A second peak of the NFL offseason: Why post-draft transactions shouldn’t be overlooked

• Some of the best free-agent signings happen closer to September: In recent years, players like Rasul Douglas, J.K. Dobbins and Calais Campbell have thrived despite inking contracts on the very late side.

• Tons of talent still available: Names like Stefon Diggs, Taylor Decker and Deebo Samuel are still solid starters who might make teams regret not signing them earlier.

• More wild trades are in store: With rosters beginning to be finalized in the coming months, more star power could be on the move after a crazy last year.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

After the final seconds tick off the clock in the Super Bowl, NFL fans immediately look ahead to early March — when the fun of the offseason really begins. From news and prospect evaluations during the NFL Combine to the start of the free agency period in early March to the NFL Draft itself, the initial three months without football are still quite entertaining.

This year’s post-playing calendar continued to live up to the hype. Shortly after the legal tampering window opened on March 9, blockbuster moves happened en masse. From the Chiefs grabbing Kenneth Walker III to the Raiders making Tyler Linderbaum the highest-paid center ever, free agency was littered with huge dollar amounts and surprises. The trade market has also stayed red-hot, with names like Trent McDuffie, Dexter Lawrence and Jaylen Waddle finding new destinations.

With the 2026 NFL Draft now over, those in the football world can take more of a deep breath and reflect upon a whirlwind few months of movement. But it’s actually in this quieter window where some of pro football’s most significant transactions occur.

There’s no doubt that the best players on the market are seldom available going into May, but there’s lots of quality talent still looking for a home. After all, 22 of PFF’s top-100 free agents are unsigned, including lots of good players with proven track records over the last five-to-10 years. That includes receiver Stefon Diggs — whose 82.6 PFF receiving grade finished 10^th in 2025 — as well as Rasul Douglas, whose 72.6 passer rating allowed ranked 10^th among qualified cornerbacks last season.

While contracts signed from May through September tend to be much more modest in value — and have a much lower rate of working out — they can still pay humongous dividends. As the table below reveals, several of football’s best free-agent signings have happened well into the summer over the last two years.

Likewise, the trade market should ramp up again in the coming months. Teams’ early-round draft picks regularly signal which players are not in their long-term futures, whether due to poor play or underperformance. The results of this year’s draft figure to be no exception, and with aggressive organizations still seeking meaningful upgrades at a bevy of positions, expect a robust number of calls.

Another catalyst of trades is often contractual discussions. When teams reach an impasse and/or don’t envision handing out a big sum down the line, that can lead to unexpected availability. Further, roster trim-downs naturally curate interest in those on the margins.

Last year, the Packers opened the floodgates for an avalanche of trades when they acquired Micah Parsons from the Cowboys in a late-August stunner. Despite suffering a torn ACL in Week 15, Parsons finished the season as the third-highest graded defender (91.9) and still ranked fourth among edge defenders in PFF Wins Above Replacement as he started his Green Bay tenure.

Parsons’ intra-conference jersey swap was the headliner of last offseason, but it was far from the only huge one to happen in May or later. Players like George Pickens, Jalen Ramsey, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bryce Huff and Darren Waller all changed teams in just those three months, with the results making tangible impacts on 2025 success and well beyond.

Turn the calendar back one year, and a similar sentiment applies. On Aug. 26, 2024, the Titans traded Malik Willis to the Packers for a seventh-round pick. That seemingly trivial maneuver allowed Willis to compile an 85.8 overall PFF grade in his two years with Green Bay, which galvanized his three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Dolphins this March. Others on the block two summers ago included Panthers corner Michael Jackson Sr., eventual Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones and new Jets cornerback Nahshon Wright.

Malik Willis' Career PFF Grades

It’s true that players still unsigned may no longer be at the zenith of their crafts, with most profiling as aging names bouncing around on one-year contracts. Similarly, the bulk of trades that will transpire over the summer involve either scuffling vets or touted prospects who have yet to meet pre-draft standards in the pros. Injuries and sustainable production are verifiable concerns for both parties.

Nevertheless, recent memory has continued to demonstrate that signings and trades happening after the NFL Draft shouldn’t be minimized because of a dwindling talent pool. If anything, many of those transactions actually end up dwarfing what happen in March and April — causing little-realized butterfly effects around the league.