Ranking NFL teams with best free agent crop: Eagles, Vikings have key starters set to hit open market

Free agency is around the corner in the NFL. On March 10, the legal tampering period kicks off where pending free agents are permitted to speak with prospective teams and even come to agreements in principle on contracts. Just a few days later on March 12, the new league year rings in at 4 p.m. ET. At that juncture, those negotiated contracts (or trades for that matter) can become official. 

Already, the league is crossing a key hurdle on the calendar with the franchise tag deadline rolling through on Tuesday, March 4. That gives us a clearer view of which soon-to-be free agents will actually hit the open market and not be retained by their current clubs via the tag. 

While we talk a lot about what teams can add in free agency, there’s a flip side as well with other clubs losing key figures. Below, we’re going to look at the top five teams in the league with the best free agent class. We’ll judge that, in part, by looking at the teams with highly rated figures on CBS Sports Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco’s Top 100 free agents list, who’ll be highlighted within the rankings.  

Even at 34 years old, Khalil Mack remains one of the league’s top pass rushers. He’s coming off another Pro Bowl season where he totaled six sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and nine pass breakups. Mack may have even been a candidate to be franchised by the Chargers had his contract not blocked the club from doing so this offseason. 

Asante Samuel Jr. was limited to just four games last season due to a shoulder injury but is a starting-caliber corner when healthy. The same can be said for Kristian Fulton, who started 14 games for Los Angeles. Defensive tackle Poona Ford started all 17 games for the Chargers in the regular season and put together one of the best years of his career. Along with his 39 tackles, he tallied three sacks, five pass breakups, and an interception. 

Meanwhile, J.K. Dobbins enjoyed a resurgence with the Chargers. Injuries continue to plague him, but he suited up in 13 games for the club over the regular season and was their top back when healthy, rushing for 905 yards and nine touchdowns on the year. 

On top of these figures listed inside Prisco’s top 100, the Chargers also have starting center Bradley Bozeman hitting free agency after playing in 99% of the offensive snaps last season. 

The interesting aspect of Pittsburgh’s free agent class is that it features two quarterbacks who could conceivably be starters in 2025. It remains to be seen whether or not they’ll retain Justin Fields and/or Russell Wilson for next season, but both have the capabilities to be a starter. Wilson is longer in the tooth as he enters his 14th season in the league, but he did lead the team to a 6-5 record as a starter and registered a 95.6 passer rating in his 11 appearances. Meanwhile, Fields was used more as a rushing specialist, but will still only be 26 at the start of next season, leaving plenty of room for development. 

While Fields and Wilson will garner most of the headlines, Pittsburgh’s top free agents come along the offensive line. James Daniels, the team’s best free agent, according to Prisco, did have his season cut short due to a torn Achilles he suffered in Week 4. When healthy, he’s a solid starter on the interior. As for Dan Moore Jr., he could command quite a pretty penny on the open market as the left tackle is just 26 years old entering the free agency. 

Najee Harris has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons in the league. He’s also coming off a 2024 season that was the second-best of his career in terms of total yards from scrimmage (1,326). Harris also matched his career high of 4.4 yards per touch. In the secondary, Donte Jackson started all 15 of his games played and tallied five interceptions with eight pass breakups. 

D.J. Reed lands inside the top 10 of Prisco’s free agent rankings, and rightfully so. He’s likely going to be looked at as the top free agent corner on the market. The 28-year-old is coming off a 2024 season where he broke up 11 passes and allowed just 57.1% of his targets to be completed. He may not be your prototypical shutdown corner, but he’ll cash in like one this offseason. 

Moving toward the linebacker group, the Jets have two fascinating pieces hitting the market. Jamien Sherwood is one of the top off-ball linebackers hitting free agency after a breakout season. He totaled 158 tackles, two sacks, and three pass breakups, all of which were career highs. As for Haason Reddick, his Jets tenure got off to a rocky start after he held out for the first half of the year. While he didn’t make much of an impact this year when he was on the field for New York, there is a track record of him being a productive player off the edge. 

Along the offensive line, the Jets have two starting-caliber tackles heading to free agency in Morgan Moses and Tyron Smith. Both are certainly in the twilight of their careers at age 34 but could be valuable to teams looking for a short-term fix on the ends of the line. 

Meanwhile, tight end Tyler Conklin — who doesn’t fall inside Prisco’s top 100 — shouldn’t be slept on as a popular figure this free agent cycle. The 29-year-old can serve as a safety blanket in the passing game and is a willing blocker. In 16 games played last year, he caught 51 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns. Safeties Tony Adams and Chuck Clark and defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw are other notable Jets free agents. 

The Minnesota Vikings are not expected to franchise tag quarterback Sam Darnold, meaning Prisco’s No. 1-ranked free agent will hit the market. Darnold put together a renaissance season, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record. The team nearly earned the No. 1 seed in the process. However, Darnold did falter down the stretch, including a Week 18 loss to the Lions where he completed 43.9% of his passes along with a mediocre showing in their playoff loss to the Rams. That turned what felt like a surefire extension into Darnold now hitting the market. The question for those QB-needy teams looking at Darnold is whether or not they can get him playing like he was for most of his first season with the Vikings. 

While Darnold is the headliner, the Vikings have a tremendous amount of high-caliber players hitting free agency. Cam Robinson should command a healthy market as a starting left tackle in the NFL. In the secondary, Murphy, Bynum, and Smith were all inside the top five in tackles on the team last season. Murphy earned a Pro Bowl nod after totaling six interceptions and 14 pass breakups, while Bynum and Smith each broke up 10 passes and tallied three picks. 

Aaron Jones has seen a lot of football as he now enters his age-30 season, but is still a strong contributor out of the backfield. For the Vikings, he totaled 1,546 total yards from scrimmage (second-most of his career) to go along with seven touchdowns. 

Beyond the free agents that fall inside Prisco’s top 100, Stephon Gilmore, Daniel Jones, Jonathan Bullard, Shaquille Griffin and Dalton Risner are other notable players the Vikings have heading to free agency. 

The Philadelphia Eagles have four soon-to-be free agents inside Prisco’s top 100. And that doesn’t even reference the other notable free agents they have like Kenneth Gainwell and Avonte Maddox among others. The four highlighted above were all key contributors to Philly’s Super Bowl LIX championship and should command top dollar in free agency. Josh Sweat will be 28 years old at the start of next season and is coming off a strong season off the edge, totaling eight sacks. Milton Williams, a former third-round pick, has established himself as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the league and notched a career-high five sacks last season. 

Zack Baun proved to be one of the top free agent signings last offseason and earned first-team All-Pro honors after totaling a career-high 151 tackles and 3.5 sacks. On the offensive line, Mekhi Becton is a massive force on the interior at 6-foot-7, 363 pounds, and will be just 26 at the start of next season.