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Matt BowenMar 12, 2026, 10:55 PM ET
- Matt Bowen is a fantasy football and NFL writer for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2015, writes regularly for ESPN+ and spent multiple years on “NFL Matchup.” After graduating from the University of Iowa, Matt played safety in the NFL for St. Louis, Green Bay, Washington and Buffalo over seven seasons.
The 2026 NFL free agency period officially began Wednesday, and while many deals have been struck, plenty of talented players are still looking for new teams. Who are the best free agents still available?
We’re ranking the top unsigned players, factoring in age, positional value, expected future production and scheme versatility. Most of the players below were taken from our top 100 list ahead of free agency, though we added a few more interesting options.
How do veteran quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins stack up? What about wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Deebo Samuel? Let’s jump in, starting with an underrated offensive lineman.
2026 NFL free agency coverage:
Tracking moves | Grading signings
Winners, losers | Mini mock draft
Best, worst, surprising moves
1. Rasheed Walker, OT
2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: Walker’s pass block win rate of 93.8% ranked 11th among 68 qualifying offensive tackles. His technique could still improve and he lacks a strong anchor, but he has the footwork and mobility to match the speed of edge rushers.
2. Jauan Jennings, WR
2025 team: San Francisco 49ers | Age entering 2026 season: 29
What he brings: At 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, Jennings is a consistent route runner who plays through contact and makes himself available to the quarterback on in-breaking targets. He caught 55 passes last season for an injury-riddled 49ers unit, scoring nine touchdowns. Jennings was even better in 2024, when he ranked 12th in ESPN’s receiver scores and had 975 receiving yards.
3. Taylor Decker, OT
2025 team: Detroit Lions | Age entering 2026 season: 32
What he brings: Decker asked for his release from the Lions after 10 seasons in Detroit. In 2025, Decker had a pass block win rate of 89.3%, the second lowest of his career. However, with the toughness and intangibles he brings, he will have a market at a premium position.
4. Stefon Diggs, WR
2025 team: New England Patriots | Age entering 2026 season: 32
What he brings: Diggs caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in his lone season with the Patriots. Reduced play speed keeps Diggs a little lower on our list, but he’s still a savvy route runner — with inside/outside alignment flex — who can create separation to the ball. Plus, he has the toughness to operate between the numbers on in-breaking concepts.
5. Joey Bosa, Edge
2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: Bosa has played in at least 14 games over the past two seasons after injuries limited him to a total of 13 games from 2022 to 2023. Averaging 36.3 snaps per game for the Bills, he had 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 42 pressures. Bosa should be viewed as a situational rusher who can still win with speed-to-power. His effort level also leads to production late in the play.
6. Joel Bitonio, G
2025 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2026 season: 34
What he brings: The 12-year pro has started 178 NFL games. He’s a savvy technician who had a 96.4% pass block win rate in 2025 (third best among 65 qualifying guards), while allowing only two sacks. If Bitonio opts to return for a 13th season, he would provide both consistent play and a veteran voice to any offensive line room.
7. Aaron Rodgers, QB
2025 team: Pittsburgh Steelers | Age entering 2026 season: 42
What he brings: Rodgers displayed more mobility last season when working the edges of the pocket, while throwing for 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He ranked 16th in completion percentage (65.7%) and 23rd in QBR (44.4). With his quick release and high-end coverage recognition, he can still be a capable starter in the NFL.
8. Kirk Cousins, QB
2025 team: Atlanta Falcons | Age entering 2026 season: 38
What he brings: Cousins played in 10 games last season — including eight starts — before being released at the start of the new league year. Cousins threw for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions; his QBR of 47.6 would have ranked 22nd if he qualified. With limited mobility, he grades out as a lower-tier starter in a play-action system that would cater to his field vision and timing.
9. Deebo Samuel, WR
2025 team: Washington Commanders | Age entering 2026 season: 30
What he brings: Samuel caught 72 passes and scored five touchdowns in his one season with the Commanders, with 63.7% of his receiving totals coming after the catch. A power strider, he would benefit from a system that allows him to get loose on catch-and-run targets.
