Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
NFL under the radar free agents who will provide big value
The NFL free agency negotiation period opens up Mar. 11, and you can bet that most of the top free agents will be scooped up early in the negotiating window. However, NFL teams are built not just on the star players, but the overall depth of the team. We discuss unsung heroes of teams that win the Super Bowl every time the trophy gets raised, and this is where these role players get picked up and signed.
Ahead of the legal negotiation period, here are six free agents who can immediately help a team win a title.
Denico Autry, DL, Tennessee Titans
Autry is a certified hell-raiser along the defensive front. In three years with the Titans, he racked up 28.5 sacks and 30 tackles for loss, but on a down-to-down basis his impact is felt across the defensive front. His positional versatility allows him to play on the edge early, but kick inside in obvious passing situations to unlock more fronts and blitzes by the defense to change the picture. He also gets his hands on passes, an underrated part of playing defensive line. Since 2021, he has eight batted passes to go along with the sack production, making him a good all-around secondary defensive linemen next to a star.
Sheldon Rankins, DT, Houston Texans
Rankins is another underrated defensive tackle in a deep free agent class that could help lift the profits of a team that’s ready to go win the Super Bowl. Rankins had a career resurgence in Houston, notching six sacks and 33 pressures as Houston’s defense came to life in the back half of 2023. Rankins is a bowling ball of constant pressure, and is a great fit for a four-man front team that will allow him to attack one gap and cause havoc. While he is about to hit 30, the argument can be made that he’s coming off of his most disruptive season since 2018, and that’ll matter to teams who need some consistent interior pressure.
Sheldon Rankins IDing the trap in about .8 seconds – wow.
This Texans front WHOOPED the Titans OL on Sunday
3.4 yards/carry allowed in 2023 – 2nd best in NFL. Demeco Ryans has this unit playing awesome football! pic.twitter.com/VnDpPQ80Y1
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) December 19, 2023
Andrew Van Ginkel, LB, Miami Dolphins
After Dolphins EDGEs Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb both went down with season-ending injuries, someone had to step up in the room to take their place, and Van Ginkel was the perfect guy to do it. He’s played both inside and on the ball as a LB, and just produces at every position he plays. Last year, Van Ginkel finished third on the Dolphins with 55 pressures and tacked on six sacks, while also being more of a chess piece that could be moved around the front. As teams begin to embrace changing the picture up front, Van Ginkel can be a great secondary option to a star.
Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots
If you can manage to pick through the slop that the New England Patriots have produced on offense over the last few years, you’ll find that wideout Kendrick Bourne was arguably their best receiving option. The numbers seem meager, but Bourne is consistently getting open and creating on whatever catchable targets he can get. Bourne had 10.2 Yards Per Route Run on 40 catchable targets per SIS, 52nd among all NFL wideouts with at least 30 catchable targets. While it’s not super high, Bourne was also reliable as a receiver. Any team that needs a consistent second or third option would be a really good spot for Bourne.
Blake Cashman, LB, Houston Texans
Another Texans defender makes this list, this time it’s Cashman. After bouncing from the Jets to the Texans in 2022, Cashman had his best year as a member of Demeco Ryans’ defense. Cashman is versatile enough to run with slot receivers in simulated pressure packages, but also strong enough to hold his own in the run game. Cashman is also only 27 years old, with the potential for his best football to be ahead of him.
Houston Texans Defense appreciation tweet:
1) This was an absolutely evil pre-snap look for DeMeco Ryans to give Derek Carr on 3rd and long
2) A lot of trust in LB Blake Cashman to come off the simulated pressure and pick up Michael Thomas.
Cashman has earned his pay day. pic.twitter.com/V0G97Zt5ic
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) February 22, 2024
Jordan Whitehead, S, New York Jets
Jordan Whitehead is an experienced safety who was a part of the Buccaneers team that won the Super Bowl in 2020. He’s got experience in a Quarters heavy defense and can come off the roof of the defense and fill in the run game, while also not being a liability in pass coverage. Among all safeties lined up on the back end with at least 10 targets, Whitehead was first in Yards per Coverage Snap allowed, and can be the perfect hammer in a defense and has the versatility to play the slot, inside the box as a de facto LB and as a deep safety. He’ll also only be 27 next season, so he’s still relatively young.
