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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 27 free agency rankings we’ve found online.
Quarterbacks
- 3: Kyler Murray
- 9: Malik Willis
- 27: Aaron Rodgers
- 47: Kirk Cousins
- 101: Marcus Mariota
- 104: Russell Wilson
- 133: Joe Flacco
- 177: Carson Wentz
- 199: Tyrod Taylor
It was reported today 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
- 8: Kenneth Walker III
- 14: Travis Etienne Jr.
- 55: Rico Dowdle
- 64: Tyler Allgeier
- 78: Rachaad White
- 89: J.K. Dobbins
- 91: Kenneth Gainwell
- 107: Najee Harris
- 111: Brian Robinson
- 182: Isiah Pacheco
- 194: Kareem Hunt
Receivers
- 5: Alec Pierce
- 11: Mike Evans
- 13: Rashid Shaheed
- 15: Jauan Jennings
- 18: Romeo Doubs
- 26: Wan’Dale Robinson
- 36: Deebo Samuel
- 50: Tyreek Hill
- 79: Keenan Allen
- 103: Christian Kirk
- 115: Jalen Nailor
- 131: DeAndre Hopkins
- 135: Marquise Brown
- 156: Calvin Austin III
- 178: Tyquan Thornton
- 180: Kendrick Bourne
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
- 31: Isaiah Likely
- 45: Dallas Goedert
- 46: Travis Kelce
- 63: David Njoku
- 71: Chigoziem Okonkwo
- 86: Cade Otton
- 99: Charlie Kolar
- 143: Greg Dulcich
- 154: Austin Hooper
- 160: Darren Waller
- 176: John FitzPatrick
- 179: Noah Fant
- 189: Tyler Higbee
- 196: Connor Heyward
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
- 7: Rasheed Walker
- 25: Braden Smith
- 42: Jermaine Eluemunor
- 74: Braxton Jones
- 90: Jawaan Taylor
- 108: Jonah Williams
- 134: Trent Brown
- 147: Elijah Wilkinson
- 153: Cam Robinson
- 181: Jamaree Salyer
- 187: Jack Conklin
- 198: Thayer Munford Jr.
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.
Guards
- 23: David Edwards
- 29: Alijah Vera-Tucker
- 35: Isaac Seumalo
- 44: Joel Bitonio
- 69: Wyatt Teller
- 70: Ed Ingram
- 73: Kevin Zeitler
- 77: Zion Johnson
- 83: Dylan Parham
- 84: James Daniels
- 92: John Simpson
- 110: Teven Jenkins
- 120: Greg Van Roten
- 148: Daniel Faalele
- 167: Chris Paul
- 192: Dillon Radunz
Centers
- 2: Tyler Linderbaum
- 20: Connor McGovern
- 65: Cade Mays
- 100: Ted Karras
- 112: Sean Rhyan
- 114: Tyler Biadasz
- 144: Ethan Pocic
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.
For what it’s worth, Tyler Biadasz is already visiting the Chicago Bears, who have a hole at the position after Drew Dalman retired after his 2025 Pro Bowl season.
Interior Defensive Linemen
- 22: John Franklin-Myers
- 57: David Onyemata
- 60: Calais Campbell
- 62: DJ Reader
- 75: DaQuan Jones
- 105: Sheldon Rankins
- 124: Javon Hargrave
- 128: Sebastian Joseph-Day
- 136: Logan Hall
- 149: Da’Shawn Hand
- 150: Levi Onwuzurike
- 173: Khyiris Tonga
- 193: Roy Lopez
The nrue nose tackles here are David Onyemata, Javon Hargrave, DaQuan Jones, Khyiris Tonga and Roy Lopez. 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.
Edge Defenders
- 1: Trey Hendrickson
- 4: Jaelan Phillips
- 12: Odafe Oweh
- 21: Khalil Mack
- 24: Boye Mafe
- 30: Joey Bosa
- 38: Bradley Chubb
- 49: K’Lavon Chaisson
- 51: Dre’Mont Jones
- 52: Kwity Paye
- 72: Arnold Ebiketie
- 76: Jadeveon Clowney
- 88: Cameron Jordan
- 95: Malcolm Koonce
- 97: Joseph Ossai
- 98: Al-Quadin Muhammad
- 113: Arden Key
- 130: Von Miller
- 137: A.J. Epenesa
- 138: Sam Williams
- 145: Brandon Graham
- 151: Dante Fowler Jr.