10. Cam Robinson, OT
2025 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2026 season: 30
What he brings: Robinson has all of the desired tools at his position. He’s 6-foot-6, 335 pounds, with the ability to engulf pass rushers and the foot speed to redirect during a play. Plus, his 92.1% pass block win rate in 2025 was a career best. However, technical lapses have prevented him from playing at a much more consistent rate.
11. Chris Paul, G
2025 team: Washington Commanders | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: Paul has the strength and movement skills to fit in multiple run schemes, playing at left guard throughout his four-year career. In 2025, he allowed only two sacks and ranked eighth among 65 qualifying guards in pass block win rate (95.4%).
12. David Njoku, TE
2025 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2026 season: 30
What he brings: With his frame and physical tools, Njoku is a seam stretcher who can create isolation matchups in the low red zone. However, he missed 11 games in the past two seasons because of injuries. In 12 games this past season, he caught 33 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns.
13. AJ Epenesa, Edge
2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: Epenesa is a long, powerful mover who can set the edge of the front with his 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame. He can also create disruptive plays, recording 24.5 sacks and four interceptions in six NFL seasons.
14. Wyatt Teller, G
2025 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: A steady technician with the play demeanor necessary to win on the interior, Teller has started more than 100 games in the league. His career pass rush win rate sits at 92.6%.
15. Cobie Durant, CB
2025 team: Los Angeles Rams | Age entering 2026 season: 28
What he brings: With his smaller frame (5-foot-11, 185 pounds), big wide receivers can create matchup advantages versus Durant on the perimeter. However, he can run and play inside. In 2025, Durant had three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
16. Kevin Zeitler, G
2025 team: Tennessee Titans | Age entering 2026 season: 36
What he brings: The veteran has a physical inside presence, using his power to displace defensive tackles and movement ability to pull on gap schemes. Zeitler uses his strong base in protection, but his pass block win rate dropped to 92.4% this past season in Tennessee (lowest since 2020).
17. Cameron Jordan, Edge
2025 team: New Orleans Saints | Age entering 2026 season: 37
What he brings: Jordan, who will be a free agent before his 16th pro season, had 10.5 sacks in 2025 (his most since 2021). With the physical profile (6-foot-4, 287 pounds) to play as a 4-3 edge, and the movement ability he showed on the tape this past season, Jordan can be helpful even if it’s in a rotational role.
18. Hollywood Brown, WR
2025 team: Kansas City Chiefs | Age entering 2026 season: 29
What he brings: In 16 games this past season, Brown caught 49 passes for 587 yards and five touchdowns. He still has the third-level speed to attack split-field safeties, plus he can separate from coverage on crossers and unders. Brown missed the majority of the 2024 season because of a sternoclavicular injury.
19. Jonnu Smith, TE
2025 team: Pittsburgh Steelers | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: A motion/movement tight end, Smith was released by the Steelers. He can impact the pass game in a system that caters to his alignment versatility and ability to run after the catch. Smith had 38 receptions in Pittsburgh last season, and 68.4% of his career receiving totals have come after the catch.
20. Spencer Burford, G
2025 team: San Francisco 49ers | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: At 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, Burford’s length and physical tools create upside for him in this guard market. Plus, he has shown that he can play at either guard spot. Burford registered a pass block win rate of 92.8% in nine starts last season.
21. Daniel Faalele, G
2025 team: Baltimore Ravens | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: With his massive frame (6-foot-8, 370 pounds) and power at the point of attack, Faalele would fit best in a gap run scheme. He’s a durable lineman who recorded a 93% pass block win rate as a starter over his past two seasons.
22. Andre Cisco, S
2025 team: New York Jets | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: A pectoral tear limited Cisco to eight games this past season. He has range and ball skills that should draw some interest, with eight interceptions and 15 pass breakups over five pro seasons.
23. Bobby Wagner, LB
2025 team: Washington Commanders | Age entering 2026 season: 36
What he brings: Wagner’s 9.5 tackles per game ranked sixth overall in 2025, showing he can still key quickly and rack up run stops. He does have limitations in coverage at this stage of his career, but he would add a veteran voice and early-down production to any NFL defense.
24. Mekhi Becton, G
2025 team: Los Angeles Chargers | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: The Chargers released Becton after just one season in L.A. He played subpar football in 2025, but the former first-rounder has the size and physical tools to overwhelm defenders in the right system.
