NFL Free Agency: Who are the 25 best players on the market?

9. TE Austin Hooper

Hooper set career-highs in catches (75) yards (787) and touchdowns (six) last year, and the cap-strapped Falcons won’t be able to pay up to keep him. He has now topped 70 catches with a Pro bowl nod in back-to-back seasons, and there’s every indication he’ll become the league’s highest-paid tight end by average annual value entering his age-26 season.

FanSided’s Matt Verderame reported Hooper could command $11 million per year, with a half-dozen teams already expressing interest in him.

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears seem ready to make a run at Hooper, with the New England Patriots as an easily pointed to suitor as well.

For what it’s worth, Hooper has clearly seen the writing on the wall regarding a return to the Falcons with a (they) “told me to hit the road” IG comment.

Steven Ruiz of For The Win has put Hooper on his list of NFL free agents who are likely to be overpaid, with a nod to Pro Football Focus’ accounting that 75 percent of his production last year came against zone coverage. But youth, size (6-foot-4, 254 pounds) and and upward trend in production means teams will want to secure him through this prime years.