- 155: Kingsley Enagbare
- 159: Haason Reddick
- 161: Derek Barnett
- 163: Kyle Van Noy
- 166: D.J. Wonnum
- 184: Samson Ebukam
- 191: Joshua Uche
- 197: Leonard Floyd
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
- 6: Devin Lloyd
- 33: Quay Walker
- 34: Nakobe Dean
- 40: Devin Bush
- 43: Leo Chenal
- 53: Demario Davis
- 59: Kaden Elliss
- 66: Bobby Wagner
- 67: Alex Anzalone
- 96: Quincy Williams
- 106: Justin Strnad
- 116: Germaine Pratt
- 132: Matt Milano
- 142: Alex Singleton
- 146: Lavonte David
- 164: Willie Gay
- 170: Jack Gibbens
- 183: Eric Kendricks
- 190: Dennis Gardeck
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
- 10: Jaylen Watson
- 16: Tariq Woolen
- 17: Jamel Dean
- 32: Alontae Taylor
- 39: Nahshon Wright
- 61: Montaric Brown
- 81: Chidobe Awuzie
- 85: Rasul Douglas
- 87: Eric Stokes
- 94: Cor’Dale Flott
- 102: Mike Hilton
- 109: Asante Samuel Jr.
- 117: James Pierre
- 118: Joshua Williams
- 119: Roger McCreary
- 123: Greg Newsome II
- 125: Cobie Durant
- 126: Josh Jobe
- 129: Trevon Diggs
- 152: Cam Taylor-Britt
- 174: Kader Kohou
- 186: Fabian Moreau
- 188: Tre’Davious White
- 195: Rock Ya-Sin
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
- 28: Coby Bryant
- 37: Kamren Curl
- 41: Jaquan Brisker
- 48: Kevin Byard
- 54: Nick Cross
- 56: Jalen Thompson
- 58: Jaylinn Hawkins
- 68: Reed Blankenship
- 80: Ar’Darius Washington
- 82: Alohi Gilman
- 93: Jabrill Peppers
- 121: Harrison Smith
- 122: C.J. Gardner-Johnson
- 127: Andre Cisco
- 139: Donovan Wilson
- 140: Geno Stone
- 157: Dane Belton
- 158: Kyle Dugger
- 165: Jordan Poyer
- 168: Chuck Clark
- 169: Tony Jefferson
- 171: Andrew Wingard
- 172: Nick Scott
- 185: Ifeatu Melifonwu
Specialists
- 141: Eddy Pineiro (K)
- 162: Joey Slye (K)
- 175: Nick Folk (K)
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.
—
Below is the full top-200, regardless of position:
Top-200
- 1: Trey Hendrickson, EDGE
- 2: Tyler Linderbaum, C
- 3: Kyler Murray, QB
- 4: Jaelan Phillips, EDGE
- 5: Alec Pierce, WR
- 6: Devin Lloyd, LB
- 7: Rasheed Walker, T
- 8: Kenneth Walker III, RB
- 9: Malik Willis, QB
- 10: Jaylen Watson, CB
- 11: Mike Evans, WR
- 12: Odafe Oweh, EDGE
- 13: Rashid Shaheed, WR
- 14: Travis Etienne Jr., RB
- 15: Jauan Jennings, WR
- 16: Tariq Woolen, CB
- 17: Jamel Dean, CB
- 18: Romeo Doubs, WR
- 19: Bryan Cook, S
- 20: Connor McGovern, C
- 21: Khalil Mack, EDGE
- 22: John Franklin-Myers, iDL
- 23: David Edwards, G
- 24: Boye Mafe, EDGE
- 25: Braden Smith, T
- 26: Wan’Dale Robinson, WR
- 27: Aaron Rodgers, QB
- 28: Coby Bryant, S
- 29: Alijah Vera-Tucker, G
- 30: Joey Bosa, EDGE
- 31: Isaiah Likely, TE
- 32: Alontae Taylor, CB
- 33: Quay Walker, LB
- 34: Nakobe Dean, LB
- 35: Isaac Seumalo, G
- 36: Deebo Samuel, WR
- 37: Kamren Curl, S
- 38: Bradley Chubb, EDGE
- 39: Nahshon Wright, CB
- 40: Devin Bush, LB
- 41: Jaquan Brisker, S
- 42: Jermaine Eluemunor, T
- 43: Leo Chenal, LB
- 44: Joel Bitonio, G
- 45: Dallas Goedert, TE
- 46: Travis Kelce, TE
- 47: Kirk Cousins, QB
- 48: Kevin Byard, S
- 49: K’Lavon Chaisson, EDGE
- 50: Tyreek Hill, WR
- 51: Dre’Mont Jones, EDGE
- 52: Kwity Paye, EDGE
- 53: Demario Davis, LB
- 54: Nick Cross, S
- 55: Rico Dowdle, RB
- 56: Jalen Thompson, S
- 57: David Onyemata, iDL
- 58: Jaylinn Hawkins, S
- 59: Kaden Elliss, LB
- 60: Calais Campbell, iDL
- 61: Montaric Brown, CB
- 62: DJ Reader, iDL
- 63: David Njoku, TE
- 64: Tyler Allgeier, RB
- 65: Cade Mays, C
- 66: Bobby Wagner, LB
- 67: Alex Anzalone, LB
- 68: Reed Blankenship, S
