Top 10 Free Agents going into 2021

With free agency right around the corner (starting the 17th March) I wanted to take a quick look at the top ten best free agents currently available around the league.

Teams are now able to designate one player on their roster to the franchise tag (where a player is signed to the team for one year, with their salary for that year being an average of the top five salaries at the position, over the last five seasons) up until the 9th March.

However, at the time of publishing this article all players are free agents, with no one being tagged, traded or signed long term yet.

1) Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys (Quarterback) Even though the Cowboys’ quarterback went down after suffering a terrible ankle injury in week five and missing the rest of the season, Dak Prescott is undeniably the “crown jewel” of this 2021 free agent period, especially when comparing him to the other free agent signal callers who may be available. In his previous four seasons with the Cowboys, Prescott has shown flashes of brilliance and before his injury, was on pace for his best year yet. The bigger issue for the Cowboys is how they struggled without Dak under center. Per CBS stats, in the four games he played Prescott was averaging 422.5 yards and 31.5 points per game; without him, 204.9 yards and 21.1 points per game.

Having already been franchise tagged the year before, the injury Prescott sustained may have ruined his chance at getting a long term deal this year; not to say getting the franchise tag again is a bad thing, as if the Cowboys do go down this route, he would be set to earn around $37 million for the year. Enough for a drink or two…

You wonder if Dallas can afford to let Prescott test the market and I don’t think they will. I believe something will get done, whether it be a long term deal or more likely, the franchise tag for the second year in a row.

It is likely the Cowboys will have Dak under the franchise tag again this year, but should he get a long term deal?

2) Trent Williams - San Francisco 49ers (Left Tackle)

A tackle isn’t “sexy” I know, but in what I consider to be a rather sub par free agent class this year, having someone like Williams protecting your franchise quarterback is all the action you should need…

After being out all of the 2019 season, the left tackle was back in 2020 and better than ever, only allowing four sacks on the year, making an argument for him being one of, if not the best tackle in the NFL right now. What does that mean for him in free agency though? While it has been said that Williams will indeed test the market (for which he is sure to have an audience) it is unlikely that the 49ers will just let him go. It is, however, not going to be cheap signing Williams to a long term deal, with the team only having around $13-14 million in cap space going into this season. Should a better offer come in from elsewhere (Looking at you Bengals, with your brand new, shiny franchise quarterback Joe Burrows) will the 49ers be able to convince him to take a slight discount in the first year and have it pay more later? One thing is for sure however, and that is the fact Williams will get paid, wherever he ends up landing.

With Trent Williams stating he will test free agency, will the 49ers be able to keep the stand out left tackle?

3) Chris Godwin - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Wide Receiver) Probably the strongest overall group in free agency this year is the wide receiver position and in my opinion, atop that is the Bucs’ Chris Godwin; he has had another very good year and has put himself in line for a nice payday. Honestly, the Buccaneers probably should have signed Godwin to an extension in 2019, in which he had his best season (with 9 touchdowns and 1,333 yards over sixteen games); but even in a year where Godwin only played twelve games due to injury, he was still able to rack up another 7 touchdowns and 840 receiving yards, while also contributing with another 223 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs, on the way to a Super Bowl title.

If Godwin is able to stay healthy and get back to that 2019 season form, he could potentially be a steal in this year's free agent class, however as stated previously he may not be helped by the fact that there are a number of very good wide receivers out there for teams to acquire, speaking of which…

Chris Godwin is arguably the best wide receiver in a stacked free agent class this year.

4) Allen Robinson II - Chicago Bears (Wide Receiver)

What do Blake Bortles, Chad Henne, Chase Daniel, Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky all have in common? If you said “They are all the quarterbacks Allen Robinson II has played with in his NFL career” you win. Robinson is absolutely better than what you think; taking his 2020 season stats alone, he was able to still pile up 1,250 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns and drag the Bears to a playoff berth again. This is certainly not a one year aberration either, as he put up 1,147 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2019. Taking away Robinson’s torn ACL in week 1 of the 2017 season (where he caught one ball for 17 yards but was out the rest of the year), Robinson is putting up an average of 997 yards a season.

With a constant carousel of mediocre quarterbacks coming in and out throughout his career, if Robinson can find his way out of Chicago and find himself somewhere else, he could plant himself firmly in the discussion of who are the best wide receivers in the league.

*Disclaimer; Robinson did choose to go to the Chicago Bears when he was a free agent back in 2018, choosing them over the Green Bay Packers… sometimes you just need to help yourself.

Allen Robinson's production over his career is even more impressive when you look at the quarterbacks he has played with.

5) Justin Simmons - Denver Broncos (Safety) Say what you want about Broncos’ head coach Vic Fangio, but he seems to get the best out of his safeties; helping Chicago Bears’ Eddie Jackson become the highest paid player at the position in the league, at the time of signing, and it could happen again with Simmons in Denver.

