The initial wave of NFL free agency is now complete, and while many of the league’s top available players are now off the board, there are still plenty of quality options still on the open market.
Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each offensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.
Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.
We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.
Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by offensive position for 2017:
Quarterback:
Jay CutlerChase DanielRyan Fitzpatrick- Colin Kaepernick
Josh McCown- Robert Griffin III
Case KeenumMatt McGloinMark Sanchez- Christian Ponder
Blaine GabbertRyan Nassib- Shaun Hill
Kellen MooreAustin Davis
Tony Romo is not a free agent…at least not yet. If the Cowboys do not find a suitable trade and release him, you’ll find him at the top of this list.
Laugh if you must, but Cutler is far and away the best quarterback available on the open market. While most of this year’s QB-needy teams are done with their free agent shopping, the Jets are still searching for their 2017 starter and no one would make more sense for them than Cutler. He’s not all that far removed from playing solid football and he’s a logical transitional option for the Jets until they can isolate a better, younger option for 2018. 
Kaepernick’s reps wisely told the press that he will be standing for the National Anthem this year. Still, Kaepernick is an outspoken guy who wants to use his platform to discuss hot button issues, so there’s no guarantee that the media circus around him will cease. Jets owner Woody Johnson loves seeing his team on the back pages of the New York tabloids, but even he has to have more sense than to entertain Kaepernick. McCown, who has been contact with the team, would be an okay choice if they can’t get something done with Cutler. Chase Daniel could be an option too, but there isn’t much game film on him.
Needless to say, the No. 3 ranked player on this list isn’t an option in New York.
Running back:
Adrian PetersonLeGarrette BlountJamaal Charles- Rashad Jennings
Tim Hightower- DeAngelo Williams
- Chris Johnson
Christine MichaelBenny Cunningham- Bobby Rainey
Brandon Bolden- Denard Robinson
- James Starks
Matt AsiataKenjon Barner
Honorable mention: DuJuan Harris, Antonio Andrews, Khiry Robinson
The Vikings have moved on and Peterson will not be back in Minnesota. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess. When Peterson’s option was declined by the Vikings earlier this month, there were tons of stories (likely sourced by Peterson’s camp) about interest from a litany of contenders. Since then, each team – through anonymous sources – has denied being in the mix for the veteran. It would be easy to doubt Peterson at this juncture, but he has come back from serious injuries multiple times in his career and he is only one year removed from his stellar 2015 campaign. He gets the top spot over the bruising Blount as well as Charles, who hasn’t been healthy in a long while.
Jennings was brought to New York with the idea that he would be the team’s workhorse. Unfortunately, two of his three seasons with the G-Men were marred by injury. Jennings is currently putting his agility to good use on Dancing With The Stars and it remains to be seen how committed he is to football. After that, we have a trio of vets (Hightower, Williams, CJ2K) who could still advance the ball in limited spurts.
In case you’re wondering – Mike Gillislee is not listed here because he is a restricted free agent.
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Fullback:
- Jerome Felton
- Zach Line
- Marcel Reece
Derrick Coleman
Line has interest from the Jets. Meanwhile, it’s not clear if the other three fullbacks listed here will be able to find work. Coleman avoided jail time on hit-and-run charges in October, but we haven’t heard much about him in recent months.
Wide Receiver:
Kamar AikenVictor CruzBrian Quick- Anquan Boldin
- Vincent Jackson
Andrew Hawkins- Stevie Johnson
Marquess WilsonAndre HolmesQuinton Patton- Greg Salas
- Cecil Shorts
Rod StreaterBrandon Tate- Jordan Norwood
Hon. mention: Aaron Dobson
The market has been slow to develop for Aiken but it sounds like things could pick up soon as he’s set to meet with the Colts and Seahawks. Aiken, 28 in May, had only 29 receptions last year, but he had 75 grabs for 944 yards in 2015.
Cruz was on the field for 15 regular season games last year and he could recapture some of his old form if a team uses him in the slot. Quick quietly had 44 catches for 564 yards and three touchdowns with the Rams last year, and he was playing in a less-than-stellar offense. Boldin, meanwhile, had 67 catches in 2016, but he averaged just 8.7 yards per reception.
Tight end:
- Jacob Tamme
Mychal Rivera- Tim Wright
- Larry Donnell
Gavin Escobar- Brandon Myers
- Brandon Bostick
- Chris Gragg
- Dominique Jones
It’s a thin group at tight end and everything drops off dramatically after Tamme and Rivera at the top. Donnell made some noise during his time with the Giants but it’s been a while since he’s done anything of note. Tamme and Rivera could be the only two players from this group to land a deal with any real guaranteed cash.
Offensive tackle:
- Ryan Clady
- Austin Pasztor
King DunlapSebastian Vollmer- Mike Adams
- Will Beatty
Byron Bell- Mike Harris
Breno GiacominiBradley Sowell
Things have thinned out at tackle but there are still some impact guys here including Clady, Dunlap, and the versatile Pasztor. Sebastian Vollmer, if healthy, would be an interesting pickup for a team in need of offensive line depth.
Interior linemen (guards/centers):
Jahri Evans- Nick Mangold (C)
Tim LelitoJohn Sullivan (C)Andrew TillerTim Barnes (C)Oday Aboushi
Evans can still go and he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 36 guard in the NFL last season. We have a few notable centers here as well in Mangold, Sullivan, and Barnes. Some teams are asking Mangold to switch to guard, but he is hoping to continue in the middle.
