Someone in the NFL league office apparently doesn’t understand that March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, because they decided to make that the day that free agency begins this year. Thinking about it a little more though, nothing goes together quite like Guinness and top-tier talent changing teams and causing pandemonium across the league. Sign me up.
There is bound to be some huge movement across the league, so let’s make some predictions.
2 / 7
Golladay is a 6-foot-4 contested-catch weapon that can high-point the ball with the best of them. Coming off an injury-plagued year, he could be a potential discount, but teams will remember his consecutive 1,000 yard seasons the two years before. At 27 years old, he still has several good years left, and Washington could benefit from a big body opposite Terry McLaurin. If Washington could land Golladay to pair with McLaurin and Antonio Gibson, and address the quarterback situation via trade or in the draft, the offense could round into shape to go with their young, dynamic defense.
3 / 7
After being an idiot and getting suspended for PEDs, Fuller is hitting free agency and getting off the sinking ship that is Houston. While I would like to think teams would care about him cheating, I’ve seen this story too many times to get my hopes up. The Packers could greatly benefit from a fast, deep threat.
4 / 7
Speaking of the Packers, while many people seem to be hoping to see Jones in Arizona or in San Francisco (and yes, both of those landing spots would be very fun for him), I don’t see how he doesn’t get the franchise tag. Jones is criminally undervalued for his production as one of the league’s best running backs, and with the projected tag value for a running back expected to be only $8.56 million, they would be able to bring him back on a bargain. I don’t see how Jones doesn’t get slapped with it. Now, whether they’ll trade him after that is a different story.
5 / 7
Unlocked by the innovating coaching of Matt Rhule and Joe Brady in their first seasons in Carolina, Samuel proved to be a versatile weapon both in the run and pass games, compiling over 1,000 scrimmage yards. His do-it-all skillset is going to make him some money in free agency this year. The Giants absolutely need to address the outside receiver position with a true alpha, but adding a versatile playmaker to the mix to go with a returning Saquon Barkley wouldn’t hurt.
6 / 7
Smith is a very talented tight end that started the season hot and then completely disappeared, but he should still see a good market in free agency. As a big weapon that excels in the passing game, he would be a great fit with Josh Allen in Buffalo. Offensive coordinator Brian Dabol would know how to scheme him well, and he would instantly become a lethal red-zone threat; he still logged eight touchdowns last year in Tennessee in an offense where Derrick Henry scored 17.
I miss football. It needs to come back into my life. Free agency will kinda sorta scratch that itch, maybe. We’ll see what happens.