The fifth year safety is coming off one of his best years, recording 5 interceptions and 9 pass breakups, but also moving down to the line of scrimmage to help with run defence accumulating 94 total tackles (75 solo and 19 assisted), 3 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Simmons only seems to be trending upwards in his production and is already one of the best safeties in the league.

Coming off a Pro-Bowl nod for the 2020 season and having already been franchised tagged last year, it is more than likely that Justin Simmons has paved the way for a big payday, whether it be from the Denver Broncos (most likely) or elsewhere. With around £31 million in cap space currently, if I am the Broncos front office, I get him signed as soon as possible.

Justin Simmons has worked his way towards becoming one of the best safeties currently in the league.

6) Bud Dupree - Pittsburgh Steelers (Linebacker) Another player to have been franchise tagged in 2019 after having a career year, Dupree has been one of the most underrated linebackers in the league.

In a season that unfortunately saw him tear his ACL in week 12, the sixth year player was on pace for his best statistical season yet; accounting for 8 sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 2 forced fumbles, who can use his speed and strength to get into the quarterback’s lap on any play.

While picking up a season ending injury won’t help his search for a big money deal, it certainly is not the kiss of death it once used to be and I am sure that a player as good as Bud Dupree is, will find a healthy market if the Steelers decide to let him test free agency.

Bud Dupree is one of the most underrated linebackers in the league today, but who should be able to get his payday in free agency.

7) Brandon Scherff - Washington Football Team (Guard)

Another offensive lineman which should be coveted in this free agency period, Scherff was a top ten draft pick in 2015 and the four time pro-bowler has been one of the most dependable guards in the league. Scherff capped off another great 2020 season being selected as a first team All-Pro; his first ever such honour. Per Pro Football Focus, the soon to be 29 year old Guard has played 857 snaps, giving up only 3 sacks, 2 quarterback hits and 2 penalties.

The only knock against Scherff is that over the last four seasons, he has missed 18 games, including a three game absence in 2020 due to an MCL sprain; but while durability could be a concern for some teams, there is no doubt that Scherff will get paid. The question will be if Washington will be the ones paying him.

One of the best guards in the league, the former fifth overall pick will have plenty of teams interested in his services.

8) Kenny Golladay - Detroit Lions (Wide Receiver)

The worst thing for Golladay is that he was injured for eleven games this season and therefore his production, naturally, fell off. In a good wide receiver free agent class, it may have unfortunately cost him the chance to cash in for as much as he probably deserves.

However, if you look at his numbers from 2019, Golladay was starting to come into his own as a viable number one target, with 1,190 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 65 receptions. At 6 feet 4 inches, the former third round pick can stretch the field and out jump defensive backs for any team in need of a deep threat target, who can produce a number of big plays.

Detroit has a total of five wide receivers on their roster who enter March as free agents, so it would be a wise move for the Lions to try and sign Golladay as soon as they can, injury-marred season aside.

Even though his 2020 season was hampered by injury, Golladay should still receive a lot of interest on the open market.

9) Aaron Jones - Green Bay Packers (Running Back) Coming off of his second straight 1,000 plus yard season, Jones is easily the best running back in this upcoming free agent class, proving not only to be a threat as a runner (with 1,104 yards and 9 touchdowns) but who has good enough hands to catch the ball out of the backfield as a receiver also (355 yards and 2 touchdowns). Jones bet on himself going into the 2020 season, turning down an offer from the Packers in January 2020, which would have reportedly made him one of the top five paid running backs going into the league year. But while Jones had a good season and finished it off with a (virtual) trip to the Pro-Bowl; his first time selected, the market for running backs is always subject to discussion. More importantly, will the Packers be willing to increase their initial offer that they made before the season? If it ends up that the Packers are willing to move on from him, there should be no shortage of teams looking to add the dynamic young back (he will only be 26 when the new season starts) to help carry the load for their offense.

Will the Green Bay Packers look to increase their initial offer to Jones? Or will the talented running back test free agency?

10) Jonnu Smith - Tennessee Titans (Tight End)

A lot of sites have either Los Angeles Chargers’ tight end Hunter Henry or Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski ranked as the best tight ends in this free agent class, however I believe the Titans’ Jonnu Smith offers potentially more upside. For starters, he is younger than both Henry (26) and Gronkowski (31) at only 25 years of age and while the stats don’t jump off the screen at you, Smith got increasingly better once they brought in a capable quarterback to run the offense in Ryan Tannehill, and focused on Smith more in the passing game. His 8 touchdowns catches in 2020 was tied for fourth by all tight ends, making him a mismatch in the red zone for any team that is lacking in such a threat, such as the New York Jets or Carolina Panthers.

I believe that Smith can become one of the best tight ends in the league if given the opportunity and while not a household name compared to say, George Kittle or Travis Kelce, he will amass quite a large market once free agency begins.

Maybe not the household name at tight end, but Jonnu Smith is a versatile player who has a chance to take the next step, given the opportunity.

Have I missed anyone off my top 10? Who is the free agent you think your team should go after? Let me know in the comments below.