The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- A member of the Falcons’ talented skill-position corps is entering a contract year, and PFR’s Rory Parks looked at where Austin Hooper stands at a key point in his career. While the Falcons’ extension efforts are aimed at Julio Jones and Grady Jarrett at this juncture, Hooper figures to draw attention fairly soon. The former third-round pick is coming off a Pro Bowl season, but the tight end market has been somewhat stagnant.
- Just 64 of this year’s 254 draft choices remain unsigned, and PFR’s Zach Links examined why. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the unsigned players are first- or third-round picks — the latter largely due to the vague CBA language regarding Round 3 selections.
- The term “offset language” comes up each year around this time, with that being a haggling point in first-rounders’ negotiations. Zach delved deeper into this term and what it means for top rookies.
- Most of the top remaining free agents are defensive players, and teams have acted accordingly on that front this week. But some notable talents from the offensive side of the ball remain unsigned. On a list that includes Michael Crabtree and Jay Ajayi, PFR’s Dallas Robinson looked into who is left on the market and their best fits.
- Thirty 2020 draft picks have already changed hands, most notably in last summer’s Khalil Mack deal. Dallas charted what teams gained in next year’s draft. Notably, the Patriots hold four seventh-round selections next year.
- The defender market still includes big names like Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry and Muhammad Wilkerson. Dallas ranked the top defensive players still unsigned. Some key starter-level talents are available.
- Building on that, Rory asked the PFR community — in our latest Community Tailgate installment — who will end up with Suh. With the Rams likely to move on from the acclaimed defensive tackle, Suh will have a fourth employer soon. This will be the mammoth defender’s age-32 season.
I’ve always found the battle over offset language curious.
If a team releases a player before his rookie contract is up, what makes the player think a different team would give him more money than his original team would have had to pay him? If he got released it was because he underperformed.
The odds that a new team would pay him more are minuscule. Seems like a pointless battle.