Not the typical NFL Sunday, but PFF plugs along anyway as free agency reaches Day 6. Who's the big name that'll decide on a new home today? Will it be the big name? Even if it's not him, there's a ton of talent bouncing around the country right now and there's sure to be plenty of interesting news for us to address.
You can catch up on our analysis from earlier in the week here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5. We're here around the clock and will continue to sprinkle some PFF flavor on all of the important happenings as they happen, so bookmark it and keep the auto-refresh working all day.
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23:15 One of the many interesting names left in free agency is Joel Dreessen. Outside of Martellus Bennett, he was the best tight end to hit the open market. According to John McClain, Dreessen completed a visit with the New Orleans Saints, and is on his way to make a visit with the Cincinnati Bengals for Monday. He would make more sense in Cincinnati, as they like using two tight end sets and Dreessen would be an upgrade to Colin Cochart. Dreessen is one of the rare tight ends who can both catch the ball and run block with success. He caught over 75% of passes thrown his way last year, and had the third highest run blocking rating for tight ends.
22:30 Over the last two years, the Raiders have lost Nnamdi Asomugha and Stanford Routt. Now all that Oakland really has in terms of cornerbacks is recently signed Ron Bartell, as well as two mid-round draft picks who will be entering their second year. To help fix that, the Raiders are expected to bring in Tracy Porter sometime in the next few days. Despite having a down 2011 season, he is the best cornerback left on the market. He's not one to make many interceptions with just two in the past year, but he's also just allowed only three touchdowns, and has had 13 passes defended.
21:15 Recently our Ben Stockwell wrote about Linebackers and how they haven't found a home yet. Outside of today's re-signing of Joe Mays to the Denver Broncos, not much has changed in the past two days. Things should start to pick up early this week, as Jason La Canfora is saying the Detroit Lions are making a strong push to bring back Stephen Tulloch. He currently sits at #2 on our list of Top 75 Remaining Free Agents. In his first year with Detroit, he had 59 stops which was significantly more than any other Lion in the past four years. With Mays signed and a potential Tulloch signing soon, we could see a chain reaction of middle linebacker deals.
20:20 SIGNING! No word on whether Lex Hilliard rejected the Dolphins (as has become the cool thing to do) but he's signed a one year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Hilliard spent 69.5% of his plays at fullback this year but wasn't much of a success from the spot. It would be something of a surprise to see him much of an impact for the Vikings.
20:08 Speaking of rejected AFC East teams, the Jets are looking at any and every safety, with O.J. Atogwe next on their hit list. Given the lack of safeties who can play a deep cover role, it's surprising more hasn't been made of his availability, but he could be an excellent fit in New York given that the only safety they have on the roster at the moment is Eric Smith. Yuck.
20:05 Rumors abound that the Dolphins are preparing an $8m per annum contract to offer to Alex Smith. The Denver Post reports it, and it genuinely dumbfounds. After being rejected by Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn it appears that Miami will sign a quarterback and pay him starting money regardless of whether he's actually any better than Matt Moore.
19:16 The newly rejected Jets are rebounding from the Reggie Nelson rejection by pencilling in a visit with Jarrett Bush. Bad things tended to happen for the Packers when Bush got on the field but he's an effective blitzer for a defensive back so Rex Ryan and company may have fallen in love with that. Because that's what really matters right?
18:55 RE-SIGNING! The decision is in, and Reggie Nelson is going back to Cincinnati. They'll be plenty happy about that after Nelson picked up a +2.3 grade in coverage to go along with his four picks as he finally starting to cash in on his potential. Quiet moves by the Bengals so far but they've taken an approach that free agency is a marathon, not a sprint, as they go about shaping their roster. Kudos.
18:51 RE-SIGNING! The Broncos have made a very nice move, re-signing the excellent two down linebacker Joe Mays. The former Eagle had our 12th highest ranking in run defense of all inside linebackers and led them in our signature stat, ‘run stop %'. This stat that looks at where linebackers are making tackles relative to how much they are on the field shows the kind of constant impact Mays made for the Broncos.
