6. Trumaine Johnson, CB, Los Angeles Rams
As with another player higher on this list, who you can probably already guess, Johnson is highly unlikely to get the franchise tag for a third straight year this year. The Rams shopped him on the trade market after not being able to reach a long-term deal with him last offseason, as general manager Les Snead questioned Johnson’s fit in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ scheme, so it’s hard to imagine they’ll pony up with a multi-year deal this March as Lamarcus Joyner also gets set to hit free agency.
Johnson’s interception totals have dropped since he picked off seven passes in 2015, but he has remained a productive tackler (65 total this season) along with 26 pass breakups over the last two seasons. A mediocre grade from Pro Football Focus this year can be partially attributed to shadowing the other team’s No. 1 wide receiver, including DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Thomas and Dez Bryant over the course of the regular season and Julio Jones in the Wild Card Round.
Johnson is likely to get overpaid a bit in the open market. But he should have no trouble getting the multi-year deal he seeks, with the five-year, $68.75 million deal ($20.77 million guaranteed) Desmond Trufant got from the Atlanta Falcons as a potential comp his agent will seek from interested teams.