25. Trevon Diggs, CB
2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: Diggs has played in just 22 games over the past three seasons, and he was released by the Cowboys and Packers this past season. However, teams could see Diggs as reclamation project with his playmaking eyes in the secondary. He has had 20 career interceptions, including a league high of 11 in 2021.
26. Jadeveon Clowney, Edge
2025 team: Dallas Cowboys | Age entering 2026 season: 33
What he brings: The 12th year pro had 8.5 sacks and 32 pressures last season in 13 games, winning late in the down to get to the quarterback. We expect Clowney to sign a short-term deal as a rotational pass rusher.
27. Dyami Brown, WR
2025 team: Jacksonville Jaguars | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: Brown has the speed to threaten cornerbacks by either pressing deep or creating separation when cutting back to the ball. Still in his prime years, he can add another element to a team’s wide receiver room. He caught 20 passes for one touchdown in 2025.
28. Jonah Williams, OT
2025 team: Arizona Cardinals | Age entering 2026 season: 28
What he brings: Williams has played in just 15 games over the past two seasons, and his limited lower-body flexibility shows on the tape. With a career pass block win rate of 87.9%, he can be targeted as a default starter or provide competition at the right tackle spot for a team.
29. Haason Reddick, Edge
2025 team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: Reddick had 2.5 sacks and 23 pressures for the Bucs last season. With 61.5 career sacks, he could draw interest from teams that like to scheme their pass rushers out of loaded fronts.
30. Geno Stone, S
2025 team: Cincinnati Bengals | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: Stone started every game for the Bengals over the past two seasons, and he can make plays on the ball. He has 14 career interceptions, including seven with the Ravens in 2023. Stone is an interchangeable safety who can rotate well in two-deep coverage.
31. DJ Reader, DT
2025 team: Detroit Lions | Age entering 2026 season: 32
What he brings: At 6-foot-3, 330 pounds, Reader can eat up blockers as a 1-technique. He would fit with any teams looking for an interior presence in base fronts.
32. Roger McCreary, CB
2025 team: Los Angeles Rams | Age entering 2026 season: 26
What he brings: The Rams traded for McCreary midseason, but he played only 37 snaps in Los Angeles. McCreary has limited career ball production (three interceptions over four seasons), but he has the traits to play in the slot.
33. Christian Kirk, WR
2025 team: Houston Texans | Age entering 2026 season: 29
What he brings: Injuries have forced Kirk to miss 18 games over the past three seasons. But when on the field, he can be a three-level target who produces numbers after the catch. Kirk had 28 receptions and one touchdown catch last season, lining up on the perimeter or in the slot.
34. Joe Flacco, QB
2025 team: Cincinnati Bengals | Age entering 2026 season: 41
What he brings: In 12 starts between the Browns and Bengals this past season, Flacco threw for 2,451 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is still a solid No. 2 who has an aggressive mentality in the pass game.
35. Donovan Wilson, S
2025 team: Dallas Cowboys | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: Wilson is a box/split-field safety who plays with a tone-setting mentality. He can also mix it up in the run front or match up with tight ends in coverage. Wilson had 71 tackles and two interceptions last season.
36. Sebastian Joseph-Day, DT
2025 team: Tennessee Titans | Age entering 2026 season: 31
What he brings: Joseph-Day had 41 tackles and two sacks in a rotational role for the Titans this past season. With alignment versatility on the interior, he can add veteran depth to the defensive line room.
37. Brian Robinson Jr., RB
2025 team: San Francisco 49ers | Age entering 2026 season: 27
What he brings: Robinson rushed for 400 yards and two touchdowns last season as the No. 2 running back behind Christian McCaffrey. A powerful, north-south runner, Robinson also showed off his pass-catching ability in 2023 with 36 receptions for the Commanders.
38. Russell Wilson, QB
2025 team: New York Giants | Age entering 2026 season: 37
What he brings: Wilson started the season as the Giants’ No. 1, but he was replaced by rookie Jaxson Dart in Week 4. During his three starts, Wilson threw for 778 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. With declining mobility, he is a veteran No. 2 at this stage of his career.
