NFL News & Analysis

2024 NFL Free Agency: Building the best team from available free agents

2HBFP8Y Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 19th Dec, 2021. Ryan Tannehill #17 during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Tennessee Titans game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. Jason Pohuski/CSM/Alamy Live News

Ryan Tannehill at quarterback: Tannehill earned just a 68.7 PFF grade in 2023, the lowest of his tenure with the Titans, but he still profiles as an athletic passer who can provide a bridge option for a team looking to develop a young passer.

• LT Tyron Smith is still on the market: Smith rebounded in a big way in 2023, earning his highest pass-blocking grade (89.3) since 2015. The former Cowboy led all qualifying tackles in pass-block grade, surrendering just 21 total pressures on 569 pass-blocking snaps.

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The 2024 NFL offseason got off to a furious start, with more than 200 players changing teams during the first wave of free agency.

The market is moving swiftly, but PFF has you covered with all the NFL free agency news, from live grades of every signing to the best remaining unsigned free agents.

Here, we have built a team of the best available free agents. We start with a 13-year veteran at quarterback.

QB: Ryan Tannehill (68.7 PFF grade in 2023)

Tannehill earned just a 68.7 PFF grade in 2023, the lowest of his tenure with the Titans, but he still profiles as an athletic quarterback who can provide a bridge option for a team looking to develop a young passer.

The soon-to-be 36-year-old quarterback has proven to be effective when supplemented with a solid run game. During his time in Tennessee, Tannehill was one of the league's best play-action quarterbacks, with his 94.4 PFF grade on those plays placing him in the 98th percentile.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


RB: J.K. Dobbins (53.5)

Injuries have unfortunately derailed Dobbins' career, but in Week 1 of 2023, we saw a patient runner that lets his blocks develop, with good contact acceleration to explode into a gap or get to the edge. Dobbins has always had good contact balance and never shows signs of playing timid when he returns from injury. The team that gets a full year out of him will be very pleased.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


WR: Mike Williams (74.6)

Williams was released by the Chargers after the dust had settled from the initial wave of free agency. Despite injury limiting him to just three games in 2023, Williams was fantastic in his last full season in 2022, earning a 79.3 receiving grade, the second-highest of his career.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


TE: Logan Thomas (57.1) 

While Thomas has dealt with numerous injuries over his career, he can provide an efficient veteran presence. The former commander averaged 0.96 yards per route run and found the end zone four times in 2023.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


LT: Tyron Smith (83.7)

Smith rebounded in a big way in 2023, earning his highest pass-blocking grade (89.3) since 2015. The former Cowboy led all qualifying tackles in pass-block grade, surrendering just 21 total pressures on 569 pass-blocking snaps.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


LG: Dalton Risner (57.1)

After one season in Minnesota, Risner hits the market profiling as one of the more solid interior pass blockers available. He has produced plus grades as a pass-blocker in every year of his career. While he allowed 30 total pressures this season, he surrendered zero sacks for the first time.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


C: Connor Williams (86.5)

Williams finished the 2023 season as one of PFF’s highest-graded interior linemen. The former Dolphin has established himself as a road-grader on the interior after producing his second-straight 85.0-plus run-blocking grade.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


RG: Kevin Zeitler (71.6)

The 34-year-old guard is coming off back-to-back 82.0-plus pass-blocking grades and has allowed 21 or fewer pressures in each season.

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings


RT: Trent Brown (80.2)

While he made a home at left tackle for the Pats, Brown has the versatility to man either tackle position, an increasingly more valuable trait in the modern NFL. Brown's overall grade in 2023 marked the highest of his career, highlighted by his typically solid pass-blocking metrics (72.8 grade) and his newfound strength as a run-blocker (80.7 grade).

Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings

EDGE: Chase Young (74.7), Jadeveon Clowney (82.9)

Finally healthy in 2023 after spending the better part of two seasons recovering from a torn ACL, Young exploded early in the year and finished among the top edge defenders in pass-rush win rate on the season.

Former first-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney experienced a turnaround year in his lone season with the Ravens. He produced the highest pass-rushing grade (79.0) of his career and racked up 78 total pressures.

DI: Teair Tart (54.0), Sebastian Joseph-Day (61.0)

Tart is difficult to displace with just one blocker in the run game, and he has solid juice as a pass-rusher. He makes a great member of a platoon as a 0- or 1-technique who can push a pocket or knife through double teams, and he shows good recognition as to when to get his hands up for a batted pass.

Joseph-Day has played 2,539 snaps over his five-year career, and he recorded 20 or more stops in each of those seasons. The veteran produced a career-high 25 pressures in 2023, grading above 60.0 for the fourth time in his career.

LB: Jerome Baker (66.6)

Baker contributed in his role in coverage, earning the highest grade (74.1) of his career. The former Dolphin had a pair of interceptions and 18 coverage stops on 379 coverage snaps in 2023.

CB: Stephon Gilmore (71.2), Steven Nelson (72.6)

Gilmore, the former Defensive Player of the Year, continues to produce after 12 seasons. He was productive in his single season with the Cowboys, recording 14 forced incompletions and two interceptions.

Nelson was a great fit for the Houston Texans in back-to-back seasons despite a defensive shift from Lovie Smith to DeMeco Ryans. He has logged a healthy dose of snaps in so many different coverage schemes dating back to his days with the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. The ever-consistent Nelson played 950-plus snaps for the sixth consecutive season in 2023.

S: Julian Blackmon (68.3)

Blackmon earned a 72.6 coverage grade last season, far and away the best of his career. The former Colt has good range to man the deep free zone, which allowed him to swipe four interceptions in 2023.

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