NFL Free Agency: Who are the 25 best players on the market?
6. CB Byron Jones
Jones moved from safety to corner in 2018, and promptly earned his first career Pro Bowl honors with a top-15 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. He wasn’t quite as good last year, with the 21st-best coverage grade among corners (per PFF), but he’s still in line to get P.A.I.D. on the free-agent market.
As the Cowboys consider how they’ll keep Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper around, they seem resigned to losing Jones as more aggressive suitors emerge. The Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles are among the rumored suitors. That robust market will drive up the price to get him.
Xavien Howard is currently the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback at a shade over $15 million per year. Critics will point to zero interceptions over the last two seasons, but Jones is in line to put the top of the corner market at $16-$17 million per year.
In tying the Eagles to Jones, ESPN’s Adam Schefter stretched the financial numbers even higher.
“I expect the Eagles to be in play on him. I don’t know if they’ll ultimately sign him but they’ll be one of the teams in prime contention for him at about 18 million a year with 60 million guaranteed approximately” - @AdamSchefter
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) March 4, 2020