The Top 101 Free Agents of 2026!

19:43Ollie Connolly:I think Vera Tucker is really, really, really solid. I think that you're not looking for the high-end explosive upside of someone like a Linderbaum, but he's certainly more solid than Linderbaum in pass protection. And so if you're just looking for a capable starting guard, there's probably, I mean, it goes pretty deep this season in the free agent camp where you're probably not going to have to go and overpay to go and get a serviceable guard this season. I think I would have Vera Tucker. That's probably the right order. I would say Vera Tucker than Edwards.

20:09Gregg Rosenthal:By the way, to pick up on something you said a minute ago, the condescending Ali, is the best. I mean, that's what I want. Like condescending, condescending Ali, number one, number two is just like on no, on no sleep whatsoever and flaming the rest of the NFL. Let's do a segment here. So let's give some fits to some of the top players. Some of them we've mentioned already, but you can get into some players we haven't mentioned that, that we will get into on the list. And yes, it is time for charging into free agency presented by Apple card for all your game day purchases. We can just go back and forth here.

20:45Gregg Rosenthal:You did have some fits for Pierce and Willis specifically near the top of the list.

20:51Ollie Connolly:Yeah, let's start with Willis. I love the fit of Malik Willis to the Steelers. Now, it's a little bit of a leap of faith in the offense and in Mike McCarthy, who I do still believe in my bones, is genuinely an excellent quarterback developer. And it's not just him, you know, coming up with a PowerPoint presentation about Joe Montana in his 40s and how he helped that guy out with his footwork. And if he's dialed in and locked into actually coaching day to day, I think that'd be really beneficial for Willis continuing his development. I just think that offensive line is so underutilized, so athletic, so explosive.

21:22Ollie Connolly:You could do so many creative things if you start to fuse in the quarterback run game with Malik Willis with the drop back deep passing game of Mike McCarthy. I think you can kind of picture in your mind those two worlds together. And I think that would be, it'd be excellent for the Steelers to just have some idea, some, some blueprint for the next two, three years will look like a quarterback that aren't rolling it back with Aaron Rogers.

21:43Gregg Rosenthal:I'd like to see it. They, they did spend last year. Are they going to continue to be that sort of team? It's a little bit of a sea change, but they have a new general manager, relatively new and Omar Khan. And, and maybe, maybe they'll surprise everyone. It really sounds like they're just going to bring Aaron Rogers back. They're quote unquote waiting and they're happy, but I would love for them to surprise us. We might ask Omar Khan about that. He is penciled in as a guest next week on NFL Daily. I'm sure he'll just tell us what's going to happen. I do like Malik Willis in Arizona. It's partly, Minnesota would be even better, but Arizona feels more realistic.

22:22Gregg Rosenthal:It's partly just for my own entertainment. It's just like, okay, I'm not really thrilled about the Mike LaFleur, Nate Hackett, Cardinals, and I want better for Malik Willis, but great left tackle. Maybe not great. Very good left tackle. Very good weapons to start with. I just think it could be fun. So I think that could make a team that doesn't seem that interesting to me right now. Interesting immediately. You have Alec Pierce to the Titans, which would absolutely devastate Colts fans. And yeah, it would be a fun mix. I had Wandale going to the Titans because Brian Dable, who I don't know how he felt about Wandale, but he's there.

22:59Gregg Rosenthal:and in the end, you got a lot of production with Brian Dable. I don't think they could get both, but why do you like Alec Pierce there with the Titans?

23:08Ollie Connolly:Just like adding a real field stretcher to Brian Dable who wants to get vertical down the field, give Cam Ward the kind of easy option. If you're going to go hunt the big play, we've got the best field stretcher we could possibly find in the market. Then we can maybe play some rhythm football after that. I just think it'll be a nice fit.

23:24Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. I also like your Nick cross to the Bills. We're going to start getting a little deeper and I'm going to read off these names. But when we're doing the segments, we can we can kind of reveal them. Nick Cross, I think, is in the in the 40s for me as an underrated Colts safety. You have him going to the Bills. I also have the Bills with what would be a fun signing. But all right, you go with Cross first.

23:48Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I mean, the Bills have been open, I think, in their press conferences that the goal of the defense is to be more multiple and not in the kind of generic sense, but truly be able to shapeshift before the snap. take it as late as possible into the snap how can we move around how can we rotate how can we adjust the front you've got to find one of these hybrid players who is comfortable playing on the line of scrimmage at linebacker when needed at safety and i just think nick cross is one of the most criminally underrated players of being able to change what you can do um in terms of switching the front around changing the structure of the defense they're going to move a ton pre-snap i don't think he's going to cost an awful lot of money and if they're trying to maybe cheap it out defensively if just the way jim leonard is signaling it and he's got a safety background and he wants to bring a bunch of pressure from the safeties while having this kind of mobile moving from.

24:32Ollie Connolly:Their defense doesn't fit that right now. But one of the kind of linchpin pieces you need is that hybrid safety. And it can kind of correct some of the issues you may have by having to invest heavily in the defensive line. So I just think it'll be a home run pickup for them.

24:43Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, I know the safeties are going to go cheap and it's going to annoy me when I see some linemen that I've ranked below the safeties getting quadruple the money. But that's just how I like to do my rankings, just thinking about the plus starters because you get those deals. Cam Curl went two years,$9 million two years ago. I mean, that contract aged amazingly and he played really well. I have him just ahead of Nick Cross, I believe. We'll get to that. And he maybe could double that and go two for$18 million, but safeties are cheap, but they're still important to have plus safety. So you had Boye Mafi to the Niners.

25:23Gregg Rosenthal:You had, yeah, the Niners making a big move there. I have Rashid Shahid to the Niners. I think that would be fun. Like, they sneaky have a monster wide receiver need now. There's no Brian Denayuk on the roster. There's no Juwan Jennings on the roster. It's really just Ricky Pearsall who's not always healthy, and that's about it. So what do you think of Shahid? Because I could see him on the Bills too. Like, would he be a guy that that's where they try to address the receiver position, at least in free agency as a field stretcher for Josh Allen?

25:58Ollie Connolly:That would almost feel like Brandon Bean kowtowing to public pressure. Like, let's go get the guy. Oh, it's going to happen. It's just who's it going to be? Yes.

