NFL Free Agency: Top-200 consensus rankings update

by
from on (#73ZTW)
54131a9e03fd5ee674ee5c4a16c7fce3GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 27: Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis #2 warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field on December 27, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Three players were hit with franchise tags, and one was hit with the transition tag, so it's time to update our consensus free agency rankings. We're going to change our methodology for this one because of the inclusion of cap casualties, who aren't always included in the rankings we've found around the web.

Due to the lack of standards for inclusion, here's how we'll be working out the data from now on:

  • If a player isn't ranked in an article, his data is essentially thrown out.
  • If the player is ranked, his data is included.
  • When a player is ranked, we'll average out his ranking and then we'll rank players by this number.

This is a little different from what we did in our first update. Here's what the data now looks like, including these cap casualty players and after removing the tagged players, based on 29 free agency rankings we've found online.

Quarterbacks
  • 8: Malik Willis, QB - signed with Dolphins
  • 12: Kyler Murray, QB
  • 25: Aaron Rodgers, QB
  • 45: Kirk Cousins, QB
  • 99: Geno Smith, QB
  • 102: Russell Wilson, QB
  • 107: Marcus Mariota, QB - re-signed with Commanders
  • 128: Joe Flacco, QB
  • 181: Carson Wentz, QB

It was reported that Kyler Murray will be released by the Arizona Cardinals at the start of the new league year. He will almost certainly take a minimum contract because the Cardinals are paying him a guaranteed $36.8 million to not play for their football team in 2026, which includes offsets. So every dollar that Murray makes just forces his new team to pay him instead of the Cardinals. In his situation, he's incentivized to take a minimum, one-year deal (this has happened in the past with guys like Russell Wilson before).

Running Backs

The Packers will reportedly not tender Emanuel Wilson, meaning that he'll become an unrestricted free agent. Because the team had the option to make him a $3.5 million restricted free agent, though, it means that he will not be a compensatory free agent.

Receivers

The Indianapolis Colts gave Daniel Jones a nearly $38 million transition tag (they could have had Kyler Murray for $1.3 million!), which now puts Alec Pierce at risk of hitting the market. As we've written about before, Christian Watson is a pretty good analog for Pierce, so if the Green Bay Packers don't want to pay Watson a copy-paste of whatever Pierce will get on the open market, they should try to get a Watson extension ASAP.

Tight Ends/Fullbacks

There are some John FitzPatrick believers, which is a bit surprising to me. FitzPatrick wasn't a special teams contributor in 2025, despite being a run-blocking tight end (usually these guys play in the return game, but the Packers play offensive skill players the least on special teams). He's coming off an Achilles tendon tear, so I doubt he'll sign for much more than the minimum in 2026.

Tackles
  • 6: Rasheed Walker, T
  • 22: Braden Smith, T
  • 38: Taylor Decker, T
  • 40: Jermaine Eluemunor, T - re-signed with Giants
  • 71: Braxton Jones, T - re-signed with Bears
  • 108: Jonah Williams, T
  • 122: Jawaan Taylor, T
  • 146: Elijah Wilkinson, T
  • 153: Cam Robinson, T
  • 188: Jamaree Salyer, T
  • 194: Jack Conklin, T

The only full-time starting tackle coming off a rookie contract in free agency this year is Rasheed Walker. He's going to make bank. He almost certainly will bring the Packers home a third- or fourth-round compensatory pick in 2027.

GuardsCenters

At this point, the Packers might want to bring Sean Rhyan back on a short-term deal and take a 2027 starter in this year's draft. The draft class doesn't have a lot of immediate starters (if any) at center, but it does have guys who can start down the line. A player like Keylan Rutledge, who can play center and guard, could be taken on Day 2 with the idea that he could possibly displace either Rhyan or left guard Aaron Banks in 2027, while providing depth as a rookie.

Update:The Packers have brought back Rhyan.

Interior Defensive Linemen

The true nose tackles here are DJ Reader, David Onyemata, Javon Hargrave, DaQuan Jones, Khyiris Tonga, Roy Lopez and Tim Settle (who is coming off a foot surgery) - but Javon Hargrave did play nose tackle for the Vikings last year, too. Green Bay should be more involved in the nose tackle market than the three-technique market, considering they basically return their entire defensive tackle room for 2026 and only Nazir Stackhouse can't viably play three-technique. Meanwhile, they probably don't want to start Colby Wooden, who was Kenny Clark's replacement after the Micah Parsons trade, for a second straight season at the nose.

Update:Green Bay traded its starting nose tackle, Colby Wooden, to the Indianapolis Colts.

