Top 25 NFL free agents for 2018
March and the official start of the offseason will be here before we know it, so here are my top 25 NFL free agents for 2018.
Here in mid-January, the Super Bowl is coming and the NFL Combine in February will be the landmark pre-draft event. Then March will bring a new league year, and free agency will start alongside decisions by teams to commit to veteran players with roster bonuses generally due early in the month.
Some big names may be available on the open market this offseason, pending a new contract from their current teams and decisions regarding franchise tags that will lock in a one-year commitment.
Ahead of all the moving and shaking, long-term deals and big guaranteed money, here are my top 25 NFL free agents for 2018.
25. Andrew Norwell, LG, Carolina Panthers
Norwell earned first-team AP All Pro honors this year, and Pro Football Focus graded him out as the third-best guard in the league. In 2016, Pro Football Focus had him as the 12th-best guard in the league (out of 77 qualifiers). Norwell was a top-10 guard via PFF’s grading in 2015, so he’s building a track record and reputation as one of the top players at the position in the NFL.
Norwell is now set to hit free agency at 26 years old, and he’s widely expected to break the bank.
Also, if you thought some of those guards broke the bank in free agency last season, wait till you see what Andrew Norwell should get. Best season as a pro (not that this is sudden) right before free agency. Good for the UDFA!
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 5, 2018
I'm expecting AP 1st team All-Pro Andrew Norwell to surpass Kevin Zeitler ($12M-avg/$31.5M in guarantees) as the NFL's highest paid OG. Assuming Norwell does, his deal will only set the salary floor for a Zack Martin contract extension with the Cowboys.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) January 5, 2018
The San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts are easy to see as good fits for Norwell, and the Carolina Panthers will surely place a priority on keeping him in the fold. But any team looking for an upgrade at left guard, with any path to the cap space that would allow them compete at that level of the market, will have to have interest him.