26:05Gregg Rosenthal:Who's it going to be?

26:06Ollie Connolly:Yes. It's weird when Shahid, I thought he was a more developed, more nuanced player in New Orleans. And I was kind of driving that line like, hey, he's more than you think. He's not just a field stretcher. Then he got to Seattle and people may have been correct. I may have been wrong, but maybe that really is the core element of his game. And particularly if you're the Niners and the Bills too, frankly, I just think they need a little bit more reliability. Someone who can just go and get it off the break along the sideline, tough contested catches. I just think more of a chain mover with a bit of a vertical presence, which is what makes Alec Pierce so different is that he is that kind of speedster down the field, but has become way more adaptable attacking the middle of the field too, and being more possession based in his game.

26:46Ollie Connolly:with Shahid, it would feel like adding the fireworks in, but how are we actually going to like systematically drive the ball down the field would be fun with Shana and, but I just think they need a little bit more reliability.

26:57Gregg Rosenthal:They need a lot. And I think we're both hitting on something that I think they're going to be aggressive. So whether it's a pass rusher and a receipt, like I think they will get a pass rusher and a receiver. Obviously we're talking about guys at the top of the market. Mafia would be a fun fit there. Some guys lower in the market. I thought a Dan Quinn-Trayvon Diggs reunion in Washington would be fun. I have Trayvon Diggs maybe a little too high. I did move him down throughout the week. I always just think if a guy, and I know he was a little lucky in the interception year, but the year after he kind of backed it up with just better coverage overall, you could see lightning strike twice with some of these cornerbacks.

27:34Gregg Rosenthal:And you're buying low is why I kind of like him with Dan Quinn. It'll just be a cheap one-year contract. I could see Joey Bosa, his old defensive line coaches with the Rams. I could see the Rams having just kind of some mercenary types for one year. And to me, he would make a little sense there. You have Mike Evans with the Chiefs, which is a lot of fun. What do you think about what the Chiefs are going to do this offseason? And why do you like Mike Evans? Who's part of another category that we're going to do in a little later, which is like guys that I just would want to sign. Because ex-receivers, they still matter.

28:04Gregg Rosenthal:and I don't think you're going to have to totally break the bank for Mike Evans and I think when he played last year he still looked like Mike Evans.

28:12Ollie Connolly:He looked really good. I love Mike Evans. I want for Mike Evans if he's going to end his career. Can he end it with one of the great ones? And so if it's Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, almost the money is obviously very relevant to Mike Evans but for me it's not that relevant. I just want him to win this career catching passes from one of the great ones and I love the idea of the Chiefs having an adult in the room at receiver would be I think important and that idea of reliability of we have a precise special quarterback who can just throw it to a spot in the field on third and eight when we're we're in the mud and mike will just go grab it and it'll come down with everything and we can build in with all the fun creative playmakers all the the shot plays down the field but when we just got to get it on third and six for the game we can just throw the ball to mike and he'll come down with it a better version of what

28:58Gregg Rosenthal:deandre hopkins was like with the chiefs which i had to just google quickly i was like that really happened, right? He played in the Super Bowl. I was there. A little bit of a bummer that that didn't work out, but I think the Mike Evans shout out would be a lot more fun. All right. That was charging into free agency presented by Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card in the wallet app today. Start earning daily cash back on all your game day purchases from tickets to tailgate munchies to merch subject to credit approval. So we've gotten through the top 20. We got a long way to go. Let's take a break.

29:29Gregg Rosenthal:We're going to come back and start firing through the rest of this list.

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29:49Gregg Rosenthal:Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks.

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30:12Gregg Rosenthal:Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. Explore what's possible.

30:27Ollie Connolly:Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremfireRadio.com.

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33:34Gregg Rosenthal:Back on NFL Daily, wondering if we did miss an opportunity to do that one player per minute. We're doing it next year, Ollie. Signing us up and putting it down. I like that idea. But we're going to rattle through these and we're going to talk about Quiddy Pay, the number 30 player in the top 101 free agents. Been all up and down the board. Do I really want Quiddy Pay on my team? Probably not. I think he's going to get paid. Maybe he should be a little lower, like for the money, but he's still a young, potentially difference-making pass rusher from the Colts. Alante Taylor, a favorite of mine at 31, slot cornerback, but can play outside, but probably best in the slot.

34:16Gregg Rosenthal:Isaac Sayamalu, the guard from the Steelers. Tariq Woolen, who's moved down during the week, number 34. N 'Kobe Dean at 35, the linebacker for the Eagles. Connor McGovern, the center for the Bills, has been sneaking up the list. His teammate last year, Joey Bosa, who I talked about, is next. Then Caleb on chase on, who had a breakout year for the Patriots. And Caden Ellis, the linebacker for the Falcons, wrapping up the top 40 is Khalil Mack. So I kind of have him and Bosa grouped. maybe too highly. Man, this is where the, I said that after the top 10, but this is really where the list, like it's tough.

34:57Gregg Rosenthal:You could make the argument like one year mercenaries like Bosa and Mack should be much lower compared to younger guys. So you're going to have a longer timeline like pay, but I think they're probably better players than Quiddy Pay right now. Maybe a Conor McGovern, who's been, I think, pretty rock solid as a starting center should be a little higher. Tariq Willen and N 'Kobi Dean are both boom or bust type of players. What stands out to you? I want to actually start with Sayamalu, and then I'll ask you what stands out. Because am I overrating Sayamalu? I keep hearing he's going to get a lot of money.

35:31Gregg Rosenthal:Like, is it? Why? Like, should he?

35:34Ollie Connolly:Should he is a different question, I think. I think he will because of just how lacking in solid interior line play the league is across the board. I would not let him go if I was the Steelers.

35:46Gregg Rosenthal:Okay. that makes me feel better about the ranking. What about, what about, um, Tariq Woolen, who I think is on a list of years coming up. And so we might as well, you know, unveil that now guys, guys, you would be wary of you have Tariq Woolen and Joey Bosa on that list.

36:04Ollie Connolly:Joey Bosa first would just be the health track record. I thought the effort fluctuated massively down the stretch this season. And he just was not interested in an awful lot of plays and just took a bunch of plays off, which is not something you would traditionally associate with his game. And he just didn't finish the way he has done traditionally. And if you start removing and stripping back the elements that used to make him an impactful player who always took some plays off and would kind of just have eyes only for the pass rush, eyes only for the quarterback. And you kind of live with the downsides of his game.

