10 best remaining NFL free agents on the market

Although free agency is winding down, these 10 names could be difference makers on a new team

By now, teams understand which direction they’ll be headed into the 2021 offseason. NFL free agency has come and with it, fans now might have to splurge for the new jersey to add to their collection.

The big names are all basically signed. Trent Williams will return to the bay area, while Kenny Golladay heads the Big Apple. The New England Patriots splurged, and while the New York Jets did minimal, they might be looking better.

Now, the question turns to where the next crop of free agents will go.

These 10 names remain on the open market. They also could be role players for any roster’s chance to win a Super Bowl title come next February.

10 best remaining NFL free agents in 2021

DE Melvin Ingram

Ingram still is a quality pass-rusher in today’s NFL when working the weak side of the offensive line. The 31-year old played in seven games last season and didn’t record a sack. Prior to that, he’s tallied at least seven sacks or more since 2015.

Better suited as a 4-3 defensive end, any team needing a No.2 pass-rusher should be calling his number.

DE Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney has never lived up to the No.1 status as a pass-rusher. He has though as a run-stopper both on the edge and up the middle. In both Pro Bowl seasons with the Texans’, Clowney graded out by Pro Football Focus as the best run defender off the edge.

So long as a team has a great pass-rush, adding Clowney to play the run will prosper for any defense in no time.

OT Mitchell Schwartz

Will Schwartz ever play again? He should since even after missing most of 2020, he’s perhaps a top-three right tackle in the game. Since entering the league in 2012, the former Chiefs’ has never graded below as 72.4 on PFF’s scale and has allowed more than five sacks in a season only three times.

This is a prove-it deal since he’s coming off a back injury, but Schwartz could just prove he’s worth the salary come next season.

WR T.Y. Hilton

Hilton at one point was an unanimous top 10 target in the NFL. One year without Andrew Luck and he’s looking more like a top 25 name for now. Still, during his nine seasons with the Colts, Hilton caught 608 passes for 9,360 yards and 50 touchdowns.

Even if he’s not a bonafide No.1 option anymore, he’s a high-end No.2 in any system.

CB Richard Sherman

Sherman is no longer the “Legion of Boom” breakout star in the NFL. That doesn’t mean he’s not regressing to the point of barely seeing the field. In 2019, Sherman found his stardom once more as the top cover man in the league with the San Francisco 49ers.

Sherman’s best bet is to join a team with a top-notched secondary that is missing a role player. As the role player, he perhaps rejoins the ranks to superstars in coverage.

DE Carlos Dunlap

Ingram will offer teams solid skills as a pass-rusher while Clowney should thrive against the run? Combine the two and tack on a few more years, you have Dunlap on the roster. As a rental for the Seahawks, he actually played quite well as a pass-rusher, recording five of his sicks total sacks in 2020.

Any contender looking for a rotational piece that can add pressure to a backfield should be calling Dunlap’s agent. At this point, he’s highly underrated.

OT Alejandro Villanueva

Bolstering offensive lines will always be essential to a quarterback’s success. Anyone needing a left tackle should call Villanueva soon. The former Army Ranger has put together an impressive run as the Steelers’ starting left tackle since entering the league. He’s also durable, starting in 90-straight games on the blindside in the Steel City.

C Austin Reiter

As one of the few starters that remained healthy on Kansas City’s offensive line, Reiter offers value to any team looking to bolster their trenches. During his five-year NFL career, the 29-year-old has played both guard and center, starting in 28 games over the last two seasons.

For a low-end cost with high upside potential, Reiter is name that certainly should draw interest for any team looking to bolster their center position.

LB Eric Wilson

Wilson was primarily used as a back up in Minnesota, but shined due to injury in 2020. He finished the year with 122 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Any team needing a reliable, cost-friendly middle linebacker in either a 3-4 or 4-3 set could bring in Wilson on a one-year deal that’s highly incentive based.

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WR Antonio Brown

Off the field concerns aside, Brown still can ball. One year after barely playing and with COVID-19, the former Steeler didn’t miss a beat with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, recording 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns.

Brown is a risk for what comes with past. If his present is a sign of what can be in the future, teams that need a No.3 target should sign him for a one-year deal to see if he can be a No.1 in disguise.