Mark Craig's 10 NFL free agents to target

The market for NFL players opens this week.

March 13, 2021 at 11:00PM
FILE - Green Bay Packers center Corey Linsley (63) blocks for quarterback Aaron Rodgers during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., in this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, file photo. Linsley was selected Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, to The Associated Press All-Pro Team. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes, File)
Packers center Corey Linsley. (AP/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

NFL free agency technically begins Monday with two days of "legal tampering." Teams can start signing players at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Here are 10 free agents to watch.

JONNU SMITH, TE, Titans

Age in Week 1: 26

The 6-3, 248-pounder would have been franchise-tagged if Tennessee wasn't so run heavy. Smith's numbers have increased every season, leading to last year, when his 41 catches produced 25 first downs and eight touchdowns. He's a red-zone mismatch who also averages 6.8 yards after the catch.

JOE THUNEY, LG, Patriots

Age in Week 1: 28

Dependable, reliable, and possibly the safest pickup in free agency. There's not much to dislike about a sturdy left guard who hasn't missed a start since the Patriots drafted him in 2016. That's 80 regular-season games and 10 playoff games, including three Super Bowls and two championship rings.

COREY LINSLEY, C, Packers

Age in Week 1: 30

Yeah, he turns 30 in July. But it's not every year that a first-team All-Pro offensive lineman is free to test the market. Pro Football Focus ranks him seventh on its list of free agents still available. He did miss three games last year, but those are the only games he's missed the past four seasons.

JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER, WR, Steelers

Age in Week 1: 24

Getting a super productive 24-year-old in free agency doesn't happen every day. Some might view last year's 8.6-yard average on 97 catches as a red flag that Smith-Schuster can't be an outside threat. But he averaged 15.8 yards as a rookie and had a 1,400-yard season in 2018. And did we mention he's only 24?

JAMAL AGNEW, KR-PR, Lions

Age in Week 1: 26

Let's go outside the box and list a returner on this list. Hey, returners are valuable players, too, as Vikings fans have found out the hard way recently. In four seasons, Agnew has returned 74 punts for an 11.6-yard average and four touchdowns, and 64 kickoffs for a 25.8-yard average and one touchdown.

TREY HENDRICKSON, Edge, Saints

Age in Week 1: 26

If the Saints' salary cap wasn't so out of whack, a 26-year-old coming off a 13½-sack season wouldn't be hitting the open market. He's athletic but also powerful at 6-4, 270 pounds. He had only 6½ sacks his first three seasons, but that's because he didn't become a starter until last year.

DALVIN TOMLINSON, NT, Giants

Age in Week 1: 27

Ranked among Pro Football Focus' premier run-stuffers, this 6-3, 318-pounder has not missed a start since being drafted in the second round out of Alabama four years ago. He can help a team struggling to stop the run, but he's also known for being able to play both interior spots in a 4-3.

SHAQUIL BARRETT, Edge, Buccaneers

Age in Week 1: 28

The Bucs reportedly are negotiating with Barrett, one of their Super Bowl LV heroes. He won't come cheap. His play has skyrocketed him financially. He arrived in Tampa on a one-year, $4 million prove-it deal in 2019. He has 31½ sacks and a Lombardi Trophy since then. So, he's proven it — and then some.

JOHN JOHNSON III, S, Rams

Age in Week 1: 25

Pro Football Focus' fifth-ranked safety in 2020 helped the Rams lead the league in total defense and fewest points allowed. He's also the best safety available after others were franchised. The 6-foot, 209-pounder missed 10 games in 2019 but didn't miss a game in his other three seasons.

JAYON BROWN, LB, Titans

Age in Week 1: 26

Like Buffalo's Matt Milano, who was re-signed Friday, the 6-foot, 226-pound Brown is a former fifth-round pick who has become a classic three-down coverage linebacker who good teams covet in today's wide-open game. Like Milano, Brown also missed six games last year and should be ready to go in 2021.

about the writer

about the writer

Mark Craig

Sports reporter

Mark Craig has covered the NFL nearly every year since Brett Favre was a rookie back in 1991. A sports writer since 1987, he is covering his 30th NFL season out of 37 years with the Canton (Ohio) Repository (1987-99) and the Star Tribune (1999-present).

See More

More from Sports

card image

Minnesota’s bench scored 50 points, including a team-leading 18 points from graduate transfer Annika Stewart, showcasing the depth that coach Dawn Plitzuweit promised.

card image
card image