36:34Ollie Connolly:If you start ripping away five, six snaps a game of the good stuff, I just start to wonder, like, what are we paying for it?

36:41Gregg Rosenthal:I think I'm maybe a prisoner of, you know, a couple of tweets I sent where, or midway through the year, I'm like, man, he was one of the best free agent signings. Cause there were a couple of games where it felt like Joey Bosa was kind of the difference, which it's hard to find in free agency. I think it was much better than the numbers, but the playoff performance was ghastly. And yeah, hearing what you said, like I said, you have a chance to influence. I think Joey Bosa is going to move down in these final, final rankings. So these are not official.

37:10Ollie Connolly:Joey Bosa missed a third of his tackle attempts last season and probably missed 50 % of tackles he should have been in position to make but had no interest in him. That's what I mean.

37:20Gregg Rosenthal:He gets there and you could see the old Joey Bosa sometimes to get off. So that was exciting. I think he really helped, but I think it's good to keep him in context. Freak Willen is a total boomer bust pick for this group. and the top of the cornerbacks, let's talk about like overall, like Jamel Dean's up there. Jalen Watson, I like a lot, but I don't know if I love. And then Woolen is kind of this X factor who seems like he should be like a big time free agent contract. But do you want him, let's say, over Josh Jobe, who the Seattle Seahawks, who had a Super Bowl winning coaching staff, basically chose to start over Tariq Woolen.

38:08Ollie Connolly:yeah and I follow more that Mike McDonald Jesse Minter ideology of corners I've just given me the dependable reliable guys most interceptions most turnovers are either breakups in the middle of the field or just a quarterback making a bad decision and you catch the ones they throw to you they throw you a bad ball you pick that one off you hope you can corral it in I think it's almost like a old school 2000s big free agent contract type mindset to think oh we'll go and find the playmaker at corner I think it's a really nice added benefit if one of your corners can go and high point the ball and make some ridiculous play outside of his assignment i'd rather just have the assignment sound cornerbacks and i think woolen just goes to sleep for far too many plays including in an nfc championship game where there's a super ball on the line and he's going to sleep consistently worrying about everything else that's happening not on the field so he would just be a cross-off for me and you would just have to live with the fact that he'll probably have a season where it's seven eight interceptions and that's the thing he becomes really famous and makes the Pro Bowl, but does it really impact winning on a down-to-down basis?

39:07Gregg Rosenthal:I mean, if you get seven to nine interceptions that year, he'll impact winning. But I hear what you're saying. These cornerbacks pop up. It's such a hard position to predict in general. All right. I asked you for some guys you'd want to sign, and one of them is in this tier. I like your idea that's related to McGovern.

39:27Ollie Connolly:I like the idea of pairing Conor McGovern and David Edwards together with the Raiders that I thought the Vikings tried this last season, right? With Will Fries and the center as well, Ryan Kelly, and it didn't go quite so well for them more because of health concerns, I think, than anything else. So Fries played better down the stretch of the season. But if you're going to be drafting Fernando Mendoza, which we expect them to do, I love the idea of bringing two veteran steady hands who've played together, who are teammates, who have the chemistry and kind of the wink-wink connection. And you look at what they've been asked to do, and Josh Allen is a freak and he sorts a lot of things out for you and he makes you look a lot better they had by far over the past two seasons the highest individual one-on-one blocking rate in the league the bills did they don't blow any assignments they don't allow any free runners they have a really low time to pressure which does not involve josh allen holding onto the ball and getting rid of the ball quickly so i i just think the idea of saying let's bring the two vets in we've got all this cap room the line has been a mess for years we keep chasing the high upside guys in the draft Let's go get two solid plus starters in the middle of the offensive line and Fernando can at least be stable from center to left guard.

40:36Gregg Rosenthal:I know the longer this has gone, the more I've thought I should move McGovern up. What do you think about him in the 30s here?

40:42Ollie Connolly:I like McGovern. I like McGovern a lot. I would bump him a decent amount up.

40:47Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. There just aren't many guys that are going to be able to start at that position right away that would normally be available in free agency. And so that I'm glad I gave this week to really think about it, because I think he he's going to keep moving up and up. All right, let's go to the next 10. And Brian Cook should have been somewhere in there. The problem is I got too many lists. I'm copying and pasting back and forth. The official list Brian Cook is that is the top safety on. And we haven't even mentioned him yet. He should have been in there somewhere. Number 40 is Kobe Bryant, who is the next safety I have on this list.

41:24Gregg Rosenthal:the Super Bowl winning safety for the Seahawks hitting free agency right in the middle of his prime number 41 Quay Walker first round pick of the Packers number 40 Chig Okonkwo the tight end of the Titans Cade Mays who a lot of people might not know started at center last year for the Panthers Nick Cross who we talked about Leo Chanel always a dynamic player but never playing more than like 500 snaps for the Chiefs is an interesting young player Braden Smith the right tackle for the Colts. He's an interesting case because I think his overall play as a pro would have him even higher, but there's issues with concussions and concerns about retirement.

42:06Gregg Rosenthal:So I sort of split the difference and put him around here. I don't even know for sure if he's playing football this year. Cam Curl is next, the safety for the Rams. Joseph Asai, a pass rusher for the Bengals. And then Juwan Jennings in the mix, the wide receiver for the 49ers. And I asked you to come up with some guys you want to sign. We just talked Edwards and McGovern. Another couple of them, Cade Mays and Brian Cook on your list.

42:34Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I'd rather have Cade Mays at$7 million a year than Linda Baum at$18 million a year. Mays is not getting Cade Mays at$7 million a year.

42:42Gregg Rosenthal:You don't think so? I don't think so. I think that's out of the barn. I think there's other teams that are going to be interested. and I think the Panthers are going to have to pay up. I think he's just going to get paid as a starter, which is like that starting double digits per year, I think.

