With the deadline for the franchise tag having passed, we now know which players will be free and clear to be signed by other teams. The offensive skill guys are slightly more intriguing to fantasy teams, but the defensive landscape also has some big names on the move. Including some of the league's very best pass rushers.
J.J. Watt signed with the Cardinals, of course, and the Giants applied the franchise tag to Leonard Williams. But a whole of players of varying ability and ages will be out there seeking paydays.
One of the more interesting/concerning situations from a fantasy standpoint involves the Ravens. They've had a top-7 fantasy defense in each of the last two seasons, in standard scoring systems (1 point for sacks, 2 for takeaways, 6 for touchdowns). But two of their top pass rushers last season, team leader Matt Judon (6 sacks) and Yannick Ngakoue (8 total with Minnesota and Baltimore), are headed for free agency; Baltimore didn't apply the tag to either. They tagged Judon to keep him around a year ago. Pernell McPhee (3 sacks) is also a free agent, though he's hoping t0 return. In any case, Baltimore's pass rush seems likely to take a hit, particularly if Judon leaves.
The jewel of the free agent class is from the Super Bowl champs: Shaq Barrett. With the Bucs using the tag on Chris Godwin, Barrett will be on the market. He has 27.5 sacks over the last two seasons and is going to get paid, even in a year when the salary cap isn't as roomy.
And there are plenty of other good pass rushers out there. The Seahawks had to release Carlos Dunlap for cap reasons, the Lions didn't tag Romeo Okwara, and Bud Dupree (Pittsburgh) and Haason Reddick (Cardinals) are also out there. Some team is out there planning to woo all of these guys.
Table shows the top 50 in terms of total sacks over the last three seasons. Nearly a third of those players (14) are unrestricted free agents. They're listed in bold. The list doesn't even include a couple of big names that fall below that sack threshold: Melvin Ingram (hurt most of last season) and Carl Lawson (whose best sack season was 8.5 in 2017).
| TOTAL SACKS, 2018-2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Sk | Solo | Ast | Tot |
| Aaron Donald | 48 | 46.5 | 97 | 55 | 152 |
| T.J. Watt | 47 | 42.5 | 128 | 48 | 176 |
| Myles Garrett | 40 | 35.5 | 88 | 33 | 121 |
| Cameron Jordan | 48 | 35.0 | 106 | 47 | 153 |
| ZaDarius Smith | 48 | 34.5 | 102 | 50 | 152 |
| Chandler Jones | 37 | 33.0 | 85 | 28 | 113 |
| Chris Jones | 44 | 32.0 | 81 | 31 | 112 |
| Shaq Barrett | 44 | 30.5 | 110 | 33 | 143 |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | 42 | 30.5 | 106 | 34 | 140 |
| Khalil Mack | 46 | 30.0 | 106 | 38 | 144 |
| DeForest Buckner | 47 | 29.0 | 115 | 72 | 187 |
| Danielle Hunter | 32 | 29.0 | 103 | 39 | 142 |
| Justin Houston | 44 | 28.0 | 80 | 26 | 106 |
| Frank Clark | 45 | 27.0 | 81 | 26 | 107 |
| Yannick Ngakoue | 46 | 25.5 | 84 | 8 | 92 |
| J.J. Watt | 40 | 25.0 | 98 | 39 | 137 |
| Bud Dupree | 43 | 25.0 | 102 | 39 | 141 |
| Joey Bosa | 35 | 24.5 | 94 | 35 | 129 |
| Ryan Kerrigan | 44 | 24.0 | 55 | 30 | 85 |
| Mario Addison | 46 | 23.5 | 61 | 38 | 99 |
| Carlos Dunlap | 45 | 23.0 | 90 | 52 | 142 |
| Matt Judon | 46 | 22.5 | 104 | 44 | 148 |
| Von Miller | 31 | 22.5 | 62 | 32 | 94 |
| DeMarcus Lawrence | 48 | 22.0 | 106 | 61 | 167 |
| Cameron Heyward | 47 | 21.0 | 110 | 78 | 188 |
| Calais Campbell | 44 | 21.0 | 108 | 48 | 156 |
| Fletcher Cox | 47 | 20.5 | 87 | 40 | 127 |
| Brandon Graham | 48 | 20.5 | 101 | 34 | 135 |
| Bradley Chubb | 34 | 20.5 | 83 | 40 | 123 |
| Preston Smith | 48 | 20.0 | 95 | 56 | 151 |
| Robert Quinn | 45 | 20.0 | 65 | 27 | 92 |
| Denico Autry | 40 | 20.0 | 68 | 34 | 102 |
| Stephon Tuitt | 35 | 20.0 | 78 | 34 | 112 |
| Jamal Adams | 42 | 19.5 | 206 | 67 | 273 |
| Everson Griffen | 40 | 19.5 | 66 | 41 | 107 |
| Olivier Vernon | 35 | 19.5 | 67 | 25 | 92 |
| Jarran Reed | 42 | 19.0 | 64 | 51 | 115 |
| Harold Landry | 47 | 19.0 | 113 | 68 | 181 |
| Romeo Okwara | 45 | 19.0 | 74 | 37 | 111 |
| Dante Fowler | 45 | 18.5 | 75 | 36 | 111 |
| Trey Hendrickson | 33 | 18.0 | 40 | 12 | 52 |
| Grady Jarrett | 46 | 17.5 | 92 | 81 | 173 |
| Leonard Floyd | 48 | 17.5 | 92 | 50 | 142 |
| Emmanuel Ogbah | 40 | 17.5 | 72 | 42 | 114 |
| Haason Reddick | 48 | 17.5 | 139 | 80 | 219 |
| Matthew Ioannidis | 33 | 17.5 | 70 | 32 | 102 |
Some of these players, due primarily to age, will have limited markets, but they'll catch the eye of contenders looking for a one-year fix. And then a couple of the younger players, like Okwara and Reddick, will sign long-term deals. Barrett will make top dollar. The potential for one of these players to elevate a modest defense to fantasy relevance is high.
--Andy Richardson