NFL free agency predictions 2026: Where the Top 15 players will sign

For all intents and purposes, 2026 free agency starts on Monday. That’s when you’re going to start hearing all of the news about the guys and their new teams, and then on Wednesday, they’ll actually start signing the contracts.

The problem is that this free agency class isn’t all that good. There’s a bunch of studs at the top of everyone’s free agency rankings, but after the first 15 or 20 guys, they don’t get your blood pumping all that much. 

We’re going to look at the top 15 available free agents (not the guys who have franchise or transition tags) from the FanSided Free Agent Rankings, and predict where they are going to go. One prediction is going to be strong, and then there’s another prediction with a relatively slimmer chance of being correct. Let’s get into it.

1. Trey Hendrickson (EDGE, Bengals)

Prediction: Chicago Bears
Slim prediction: Dallas Cowboys

You’d rather not pay a free agent big money if they are coming off an injury, or if they’re 31 years old… or if they’re 31 years old and coming off an injury.

Alas, Trey Hendrickson is a 31-year-old coming off an injury, and a team is going to pay him big money. That’s because the last time we saw him completely healthy and happy with his money, he had his second straight season with 17.5 sacks. A team will overlook age and injury history when that’s the upside… and that team is going to be either the win-now Bears or a delusional Dallas Cowboys.

2. Tyler Linderbaum (C, Ravens)

Prediction:  New York Giants
Slim prediction: Detroit Lions, maybe Buffalo?

There are only 32 starting centers in the NFL, which means there’s already a strong market for these guys. Then, you take into account that Tyler Linderbaum is better than roughly 30 of them, and we’re looking at one of the most sought-after guys in all of free agency. 

The Giants have made themselves a good landing spot for Linderbaum, basically by the process of elimination: The Chargers signed Tyler Biadasz, and the Bears traded for Garrett Bradbury. If he goes to New York, it’s John Harbaugh making sure he gets one of his best guys from Baltimore.

The Lions got Juice Scruggs in their trade with the Texans, but they’re still in the running because they’re a team that’s always looking to make sure they have the best talent on the offensive line. 

You could also say the same thing about the Bills, who don’t have a starting-caliber center under contract. Either of those two teams would be a much more fun landing spot for Linderbaum over New York.

3. Kyler Murray (QB, Cardinals)

Prediction: Minnesota Vikings
Not-Slim prediction: Atlanta Falcons

This is the second time in the past three years that we’ve had a quarterback get paid a lot of money by the team that cut him, and now his new team is going to be able to get him for the league minimum. In 2024, it was Russell Wilson when he went to the Steelers, who only had to pay him $1.2 million. This season, it’s going to be Kyler Murray.

Neither of those guys was/is anywhere close to being good, or even above average… But for less than $2 million, you’d be crazy to not want them.

Because of that cheap price tag, it means that Murray’s not going to be going to the team that’s offering the most money. Instead, he’s going to go wherever he wants to go. And the two most realistic options are the Minnesota Vikings with Kevin O’Connell and the Atlanta Falcons with a better all-around offense.

4. Alec Pierce (WR, Colts)

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs
Slim prediction: Tennessee Titans

Man, it sure would’ve been cool if the Bills hadn’t traded for D.J. Moore. That’s probably going to be their only big-ish move at wide receiver, and Alec Pierce would’ve been a lot of fun to watch Josh Allen missiles. 

The Kansas City Chiefs desperately need pass catchers, and especially ones that Patrick Mahomes can hit downfield. Remember those first few games last season where he kept trying to hit Tyquan Thornton downfield, but it almost never worked? If you get a young cat like Pierce, those shots are much more likely to turn into something.

And I don’t want to hear any of that, ‘But Xavier Worthy is their downfield guy’ nonsense. He’s a gadget player, and the Chiefs goofed up when they drafted him.

The other team that could sign Pierce is the Titans. They have disgusting amounts of cap space ($92 million), and they need to get Cam Ward all the help they can get… Also, that means Pierce would still be wearing blue, and it’ll be much less confusing for everyone. 