42:57Ollie Connolly:Better pressure rate than Linderbaum last year. Fewer snaps, but better pressure rate. Fewer one-on-one pressures than Linderbaum last year. Fewer one-on-one sacks than Linderbaum last year. I just think he has better slicker feet than he's given credit for. For someone who was 6 '6", 325, he was a college tackle playing now at center in the NFL. And I think he's really switched on, particularly in the run game more than anything else but i think he's solid enough in pass pro in terms of the mental side of the game and it's just a big unit big lump that it's difficult to move off the spot in pass pro and he's another one where if you can get him to one of these more protective systems like the bears where it's a lot of double teams to help out the center you then feel very little of the downside of his game and just get all all the upside so i love that

43:42Gregg Rosenthal:And there were some guys that I'd like to sign out of this group or that we've mentioned so far. But Juwan Jennings, at the end of it, like Mike Evans, it depends on the price. I don't think the price is going to be that much. So I think it could be Robert Sala in Tennessee. We'll see, like the former Juwan Jennings guy. But that's a guy you're looking to execute your offense and block. And if he needs to pop up as a guy who I don't know about carries you, but has a bigger target share for a little while. He's a perfect value slash talent. You know what you're getting when you look back at these lists year after year.

44:23Gregg Rosenthal:Really, the best hits are the guys in the middle that you signed to two year,$14 million contracts. And they just come in and they can play good football for you. And I think Juwan Jennings, to me, is like a lesser version of Mike Evans. Not similar in terms of players, but just the type of wide receiver. I said I like Mike Evans I also I like Juwan Jennings I agree with you I think when you go

44:43Ollie Connolly:for those reliable guys who you know what you're getting and can plug into basically any system that's your best bet and you're not playing paying top of the market thinking you're bringing in a dynamic difference maker um I those sides are talking about whether it's the Chiefs or the Bills the true contenders who are hunting for like one extra piece in the receiver room maybe two including the draft that is the kind of guy I would focus in on when you know exactly what you get and can play in every single alignment, every single position for you, really reliable, very smooth down the field. And if you get him with someone like a Josh Allen, there may be even be more upside there than we've already seen.

45:16Gregg Rosenthal:So I mentioned Caden Ellis as a guy that I would like for the right amount of money. Isaiah Likely or K-Dotten, I'd be really excited to sign as well. And then I'm looking at my list of guys I'd want to sign. And one of them is Jermaine Illuminor. and I realized, Ollie, a perfectionist would stop the tape right here and we'd go back and we'd fix the fact that we completely skipped numbers 20 through 30 on the list. Because that's where Illuminor is for me. But we're going to just keep rolling. I'm going to read it for you. And this is what happens when you're just a mess this week. I had Jalen Watson, number 21 on the list, the cornerback from the Chiefs.

46:00Gregg Rosenthal:So quite high up there. That is where Isaiah likely is number 22. Zion Johnson, who I think made some strides as a run blocker at guard, I think will get paid in free agency. Wandale Robinson kept sneaking up my list throughout the course of the week, the slot receiver productive for the Giants. Jonathan Franklin Myers, probably the best option of a pretty weak defensive tackle group in free agency. Although there are a lot of guys who can just help you out for five to 600 snaps. He's probably the best of those. Brian Cook, who I mentioned just briefly, Rasheed Walker, the left tackle of the Packers, who who kind of is maybe the rich man's Braxton Jones, like a late round guy who just gave you like good enough left tackle production.

46:48Gregg Rosenthal:I'm a little worried about him because I think he's going to get paid big money. Jermaine Illuminor, who I mentioned more of a guy who's been around, but is playing his best football at right tackle right now is with the Giants last year. And then Romeo Dobbs is at 29. That big group I just gave you. What stands out to you the most? Players that you like? Players that are a little too high, too low? What do you think?

47:12Ollie Connolly:I think the two tackles together, Illuminor is so solid and has gone from being, I think, a little bit flaky with more high-end plays to really struggling reps. Now just being straight across the board, just really clean all the way around walker i think is similarly solid he's actually 14th among left tackles and pressure rate last season but has a higher athletic upside to be a bit of a factor for you in the run game whereas most of a luminor's game is just like keeping the pocket as clean as possible in pass protection so if you're maybe looking for a solid right tackle and you're more of a pass centric offense i think a luminor is the guy you want to go get and i think he's probably going to get significantly more money than is being projected.

47:51Gregg Rosenthal:I agree with that. Maybe I just undersold him. I don't think he's going to get as much as Walker, and I love to see it. I am absolutely biased. We all are, you know, like in different ways. And the fact that he is one of the pride and joy of our friend Henry Hodgson and the International Pathway Program, and I've been tracking Illuminor's career from the beginning, and there was a minute, Like he almost was struggling to stay in the league, which seemed crazy because he had a lot of good tape out there. So it's a it's a really big success story development wise for him to be at this point where he's really going to cash in.

48:29Gregg Rosenthal:So I'm really happy for him. Do you have any takes on Jalen Watson, a guy? I just didn't know where to rank him, a cornerback, maybe similar to Brian Cook, who he's been in that system for Kansas City. and I think is going to get a good deal in free agency. But I might be overrating what kind of deal he's going to get and maybe where I have him ranked here.

48:54Ollie Connolly:Yeah, he's one where I'd be worried about him being out of Kansas City. He's not someone I would go and pay good money to to extract him away that maybe would do. Someone like a Chica Conquo is somewhere. If I'm in a bidding war, I'd really want to just buy into the fact we could probably get more out of Chica Conquo. I'd be worried about not necessarily just the LeGarri Sneed side of things, but I think paying those kind of sticky man coverage guys that Spagnuolo gets in, all those guys play really well and technically sound. And so you bring them to another system where most of the league is so zone dense now, and he's just not as clean in that area of the game, that I'd be worried about paying him solid money.

49:28Gregg Rosenthal:Okay. Yeah, it's good perspective. And yeah, he might be moving down the list just a little bit, just a little bit. All right, let's get outside the top 50 here. Now we're really going deep, and we'll talk about just some big picture stuff. But Bradley Chubb is here. He just got cut by the Dolphins. Devin Bush, who was on some second-team All-Pro considerations, including, I believe, from Ollie, came off a monster season out of nowhere for the Browns. His teammate last year, Wyatt Teller, who I'm struggling with, has plenty of good tape out there but was benched at one point last year by the Browns.

