The NFL Draft has come and gone, the best free agents have been snapped up … and you want MORE.
More starters. More playmakers. More Pro Bowlers. MORE.
We understand. For fans of most teams out there, the need to get better is overwhelming. Trying to keep up with the Patriots is seemingly impossible. Your team’s best shot this year may not be enough.
So why not look ahead to 2018? Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will be one step closer to their NFL graves, and if your team didn’t win the Super Bowl — or win more than a couple of games — then there’s hope in reloading with more weapons.
There will be hundreds of free agents available, possibly including quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, Drew Brees and Jimmy Garoppolo. Here are the top 20 who, if they hit the market in 2018, could push your team over the top.
20. Jimmy Graham, TE, Seahawks
After a sub-par first year in Seattle, Graham came closer to matching his Saints stats last season and earned a Pro Bowl nod. But Russell Wilson still doesn’t target him as much as Drew Brees did, even with next to no running game, and Graham is also on the wrong side of 30.
19. Kam Chancellor, S, Seahawks
Seattle already is seeking to get younger, listening to Richard Sherman trade offers, and Chancellor will be 30 when the 2018 season starts. If the ‘Hawks break up the Legion of Boom, we’ll see if it becomes a fire sale.
18. Melvin Ingram, LB, Chargers
Ingram, 28, has started all 16 games the past two seasons and had a combined 18.5 sacks.
17. Malcolm Jenkins, S, Eagles
Jenkins has started all 16 games for three straight seasons in Philly, going to the Pro Bowl in 2015 after making 109 tackles and a 99-yard pick-six. He’ll be 30 when the 2018 season begins.
16. Xavier Rhodes, CB, Vikings
Rhodes had his first Pro Bowl season last year, which included a 100-yard pick-six. A three-year starter, he’ll turn 27 in June.
15. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Bengals
Burfict has been the quintessential Bengal: talented but troubled. He hasn’t played all 16 games since 2013, and if he misses more games this season, that could be the difference between him hitting the jackpot and finding a soft market for his services. But then again, he had 171 tackles in 2013, and he’s just 26.
14. Ezekiel Ansah, DE, Lions
This upcoming season could make a lot of money for the Ghana native who never even put on pads until college. That depends on whether we see the Ansah of 2013-15, when he racked up 30 sacks, or the Ansah of last year, who had just two during the regular season.
13. Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons
Freeman has had back-to-back 1,000-yard, 11-TD seasons while splitting carries with Tevin Coleman. Freeman was a big part of the Falcons’ Super Bowl run last season and one of the biggest bargains in the NFL with a base salary of $600,000. He’ll make more than three times that this year, but you can bet the 25-year-old is hungry for a huge payday and the chance to not share the spotlight anymore.
12. Terrelle Pryor, WR, Redskins
Pryor, who had a breakout 1,000-yard season with the Browns last year, is betting on himself with a one-year, $6 million deal. Both he and Kirk Cousins are playing on prove-it deals, so that could be a prolific combo for the Redskins.
11. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Eagles
Jeffrey, who had two 1,000-yard season with the Bears, also is gambling on himself with a one-year contract. If he can stay healthy and become Carson Wentz’s go-to guy, he should cash in as a free agent in 2018.
10. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals
Fitzgerald, who will turn 34 in August, has flirted with retirement but led the league in catches (107) last season, his second straight topping 1,000 yards. If the Cards correct their flaws and Carson Palmer gets them back to the playoffs, Fitzgerald might be coaxed into coming back for a 15th season in Arizona.
9. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Vikings
We don’t know whether Bridgewater will be back in 2017 after his catastrophic knee injury last year, and the Vikings have added Case Keenum as insurance in case he isn’t. But if Bridgewater is able to resume his career, even if it isn’t in 2017, the 24-year-old’s services will be in demand. That’s just how it is for quarterback talent.
8. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Patriots
Garoppolo, 25, has been coveted this offseason, but so far he remains in New England as Tom Brady’s backup. Whether he still is there at the start of the 2018 season and beyond is another question, and Bill Belichick — as always — is the man who will answer it. Until then, the Browns will continue to stockpile draft picks.
7. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Texans
Hopkins has played all 16 games in each of his four seasons and topped 1,000 receiving yards twice; he almost did it last season with Brock Osweiler throwing to him. He’ll be 25 in June.
6. Sam Bradford, QB, Vikings
Bradford is the other Vikings quarterback whose future beyond this season is up in the air. He led the league in completion rate (71.6 percent) last year and was a big part of Minnesota’s hot start. How the Vikings finish next season, and Bridgewater’s health, should determine whether Bradford finally has found a home.
5. Drew Brees, QB, Saints
Brees will be 39 when the 2018 season starts, but he’s shown no sign of slowing, leading the league in passing yards for three straight years and topping 5,000 for the fourth time in his career last year.
4. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Steelers
Bell, with 1,268 rushing yards and 75 catches for 616 yards in just 12 games last year, is arguably the most versatile weapon in this free-agent class.
3. Kirk Cousins, QB, Redskins
Cousins, franchise-tagged for almost $24 million this year, almost certainly won’t be tagged again next year for $30 mil. He’ll be expensive enough as it is, if the Redskins decide to do a long-term deal. If not, another team will — maybe Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers.
2. Derek Carr, QB, Raiders
It’s unlikely that the centerpiece of the Raiders’ rebuild will ever hit the market. He’s the Carr that will take the team to Vegas.
1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions
Stafford already has had one big deal with the Lions and may land a second. But if this marriage ends after nine seasons, teams will be tripping over themselves to sign Stafford, who throws for 4,000 yards each year and will have just turned 30.