18:31 We haven't forgot about you, just nothing is happening right now. On the plus side the slight's on Matt Moore's play have forced the noble Khaled Elsayed into writing an article on the quarterback which should be up tomorrow morning.
17:15 SIGNING! Well it's been a quiet day, but some huge news finally at Matt Flynn has signed on the dotted line with the Seattle Seahawks. Nobody quite knew how to evaluate Flynn and whether he'd be more Kevin Kolb or Matt Schaub given his limited playing time. His performance against Detroit in Week 17 last year was better than anything Kolb ever produced, but it's still a leap of faith from Seattle who have handed him a three year deal worth up to $26m according to Adam Schefter. So there's that then.
16:09 Are the Lions playing a game of chicken with Stephen Tulloch? They'll have David Hawthorne in for a visit on Tuesday as they look to fill their middle linebacker spot. The interesting thing about Hawthorne is he'd be able to play any linebacker position in a Lions defensive scheme that doesn't use traditional strongside and weakside backers (preferring their LBers to stay on one side). He had a down year by his standards, but after two superb years in 2009 and 2010 Hawthorne is one of the top 10 free agents out there, and second only to Tulloch in terms of available linebackers.
15:55 Interesting developments in Indianapolis where Robert Mathis has revealed he will be assuming the Jarret Johnson role in Chuck Pagano's hybrid defense. Johnson played the strongside linebacker spot and never put his hand in the ground in base packages, establishing himself as possibly the best defender in the league when it came to setting an edge. Mathis is a completely different type of defender, far more likely to beat you with speed and doesn't appear a natural fit for the role. On the plus side, he's likely to bring more pressure than Johnson ever managed from the spot.
14:48 Zzzzzzzzzzz … allow me to awaken from my slumber to let you know the Seahawks will host Alex Smith when he finishes his time in Miami. Yes, it's a very slow news day when Alex Smith is making up about 10% of it.
13:50 Mark Anderson is an in demand man. The AFC East has shown plenty of interest, and now it's the time of the AFC South. He's visiting with the Titans and the Jaguars have some interest as well. He finished the year 13th in our defensive end rankings and quite clearly has ability. The concern are the all too frequent down years he seems to have.
12:52 An interesting option for QB needy teams will start visiting with teams on Monday. That man is David Garrard, a quarterback who spent the majority of his career making good decisions with a sprinkling of big plays every now and then. He's got talent and has always graded well in our system, so is worth a flier for a team not entirely sold on who they have throwing the ball. Concerns over his health will need to be answered, but Garrard is a passer who could do a job.
12:38 RELEASE! We're sorry there isn't more news, but we have some at least. Rex Hadnot has been released by the Cardinals. Capable of looking adequate, he often angered the Cards fanbase because when he was bad, he was very bad. A serviceable and versatile lineman, he should catch on as depth somewhere, but it's never a great sign when a team thinks Adam Snyder is a better option than you.
11:11 Nothing is happening. It can only mean teams are preparing for some big moves later in the day right? In any case Brodrick Bunkley is visiting the Saints and accordingly to Mike Klis has an offer on the table from the Broncos. An utterly destructive force, it's surprising more teams aren't looking at Bunkley after a stellar 2011 season where he was our top ranked defender against the run.
09:20 So what have the PFF staff been up to today? Well we've posted our Five Answers, Five Questions which was nice of us. Then we've updated our Top 75 available free agents and the Deal Grader. So there. That question is answered.
09:06 Mark this on the list things not to do when a free agent. Possibly the best long term option at center available on the market, Samson Satele, went and got himself arrested. He's coming off his best year as a pro, and while he lacks consistency, the talent really did start to shine through in 2011.
08:41 The QB merry go round continues, with Alex Smith visiting with the Miami Dolphins. Is Smith really that much better than Matt Moore? Poor old Moore was actually pretty good last year so does Smith really offer an upgrade?
04:45 Yesterday we were met with a flurry of activity as some of the best players left on the market took contract offers to take them off it. What can we expect that? Will more of our top 75 go? Stay tuned with us all day and we'll guide you through all the moves.
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