50:04Gregg Rosenthal:He announced this week he's moving on from the Browns. one of the many players who have void years and is going to be costing money to the Browns. But he'll be available, and I think he'll be starting for someone this year. A.J. Epinesa, the edge for the Bills. Calais Campbell, who probably is still ranked too low every year. Travis Kelsey and Aaron Rodgers are next. I just liked having those three guys all in a row. That was kind of by accident. But I think it's where they deserve to be because Kelsey's a very unique case. Aaron Rodgers, I don't think, is going to be playing winning football at all.

50:37Gregg Rosenthal:but you absolutely get a bump positional value as a quarterback and he could get you by certainly in the right system. Justin Stranade, one of your favorites. And then Jaquan Brisker, Justin Stranade, kind of an edge. I mean, not an edge, a linebacker who can use just bum rushing the quarterback. I mean, talk about your beloved because he is on your list of guys you would want to sign Justin Stranade.

51:01Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I think only me and Mr. Stranade care about Justin to this degree he is the best technical blitzing linebacker in the nfl flat out simple particularly mugged up mug drop blitzing from depth everything people i think would think more of um ivan pace frankie louver more the smaller talked up type blitzers in terms of just technique never selling it always getting home justin stranard to me is is the best the nfl him and bobby wagner are

51:27Gregg Rosenthal:probably the two best and bobby wagner is coming up i might be underrating him too i i do send this this list and talk to some friends, you know, a few people in the league and a lot of the media friends and you weren't the only Stranod fan. So, so that, that helps me.

51:43Ollie Connolly:Me advanced every year. Payton is trying to find new linebackers events to work with. And he says, don't worry about it. We got Justin out here.

51:49Gregg Rosenthal:Okay. And I, I think that's, that's a strategy that could win. You had some guys that you were wary of and I'll give you some of mine too. But Devin Bush was on that list. So was Bradley Chubb. So we just hit two of those guys. Chubb, I think, speaks for itself. Just a guy who's had a lot of injuries, maybe a little inconsistent down to down, and the production maybe outweighs the impact. Devin Bush, where are you at with where he's at?

52:20Ollie Connolly:Yeah, it's a tricky one, because I thought he had an all-pro caliber season, as you mentioned, last year. Just paying for that one season in that system, playing behind that defensive line alongside Swessinger with the unbelievable protection behind him because Delpit was absolutely out of control last season for the Browns and covered up some of Bush's mistakes. I'd be really wary about bringing him into another situation based on all the stuff in Pittsburgh. He was a transformed player and it's just, I struggle to think that's going to carry over for a two-year, three-year contract. Yeah, I have precepts.

52:55Gregg Rosenthal:I try to do these rankings by. One of them is don't just rank off the last year. That's what I feel like is a mistake in the draft a little bit where people really ignore the junior years entirely. I think it's a mistake doing these lists. The entire body of work should be considered, and that makes me feel better about maybe bringing Bush even lower. He started quite high, but there are other good players at that position. This is where it's just you're picking favorites here because from 60 to 120, 130, there's not a huge, huge difference. All right, I'm going to go 60 to 70. DJ Reader, still an effective enough nose tackle for the Lions, but definitely on the back nine of his career.

53:41Gregg Rosenthal:Javante Williams was great for the Cowboys last year for a one-year pickup. You want a rugged running back, I think he's a good option. Ed Ingram coming off a career year, guard for the Texans. Cordell Flott, who, man, seeing him up here, he started around 120, 130. I started thinking more about it. Arnold Abichetti is another guy who's moved up my board throughout the week, last few weeks. Draymond Jones had a lot of production when he was traded to the Ravens. Sneaky Young, that partly did it. When I was comparing him and Hassan Redick, who we'll get to, I was like, wow, he is younger. Josh Jobe is here, who we talked about.

54:18Gregg Rosenthal:Kingsley Inikbari, who's a solid young player for the Packers, Asante Samuel Jr., who I might have too high, and Kenny Gainwell, the famous team MVP from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I had guys I would be wary of, and Ed Ingram was kind of on my list here, and yet I'm putting him in my 60s, but I just know he's going to get good money. We've talked so much offensive line, I can almost hear Eric saying, Do the sizzle position. So how about some of these sizzle positions out of these 10? Who stand out to you? We got Javante Williams there. We got Cordell Flott up in the mix. Do you think Ebiketti or Draymond Jones or Enigbari could get big money in terms of like the defensive linemen?

55:06Ollie Connolly:Ebiketti interests me. I think you have to be a really blitz-centric defense to cover up some of his concerns. He's not kind of the speed bend off the ball where if it's, you know, third and nine, the playoffs for the Super Bowl we want him truly in the rotation um but I think he can give you good solid all-out effort type stuff and if you look at what's at the top end of your list with Owe and those guys I don't think it's that stark a decline depending on your defensive system

55:31Gregg Rosenthal:to go all the way down there well then why weren't they playing no more that's the biggest issue I have is because they invested two first round picks and everyone's job was on the line right but that that means they think those two first round picks were better than him Is James Pierce better than him? No. You don't think so? Okay. Quicker off the ball. That worried me more than anything.

55:53Ollie Connolly:The way they were playing, they required first step quickness that Ebiketti does not have. If you just say we're going to put in with the Niners, with the Eagles, and it's going to be more four down and go rush, just run out to in through someone's chest for 35 snaps, everyone else will feast. He is willing to do that for you, and that's the kind of play those teams need.

56:10Gregg Rosenthal:I don't know how I landed on Cordell Island. I'm not even sure why I am. He was pretty good last year when I saw. Right? He's young. He's coming off his rookie contract and he's been like a slow progression. Cornerbacks are inconsistent and I just feel like he got better and better. Okay. I don't feel that bad about that. Asante's a weird one.

56:32Ollie Connolly:The Ingram one, I know you said we're doing too much offensive line play, but I do think that his development was legit. That it wasn't like flashy and just he wasn't making such obvious mistakes where guys just, you know, turnstiling him immediately off the snap, which is what most of his career was. I do think he was a lot more solid. And so I could buy into, based on the pre-draft record, what teams will have had about him pre-draft and kind of seeing it come together right before Frazier. I could see him getting some more money.