5. Jaelan Phillips (EDGE, Eagles)

Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles
Slim Prediction: Las Vegas Raiders

Jaelan Phillips is one of the trickier free agents to figure out. On one hand, the Eagles traded a third-round pick to get him last season, and Howie Roseman isn’t one to just let an elite player, who he invested significant draft capital in, walk. 

On the other hand, he’s going to have a huge market, and it wouldn’t be crazy if the Eagles got priced out of that market. They have to play Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Nolan Smith soon, so they have proven guys, in-house, who need their money. 

If there is a team that prices them out, it could very well be the Raiders, who have a lot of money and just traded Maxx Crosby.

6. Kenneth Walker (RB, Seahawks)

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs
Slim Prediction: Denver Broncos

With Breece Hall getting franchise tagged by the Jets and Javonte Williams re-signing with the Cowboys, the free agent running back market is starting to look a little slim. That puts the Chiefs in a tough spot: should they bank on Jeremiyah Love being available at the ninth pick in the draft, or should they pay a running back in free agency?

…Or, both?

The Chiefs have been in running back purgatory for the past few years, and it’s gutted them offensively. They simply cannot do another Kareem Hunt, or Kareem Hunt-type running back for another year; they need to get young, and they need to get good. Kenneth Walker is going to give them exactly that… and then they can draft a young guy and have them split carries. 

As for the Broncos being the slim-chance team, the only running back they have under contract is their rookie, R.J. Harvey. He was solid at the end of last season, but getting another proven guy to split carries is going to be massive for them… And it just so happens that it’d hurt their division rival. So that’s fun too.

7. Malik Willis (QB, Packers)

Prediction: Arizona Cardinals 
Slim Prediction: Miami Dolphins

These two predictions are all about the head coaches. Malik Willis just spent the past two seasons under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. Now his brother, Matt LaFleur, is the Arizona Cardinals’ new head coach. Matt has two options: dog on his brother and make sure that Arizona stays at the bottom of the NFC barrel by not having a functional quarterback OR help him out by putting in a good word to Willis.

He doesn’t seem like a total jerkwad, so you’ve got to think he’d lean towards the latter.

If Willis goes to Miami, it’s because their new head coach, Jeff Hafley, was the Packers’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. That means he knows Willis’ strengths and weaknesses very well because he was the scout team quarterback… and that’s pretty much it. 

The Dolphins shouldn’t be spending money on a quarterback this season. They still have Tua Tagovailoa under contract, and Quinn Ewers wasn’t the worst at the end of last season. They need to use what they already have, detonate the team, and build it from the ground up, starting with a quarterback in the 2027 draft. 

8. Devin Lloyd (LB, Jaguars)

Prediction: Washington Commanders
Slim Prediction: Jacksonville Jaguars

You can blame the Commanders’ terrible 2025 season on a lot of things. I prefer to pin it on the fact that Adam Peters decided to build the oldest team in the NFL. You have to imagine that they’re not going to try to re-sign Bobby Wagner, which means that they’re going to have an open spot for a starting linebacker. 

Getting Devin Lloyd would mean they’re getting a 27-year-old who's in his prime. That’s a massive upgrade for a defense that needs help just about everywhere.

Or he can stay in Jacksonville. There was some hubbub about how they didn’t franchise tag him, but that’s dumb because you don’t franchise tag off-ball linebackers because they’re lumped into the same franchise-tag pricing as EDGEs.

9. Rasheed Walker (OT, Packers)

Prediction: Las Vegas Raiders
Slim(ish) Prediction: Browns

There’s not a huge difference between the Raiders and the Browns. They both need to rebuild their offensive lines. It's just that the Raiders need to because theirs was awful, and the Browns need to do it because they're all free agents.

Rasheed Walker is a really good offensive tackle, but his price tag isn’t going to hamstring you. If you’re rebuilding an offensive line, getting a left tackle is a perfect place to start. 

10. Odafe Oweh (EDGE, Chargers)

Prediction: Los Angeles Chargers
Slim Prediction: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens traded Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers early in the season last year, and it was exactly what he needed. He went from being a schlub to being in the upper echelon of productive EDGEs in the league.