Edge Defenders
  • 1: Trey Hendrickson, EDGE
  • 3: Jaelan Phillips, EDGE - signed with Panthers
  • 10: Odafe Oweh, EDGE - signed with Commanders
  • 23: Boye Mafe, EDGE - signed with Bengals
  • 29: Joey Bosa, EDGE
  • 33: Bradley Chubb, EDGE
  • 47: K'Lavon Chaisson, EDGE
  • 51: Dre'Mont Jones, EDGE - signed with Patriots
  • 53: Kwity Paye, EDGE - signed with Colts
  • 73: Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE
  • 76: Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE
  • 90: Cameron Jordan, EDGE
  • 94: Joseph Ossai, EDGE - signed with Jets
  • 96: Malcolm Koonce, EDGE - re-signed with Raiders
  • 100: Al-Quadin Muhammad, EDGE
  • 113: Arden Key, EDGE - signed with Colts
  • 132: Von Miller, EDGE
  • 135: Sam Williams, EDGE
  • 137: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE
  • 145: Brandon Graham, EDGE
  • 150: Dante Fowler Jr., EDGE
  • 151: Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE - signed with Jets
  • 157: Derek Barnett, EDGE
  • 160: Haason Reddick, EDGE
  • 166: Kyle Van Noy, EDGE
  • 169: D.J. Wonnum, EDGE
  • 189: Samson Ebukam, EDGE
  • 200: Preston Smith, EDGE

The edge class is deep both in free agency and the draft. Look for the Packers to invest in at least one more edge defender this offseason, as they'll have Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver returning in 2026 (assuming that Rashan Gary is a cap casualty). No one will be replacing Parsons if he misses time, but the team probably needs to carry five players at the position in 2026, and they have a history of investing highly in a third pass-rusher (see the Gary and Van Ness selections when they started their careers as multi-year backups).

Off-Ball Linebackers

The most controversial free agent of this class is Quay Walker, who is a top-10 free agent on some lists and not a top-100 player on others. Good luck figuring out how much he'll make. The hope for agents is that last year's linebacker class set the floor" for a second contract full-time starter at $15 million per year. We'll see if that number holds in 2026. Devin Lloyd, who is expected to hit the open market, is projected by many to earn around $20 million per year. Walker is the top young Mike linebacker behind him, as Nakobe Dean and Devin Bush are Will linebackers, while Leo Chenal is more of a 4-3 Sam (a rotational player) than anything. After that, the linebackers on the market get old, and age is the primary driver of dollars in free agency.

Cornerbacks

Jaylen Watson and Tariq Woolen are the young players with consistent success at the outside cornerback position. After that, it's older players (like Jamel Dean), guys who got hot in 2025 (but weren't performing well before then, like Nashon Wright and Montaric Brown) and slot defenders (like Alontae Taylor).

Safeties
  • 19: Bryan Cook, S - signed with Bengals
  • 26: Coby Bryant, S - signed with Bears
  • 39: Jaquan Brisker, S
  • 50: Kevin Byard, S
  • 54: Nick Cross, S
  • 56: Jalen Thompson, S - signed with Cowboys
  • 58: Jaylinn Hawkins, S
  • 70: Reed Blankenship, S - signed with Texans
  • 80: Ar'Darius Washington, S - signed with Giants
  • 82: Alohi Gilman, S - signed with Chiefs
  • 98: Jabrill Peppers, S
  • 115: Harrison Smith, S
  • 124: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S
  • 126: Andre Cisco, S
  • 138: Geno Stone, S
  • 139: Donovan Wilson, S
  • 158: Dane Belton, S - signed with Jets
  • 162: Xavier Woods, S
  • 164: Kyle Dugger, S
  • 168: Jordan Poyer, S
  • 173: Chuck Clark, S
  • 175: Tony Jefferson, S
  • 176: Andrew Wingard, S
  • 177: Nick Scott, S
  • 185: Ifeatu Melifonwu, S
Specialists

These guys have all had up-and-down careers and have bounced around the league recently, if the kicker position matters to you. There isn't a single safe bet at the position this offseason, be it free agency or the draft.

Top Free Agents Remaining
  • 1: Trey Hendrickson, EDGE
  • 6: Rasheed Walker, T
  • 12: Kyler Murray, QB
  • 15: Jauan Jennings, WR
  • 16: Tariq Woolen, CB
  • 18: Romeo Doubs, WR
  • 22: Braden Smith, T
  • 25: Aaron Rodgers, QB
  • 29: Joey Bosa, EDGE
  • 33: Bradley Chubb, EDGE
  • 35: Deebo Samuel, WR
  • 37: Nahshon Wright, CB
  • 38: Taylor Decker, T
  • 39: Jaquan Brisker, S
  • 41: Leo Chenal, LB
  • 42: Joel Bitonio, G
  • 43: Stefon Diggs, WR
  • 45: Kirk Cousins, QB
  • 46: Dallas Goedert, TE
  • 47: K'Lavon Chaisson, EDGE
  • 49: Tyreek Hill, WR
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rss.xml
Feed Title
Feed Link https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/
Feed Copyright Copyright (c) 2026 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Reply 0 comments