56:57Gregg Rosenthal:Oh, I think he'll do well. I was just a little worried, but I like hearing that. I think he's, I feel good about where he's at. By the way, I mentioned Jaquan Brisker before. He's a really unique situation. if you're just going off his tape and his age and his pedigree and the way he plays football. He'd be even higher on this list for me, but his history of concussions are just so worrisome that I kind of split the difference and put him in the middle. But he might be a cross-off for a lot of teams, and hopefully the Bears just treat him well, keep him there. I think he belongs there, and that would be great.

57:32Gregg Rosenthal:Asante Samuel Jr. being this high, I know he's not much of a run stop or anything, But he he came back out there last year and I thought he played pretty well. And if you're just going to give me like replacement level, like solid starting cornerback value, do you think I have him too high? And am I being too sentimental because I went back to check the first top one on one free agents list that Chris and I put together? I actually was doing this. I don't think it was one on one at pro football talk. I don't know if it was every single year. So that wasn't the first time I ever did it. It was the first time we did it at NFL.com, me and Chris Wesseling.

58:07Gregg Rosenthal:And on the first one we did together, which was 2014, we had Asante Samuel. I think it was number 68. He was at the end of his career. And I just like the fact that this has to be the first father-son pairing to make the list. I think I put him at the same number just for fun, which only I would know. But now our listeners know.

58:26Ollie Connolly:I like that you're trying to gas up the replacement level corner and the coverage stuff. you just can't play in the league in 2026 if you ask out of anything in the perimeter game run game screen game and you can be fine running and turning down the field and you know do all the the swipes and hand swipes when there's an incompletion around you he's not interested in the fight and that's the player i would cross off the board this is tough you know the the list

58:55Gregg Rosenthal:it can change quickly guys can go from 60 to often because there's so many guys i i really love and we will get to that this is going to be a long show sorry eric and chris we're going to make a meal out of the top 101 i don't want to rush it but there's so many guys out of the 101 and it's like you know i get some feedback oh they should be higher they should be higher they should be higher from people people don't ever want to say they should be way lower for some reason they should be higher well it's like yeah but you got to start just taking complete people completely off the list if you're going to be moving all those guys you like but maybe asante

59:28Ollie Connolly:is one of those guys certainly i am happy to hack your list apart for you if you would like kata kohu i don't believe makes your list he should probably know he's on the list he's on the list he made on the list okay he should certainly be above samuel he he actually started

59:42Gregg Rosenthal:in the 70s now he's down to 91 right now but he's on the list but i could move him up i know he is one of your favorite i had a list and and i mentioned ingram was on it but i want to go through it and we're going to take one more break of the guys to be wary of. We gave yours. The rest are guys we mentioned towards the top. I want to, you know, I want to swing big here. Kyle Pitts, I'm a little wary of for the money that he's going to get as just like a big receiver and you just saw him at his best. And are you going to keep getting that? I'm a little wary of Daniel Jones, which is funny because I think overall I have been higher on him from day one and I've been consistent than average that I thought in the right situation, I think he can be like a replacement plus level, like the 16th best quarterback in the league, which can be, that's valuable.

1:00:32Gregg Rosenthal:And he was in an even better situation last year. Coming off an Achilles, all the injuries that he has, I am worried about him. Sayamala, we talked about. Quidipe, we talked about. Quay Walker is another guy. You're a linebacker guy. I'd put on my be wary of, because he just feels like the profile of a guy who's going to get huge money when there's other guys available at the position yeah i agree with

1:00:53Ollie Connolly:you that the thing people are hoping for from him is oh if you get him to a completely different system where he's unlocked as this attack-based player and it's a ton of blitzing look at the athleticism he's just never really showing up on the field snap snap he's never been the best linebacker in his own tandem so i i just think it's chasing the player that was really exciting coming out of college rather than evaluating the pro film and going based on that if you're looking for impactful blitzing player you can go and get yourself a Justin Strenard a Devin Bush someone that will be I think far cheaper than teams that will default back to we wish we drafted him in

1:01:26Gregg Rosenthal:the second round and he wasn't available to us this has been a very useful exercise with me for me I'm going all the way to the end let's take one more break and then let's hit the end of the list before we leave

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1:05:45Gregg Rosenthal:All right, we are back on NFL Daily. We're up to number 70 on the list. Ollie Connelly is with me. He said he's ready to go four hours. I don't know if that's a threat or a promise. We will see. Number 70, Monteric, a.k.a. Buster Brown. Love watching him this year. Had a career year in his contract year. Maybe he's too high, but I like me some Monteric Brown. Nashawn Wright, talk about a guy who timed just a year out of nowhere well. Really curious to see what his market is, but I'm a little afraid of giving him big money. Demario Davis, still playing well. We're into the aged guys who can give you one more good year.

1:06:29Gregg Rosenthal:Kevin Zeitler is probably still in that category. Guard for the Titans. I had no idea where to put Tyreek Hill. He would be a cross-off for me because of the off-field issues plus the injury stuff. There's a sliding scale for off-field issues in the league. And by off-field issues, we're not just talking even about driving fast. We're talking about domestic violence. We're talking about what he was suspended for back when he was the Chiefs. And you saw in some reporting and you heard about this stuff of being a quote-unquote distraction to put it nicely didn't really stop when he was on the dolphin so that plus the injury which is a dislocated knee you know and a broken leg is just a cross-off for me that said you know he's still Tyree kill someone's going to give him a shot at some point I don't know how early it'll be this year that was a long Tyree kill jag Logan Hall the defensive tackle for the Bucks Reed Blankenship safety for the Eagles.

1:07:29Gregg Rosenthal:Al-Kahid Muhammad coming off an extremely productive year for the Lions. At 30 years old, he's bounced around the league. David Onyemada, who's out there for Dennis Allen to go pick up, and it wouldn't surprise me if he does. And Marcus Mariota, who's putting up good film as he gets older as a backup quarterback. That is my 70 to 79. Who stands out to you the most out of that group?

1:07:55Ollie Connolly:I'm not a blank and ship guy. I think he is significantly a product of the system. And even within that system is just an all-time gambler. He just gambles a whole bunch. And when you're playing with the crop of players he's playing with, you don't always see the gambles exposed so much. I'd be really wary about him going into another system, unless it was specifically a kind of fan joke copy. Would Brandon Staley pick him up to kind of bring more experience to the Saints secondary? I would be cool with that. But as an across the board, putting a ranking together, I just wouldn't be on Blankenship.

