the Giants. I'll believe it when I see it there.

Agree. And as I said I didn't realize how arrogant Harbaugh is -- feels like the NY media (with some national media echoing it) crowning him as a Lombardi elite level HC, with Harbaugh nodding indeed I am.

For me the ultimate obnoxious comment from their media came last season when a NY reporter interviewed went on and on about Dart is the real deal but Jayden is a question mark.

We talk at times how the national media really really wants the Cowboys to be good, I would say their runner up would be the Giants. They are arguably the most celebrated 4 win team that I can ever recall.
 
Agree. And as I said I didn't realize how arrogant Harbaugh is -- feels like the NY media (with some national media echoing it) crowning him as a Lombardi elite level HC, with Harbaugh nodding indeed I am.

For me the ultimate obnoxious comment from their media came last season when a NY reporter interviewed went on and on about Dart is the real deal but Jayden is a question mark.

We talk at times how the national media really really wants the Cowboys to be good, I would say their runner up would be the Giants. They are arguably the most celebrated 4 win team that I can ever recall.
Harbaugh feels a lot like Rivera here--arrogant, unwilling to change anything, and honestly hiring a poor offensive coaching staff, and coach-centric model. I think Kafka was a better OC than Nagy. Blough might be a bad playcaller and OC; but we KNOW Nagy is.
 
With CB apparently in play asidce from Alontae Taylor

5. CB Jamel Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Snaps: 2,230 | PFF grade: 84.9


Dean ranked fourth among all cornerbacks in PFF grade (81.5) in 2025 and allowed just a 46.9 passer rating on throws into his coverage, which was the best mark in the NFL. Now seven seasons into his career, he has never posted a PFF coverage grade below 70.0.

Contract projection: Three years, $55,000,000 | $35,000,000 guaranteed

Contract comp: Carlton Davis (2025)

21. CB Jaylen Watson, Kansas City Chiefs

Snaps: 1,907 | PFF grade: 76.4


Watson posted a career-high 74.9 PFF grade in 2025, a performance that should position him well in free agency. He has improved his PFF grade in every NFL season and limits mistakes, as his 5.8% missed tackle rate tied for ninth in the league this year.

Contract projection: Three years, $45,000,000 | $30,000,000 guaranteed

Contract comp: DJ Reed (2022)

46. CB Tariq Woolen, Seattle Seahawks

Snaps: 2,742 | PFF grade: 67.4


Woolen's time in Seattle has blended high-end ball production with uneven week-to-week play, including penalty issues and late-season role fluctuation in 2024. He has consistently found the football since entering the league, allowing a 76.3 passer rating into his coverage while producing eight interceptions and 20 pass breakups, ranking in the 93rd percentile in forced incompletions. That playmaking has been steady year over year, as Woolen surrendered only three touchdowns in 2025 on 601 coverage snaps and has recorded at least eight pass breakups in every season of his career.

Contract projection: Three years, $45,000,000 | $30,000,000 guaranteed

Contract comp: Michael Davis (2021)

75. CB Rasul Douglas, Miami Dolphins

Snaps: 2,888 | PFF grade: 73.6


Douglas bounced back from a difficult 2024 campaign with a strong showing in 2025, ranking 20th among cornerbacks in PFF coverage grade (73.6). He has recorded a combined 10 or more pass breakups and interceptions in three of the past four seasons.
 
Agree. And as I said I didn't realize how arrogant Harbaugh is -- feels like the NY media (with some national media echoing it) crowning him as a Lombardi elite level HC, with Harbaugh nodding indeed I am.

For me the ultimate obnoxious comment from their media came last season when a NY reporter interviewed went on and on about Dart is the real deal but Jayden is a question mark.

We talk at times how the national media really really wants the Cowboys to be good, I would say their runner up would be the Giants. They are arguably the most celebrated 4 win team that I can ever recall.

One comment, then end of non-free agency talk, Harbaugh and his record is no different than Mike McCarthy. The Steelers got a hammered a little bit for that hire and they both basically have the same records and success.

Speaking of the Cowboys, I wonder if Jerry will be aggressive this year. I don't think they have much cap space once they tag Pickins.
 
Not a great year for CBs in FA. Based on Quinn's priorities, my realistic FA wish list:
1. Alec Pierce
2. Devin Lloyd
3. Boye Mafe
4. Jaylen Watson
5. Raschaad White

I think we haven't seen the best of White yet. While he's not going to be a dynamic playmaker in the passing game, he had 0 drops last year on 42 targets; and "graded in the 98th percentile on gap runs and the 94th percentile on zone runs." If we put our money into Pierce and Lloyd, primarily, it takes us out of the Breece Hall league. White would be a nice complimentary piece to Bill and C-Rod, and an upgrade over McNichols.
 
One comment, then end of non-free agency talk, Harbaugh and his record is no different than Mike McCarthy. The Steelers got a hammered a little bit for that hire and they both basically have the same records and success.

Speaking of the Cowboys, I wonder if Jerry will be aggressive this year. I don't think they have much cap space once they tag Pickins.

Cowboys can make a ton of cap room with simple restructures if they’re willing to push the hurt out a few years. At Jerry’s age it’s very possible they do that.
 
I’m a bit worried that Jones seemed to name all of our linebackers as pieces he’s excited to work with.

But I think he has a good head on his shoulders. So if he thinks some combo or Luvu, McGee and Medrano can play for us then I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

But hope doesn’t spring eternal
 

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