If he stays with the Chargers, it’d make a whole lot of sense because why would you leave the place and the players that unlocked something?

The problem is that Jesse Minter, his defensive coordinator who masterminded that whole operation, is now the head coach of the Ravens. Does he get paid to stay, or does he get paid to fly back across the country and be with his guy? Either way, he’s a winner. 

11. Jaylen Watson (CB, Chiefs)

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs
Slim Prediction: none, only the Chiefs

The Chiefs' cornerback room looks bleak now that they traded Trent McDuffie. Now all they have is Jaylen Watson, Nohl Williams, and Kristian Fulton. If they let Watson go in free agency, they’re going to be up a creek. That’d pretty much force their hand so that they’d have to prioritize cornerback in the draft, and that’s not a spot that Brett Veach is going to want to be in. Re-sign Watson and keep a semblance of continuity in that room. 

12. Mike Evans (WR, Buccaneers)

Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Slim Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles?

This time of year, your timeline is chock full of free agency rumors, and you can trick your brain into thinking most of them are more or less realistic. That’s why it’s always nice when you see a rumor that lets you shut your brain off and say, ‘Nah. That’s dumb.’

Every rumor about Mike Evans going to any team other than the Buccaneers is dumb. The dude is a future Hall of Famer, has made $155 million in his NFL career, and won a Super Bowl all with the Buccaneers. 

We live in a weird world right now, but it’s not weird enough for an almost 33-year-old Mike Evans to go to another team for one last one-year payday. 

That being said, if he did, he could go to the Eagles IF (and only if) they trade A.J. Brown and want a certifiably dominant X-receiver for a year… But that’s not happening.  

13. Travis Etienne Jr. (RB, Jaguars)

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs
Slim Prediction: New Orleans Saints

Remember what I said about Kenneth Walker and the Chiefs? Use that same rationale here for Travis Etienne Jr.

The only differences are that Etienne is older, cheaper, and not as good… but he’s proved to be a workhorse running back, and he’s a better receiving threat. Those last two things are what will make him a good option for the Saints. 

With Alvin Kamara’s career looking like it’s hanging on by a thread, they need to make sure they get a guy that they can rely on. We saw what Kellen Moore was able to do with Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia (win a Super Bowl). If he can get a guy who can replicate that workload (not production), they’ll be in good shape. 

14. Rashid Shaheed (WR, Seahawks)

Prediction: New England Patriots
Slim Prediction: Tennessee Titans

With the A.J. Brown to New England trade talks looking like they're not going to turn into anything, the Pats are going to need to pivot, and pivoting to the guy who just beat them in the Super Bowl isn’t the worst idea in the world. 

Rashid Shaheed hasn’t really shown it a whole lot, but he is more than a kick and punt returner… He’s just spent the last few years not having a quarterback and being the WR2 to a very dominant WR1. If he goes to New England, it would be a little bit of a waste of his punt-returning talents (they already have Marcus Jones), but he would get his chance to be a WR1 with a real quarterback. 

Or he could go to the Titans because, again, they need people who can catch passes, and they have the money to pay for them.

15. Riq Woolen (CB, Seahawks)

Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers
Slim Prediction: Dallas Cowboys

Mike Tomlin was the Pittsburgh Steelers, and now that he’s gone, it’s hard to really know what their identity is going to be. Hell, going into last season, you could always count on them having a dominant defense, but then they ended up being toothless and mostly sad. 

Is hiring Mike McCarthy going to get them back to being nasty? Absolutely not. Is hiring Patrick Graham, who spent the last three years with the Raiders, going to get that back to their salt-of-the-Earth grit? Probably not. 

The only real way they’re going to do it is by signing dudes who play with stank, and that’s exactly what Riq Woolen brings to the table…

…He’s also a good match because that team desperately needs guys who can cover. Jalen Ramsey is only getting older, and Joey Porter Jr. is good, but not great.

It’d also make sense if he signed with the Cowboys. Their bar for ‘startable cornerback’ is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench right now. Anyone they get is going to feel like a first-ballot Hall of Famer compared to where they were last season.

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