1:08:27Gregg Rosenthal:I thought I was putting him quite low, but you're making me think. And I haven't checked all the other lists. I've seen a little bit of the PFF list. So maybe I'm not lower than Contensis. I kind of want to be lower than Contensis. So maybe I'll check that out. Logan, do you have any Logan Hall thoughts? Not many interior defensive linemen coming up at the end of their rookie contract. Almost none. He's the best one that shows any promise and a little bit of improvement. Yeah, he was an interesting one for me. He fits the profile of a guy who would get paid more than people expect. I'm just not sure if he will or not.

1:09:06Ollie Connolly:No, I just think he's so stiff and doesn't offer an awful lot for you on passing downs other than being big enough and physical enough to command a double team that gets someone else free. But you can just go and find that with like an undrafted free agent. I don't think it's necessary to invest good free agent dollars in that kind of player.

1:09:23Gregg Rosenthal:Okay. I mean, you said you're going to hack my list. We might just have to get on the phone after this, or we could just do it as a podcast. To Mario Davis, I moved up through the process. I just kept feeling bad. I was like, he's still helping. He's the best. I know it'll stop one time, but it's not stopping. I asked you for Boomer Bus players. We're going to hit yours after the next 10, because one of yours is in that next 10. But Nashawn Wright was in my group. practically every cornerback almost felt like a boomer bust. Maybe not Josh Jobe. I don't think he's boomer bust, but a lot of these cornerbacks are boomer bust.

1:09:56Gregg Rosenthal:Quincy Williams, who we haven't gotten to, feels like a boomer bust. If Robert Salas signs him in Tennessee, which I fully expect, he'll probably play really well. So he'll outplay the ranking. N 'Kobe Dean was the one I wanted to circle back to. I think he's a bit of a boomer bust because of the injuries. Where do you think N 'Kobe Dean is at in the linebacker sphere? I talked to some people, Bo Wolfe, I'll put his name on it, just like, you know, that cover the Eagles. He was surprised that I was as high on N 'Kobe Dean as I was. What do you think? I have him in the top 40.

1:10:32Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I think he got a lot of national attention from being from the Georgia defense, then those Eagles groups being so great. And he's such a psychopath and so explosive. You get really excited about the possibilities. I love the idea of him moving to a different system where it's not so read and react, where he's not on the first line of scrimmage as often as he's been forced to be with the Eagles and getting him to warn these complete blitz freakazoids out there. If he's with Brian Flores, I'm all kinds of excited about the turbo charge and getting off the ball so quickly and maybe being able to conceal some of the concerns with the dropping back and reading and reacting type stuff.

1:11:05Ollie Connolly:And we've got so many of those defenses in the league right now. I would like to see that, but it's not a league filled of all out full throttle pressure and attack. It's kind of showing it and backing out and it's a bit more complex and sophisticated and I think his game has developed enough to truly handle so I have him locked in as I think he's going to get a ton of money because you do yeah I think he's going to get way more than you think now it's a deep class and maybe I'm off with that but I do think he's got unteachable first step quicks and people adored him so much in the draft that being able to get a chance to get the hands on him there'll be three or four teams who push the price up well and he pops he pops on on

1:11:41Gregg Rosenthal:film when you watch him and he really did this year when it was going well there was like you If you pick his two best games this year, it's awesome. And so I think that's it.

1:11:51Ollie Connolly:And there are so many of these teams now who've got solid linebacker tandems, but they're just slow. And their good teams were slow. So even the good teams, the Patriots, I look at someone like the Panthers, who might say, we just need speed at the position. And he's the most explosive guy available. Let's go 80 to 89.

1:12:10Gregg Rosenthal:Hassan Redick, who me and you have already talked about offline, who still had some good performances last year. I know the production wasn't there. I think he could help a team. Rico Daudo, who I felt bad ranking this low. Sheldon Rankins, who has been on this list more than any player in top 101 history other than Jadeveon Clowney, who we're going to get to. But Sheldon Rankins is always here, and he always fulfills the value that they wanted just about. Debo Samuel is here. Felt bad about ranking him this low. This is where I landed with Trevon Diggs. Braxton Jones, if I'm looking for guys to get out of the top 101, it wouldn't hurt me to get Braxton Jones out.

1:12:51Gregg Rosenthal:Maybe I'll do that even though he's at 86. Rashad White, the backup running back for the Bucs, who I think is a good player. Greg Newsome, a boomer bust cornerback. Kobe Durant, who started a lot of games for a team that's won a lot of games and is young. And then Quincy Williams, who I mentioned. I thought one of your boomer busts was in this crew. I was wrong. So let's stay with this crew for a second. Braxton Jones, I keep asking about offensive linemen because that's where I feel like I need the most help. Maybe a replacement level guy, but ultimately wasn't the guy that the Bears wanted, but started a lot of games for him.

1:13:27Gregg Rosenthal:What do you think about him even making it onto this list?

1:13:30Ollie Connolly:I think making it onto the list is fine. We're getting into the crop, as you said, of like old hired hands, one-year deals. Maybe there's more potential there with him where could he develop into a solid, capable starter? he's just so maddeningly inconsistent um and he's probably going to be on those pickups where beat writers and fans start saying well they've solved this position so we don't have to worry about it for the draft and then in week four you're just you know flaming him online about how how is this the guy that we brought into the team i don't think devo is gonna have a great market i

1:13:59Gregg Rosenthal:said that on our around the nfc program and i got some pushback on that i was surprised i thought

1:14:05Ollie Connolly:you played really well to open last season could you buy more of a pitch count i think if you get into the charges with mike mcdaniel i'd be all sorts of intrigued and could you just design six specific touches a game bit of a decoy on some other stuff and kind of navigate through the season and get them healthier down the stretch of the year again i'm always influenced by the last

1:14:25Gregg Rosenthal:thing i heard and i i do love me some devo it just feels like it's two games at a time three games at a time then it's three bad games at and it's just been like that for years that that's hard but you're right in the in the right system uh he could be interesting let's go 90 on oh we're we're really doing it here i mean we're at the end of this list uh dallas goddard is number 90 hater kohu your your slot receiver from the dolphins who missed all of last year with an injury but was great the year before bobby wagner the disrespect getting getting down here malcolm Koontz, Christian Kirk could potentially take him off the list, but it is Christian Kirk.