- 69: Wyatt Teller, G
- 70: Ed Ingram, G
- 71: Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE
- 72: Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE
- 73: Kevin Zeitler, G
- 74: Braxton Jones, T
- 75: DaQuan Jones, iDL
- 76: Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE
- 77: Zion Johnson, G
- 78: Rachaad White, RB
- 79: Keenan Allen, WR
- 80: Ar’Darius Washington, S
- 81: Chidobe Awuzie, CB
- 82: Alohi Gilman, S
- 83: Dylan Parham, G
- 84: James Daniels, G
- 85: Rasul Douglas, CB
- 86: Cade Otton, TE
- 87: Eric Stokes, CB
- 88: Cameron Jordan, EDGE
- 89: J.K. Dobbins, RB
- 90: Jawaan Taylor, OT
- 91: Kenneth Gainwell, RB
- 92: John Simpson, G
- 93: Jabrill Peppers, S
- 94: Cor’Dale Flott, CB
- 95: Malcolm Koonce, EDGE
- 96: Quincy Williams, LB
- 97: Joseph Ossai, EDGE
- 98: Al-Quadin Muhammad, EDGE
- 99: Charlie Kolar, TE
- 100: Ted Karras, C
- 101: Marcus Mariota, QB
- 102: Mike Hilton, CB
- 103: Christian Kirk, WR
- 104: Russell Wilson, QB
- 105: Sheldon Rankins, iDL
- 106: Justin Strnad, LB
- 107: Najee Harris, RB
- 108: Jonah Williams, T
- 109: Asante Samuel Jr., CB
- 110: Teven Jenkins, G
- 111: Brian Robinson, RB
- 112: Sean Rhyan, C
- 113: Arden Key, EDGE
- 114: Tyler Biadasz, C
- 115: Jalen Nailor, WR
- 116: Germaine Pratt, LB
- 117: James Pierre, CB
- 118: Joshua Williams, CB
- 119: Roger McCreary, CB
- 120: Greg Van Roten, G
- 121: Harrison Smith, S
- 122: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S
- 123: Greg Newsome II, CB
- 124: Javon Hargrave, iDL
- 125: Cobie Durant, CB
- 126: Josh Jobe, CB
- 127: Andre Cisco, S
- 128: Sebastian Joseph-Day, iDL
- 129: Trevon Diggs, CB
- 130: Von Miller, EDGE
- 131: DeAndre Hopkins, WR
- 132: Matt Milano, LB
- 133: Joe Flacco, QB
- 134: Trent Brown, T
- 135: Marquise Brown, WR
- 136: Logan Hall, iDL
- 137: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE
- 138: Sam Williams, EDGE
- 139: Donovan Wilson, S
- 140: Geno Stone, S
- 141: Eddy Pineiro, K
- 142: Alex Singleton, LB
- 143: Greg Dulcich, TE
- 144: Ethan Pocic, C
- 145: Brandon Graham, EDGE
- 146: Lavonte David, LB
- 147: Elijah Wilkinson, T
- 148: Daniel Faalele, G
- 149: Da’Shawn Hand, iDL
- 150: Levi Onwuzurike, iDL
- 151: Dante Fowler Jr., EDGE
- 152: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB
- 153: Cam Robinson, T
- 154: Austin Hooper, TE
- 155: Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE
- 156: Calvin Austin III, WR
- 157: Dane Belton, S
- 158: Kyle Dugger, S
- 159: Haason Reddick, EDGE
- 160: Darren Waller, TE
- 161: Derek Barnett, EDGE
- 162: Joey Sly, K
- 163: Kyle Van Noy, EDGE
- 164: Willie Gay, LB
- 165: Jordan Poyer, S
- 166: D.J. Wonnum, EDGE
- 167: Chris Paul, G
- 168: Chuck Clark, S
- 169: Tony Jefferson, S
- 170: Jack Gibbens, LB
- 171: Andrew Wingard, S
- 172: Nick Scott, S
- 173: Khyiris Tonga, iDL
- 174: Kader Kohou, CB
- 175: Nick Folk, K
- 176: John FitzPatrick, TE
- 177: Carson Wentz, QB
- 178: Tyquan Thornton, WR
- 179: Noah Fant, TE
- 180: Kendrick Bourne, WR
- 181: Jamaree Salyer, T
- 182: Isiah Pacheco, RB
- 183: Eric Kendricks, LB
- 184: Samson Ebukam, EDGE
- 185: Ifeatu Melifonwu, S
- 186: Fabian Moreau, CB
- 187: Jack Conklin, T
- 188: Tre’Davious White, CB
- 189: Tyler Higbee, TE
- 190: Dennis Gardeck, LB
- 191: Joshua Uche, EDGE
- 192: Dillon Radunz, G
- 193: Roy Lopez, iDL
- 194: Kareem Hunt, RB
- 195: Rock Ya-Sin, CB
- 196: Connor Heyward, TE
- 197: Leonard Floyd, EDGE
- 198: Thayer Munford Jr., T
- 199: Tyrod Taylor, QB
- 200: Jack Jones, CB