1:15:07Gregg Rosenthal:Jalen Thompson, the safety from the Cardinals, who's had a pretty good year. I mean, a good career. Darren Waller, who moved great last year when he returned. Kevin Byard, who I feel really bad about putting this low. I feel bad about all these guys. Cam Jordan, Alex Anzalone, David Njoku. And then number one is Jadeveon Clowney. We have a lot more to talk about here, but let's talk about the 101 options. Ali are you familiar with how I do the 101 please inform me okay so players will be cut players will be franchise tag players will be added players will resign we have editors taking care of the list and I have to add players on when they become available the list is always changing so the 101 is always changing I need to make like 120 write-ups because more players are going to re-sign and get franchise tag then get cut and put on list but it's always changing but the 101 is an honor where that player is just you just affix him there and he somehow represents something that I that I like about the league that I just feel can carry the weight of being the 101 and so we had some different options this year Njoku interesting guy um had a big moment overseas you know like loving it up with the fans that was cool Cam Jordan I think he would take it as an insult.

1:16:30Gregg Rosenthal:He's a colleague. I think he's going to take this ranking as an insult if he finds out about it. Hopefully he won't. Jimmy Garoppolo was a pretty strong option. We haven't mentioned him yet. He's after that. I think he's been 101 before. Patrick Ricard, who I kind of forgot about because I just sorted by running backs, might need to be much higher on the list. We'll talk about him too. He would be a fun option. But I settled on Jadeveon Clowney because to me, he more than anyone has defined this list over the last decade. always on it sometimes near the very top he's been as high as i think number three number two uh in some years usually returns pretty pretty good on investment as long as he's healthy and just like the ultimate free agent you know he defines free agency he does define phrase he

1:17:14Ollie Connolly:rocks up week one don't worry about training camp i'll just turn up and get you seven sacks and a couple of pressures and we'll have fun i don't think he was on the list last year and i

1:17:24Gregg Rosenthal:thought he was finally done and like I did see on some other lists like he was top 50 or something and I was like okay that's too far but he was so productive that I think he deserves the respect of even being on the list to me he's the perfect 101 so I'm not going to be talked out of this one

1:17:39Ollie Connolly:and there's not that much edge juice you mentioned some of these young guys and the untapped potential I just don't see I think a lot of those guys are just flame outs who are taking too high in the draft and people are defaulting to pre-draft expectations at least with Clowney you know what you're getting. I think the same with Derek Barnett. You know what you're getting with Derek Barnett. The one guy who's not there who I think would be a good 101 is Charlie Kohler who fits with where the league is at. You're missing the point here. I know. You want more Mima-fights. I'll put him in at 99

1:18:05Gregg Rosenthal:or something if we wanted to make the case. I accept that. Clowney is the perfect fit. Thank you. Sorry for cutting you off on Kohler. I'm saying Kohler can't be a great player. He can't carry that weight. Charlie Kohler. He needs to be someone that people recognize. But he was one of your, was he one of your sleepers? There are a bunch of different lists out there. He was one of your guys that you would sign, would be Charlie Kohler. So you can talk about him a little bit, but you also had Kohu as one of your sleepers, Dennis Gardek as one of your sleepers, Jalen Naylor, Roger McCreary, and Derek Barnett Naylor, the receiver.

1:18:46Gregg Rosenthal:He was on the list initially for the Vikings. I think he might get a pretty good contract. mccreary who the rams traded for the cornerback derrick barnett the pass rusher so these are guys that didn't make the 101 right now that that you like as as sleepers yeah kohu for sure i think if

1:19:02Ollie Connolly:you're looking for a slot corner who can attack in the run game attack in the blitz game hang well enough in man coverage he he's one of the guys out there i mean their whole um blueprint for the team fell apart the dolphins when they lost kata kohu in training camp he is so he was so essential to the whole structure of the defense. They started having to trade and pick up late for agents, trying to figure out a new structure. With where the league is at right now, a bunch of two tight ends, a bunch of heavy personnel. Slot corner has to be so invested in the pressure game, in the run game. And Koho, to me, is right up there.

1:19:34Ollie Connolly:Probably the top 12, 14 of slot corners defending and attacking to the flat.

1:19:40Gregg Rosenthal:It would really be interesting to see his market, but those guys just haven't gotten paid enough over the years. Even Kenny Moore when he was available. I mean, he did well, but it's all relative. And coming off an injury, yeah, that would be a great bargain pick. I do want to go through the end of this list because some of these guys could be susceptible to getting kicked off the list if we're moving guys up. Between, you know, let's say Braxton Jones, Greg Newsome, Kobe Durant. Then we get into the final guys on the list. Bobby Wagner, Christian Kirk, Jalen Thompson, Kevin Byard. cam jordan alex anzalone and joker i mean these are good players darren waller give me a couple that you would boot off the list i'm i'm putting you on the spot okay well jalen thompson i would

1:20:28Ollie Connolly:move up probably 14 or so spots i think he's going to be in high demand um i would take and this this hurts me to my soul i would take bobby wagner out wow just off the list entirely i think he is transformed his game in ways I truly admire and appreciate, but he is just so frozen these days that it's just almost not worth having him on the field at this point.

1:20:53Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, there were a lot of tough moments of the ball flying over his head and just, yeah. But here's the thing with him. I can take the easy way out mentally into the listeners that he might be retiring. And like, I didn't even put Harrison Smith or Joel Batonio down because I assume they are retiring until proven otherwise and i think you could kind of say that about bobby wagner he just won you know walter payton man of the year so then i don't feel as as bad about it um you got to give me more though because you have all these guys you want on the list you want you want kohler moving up you know you probably do you want pat ricard moving up he was a painful little

1:21:32Ollie Connolly:mission it's a painful admission he's not the play he was two seasons ago um so i would rather have Charlie Kohler than I would Pat Ricard. Right.

1:21:44Gregg Rosenthal:But you also got your sleepers, Gardek, Naylor. These are guys who are in my top one thirty. Certainly Derek Barnett is in there to quietly been pretty good for the Texans the last last few years. All right. No one no one seems to stand out to you as like they have to get get off. No one offends you.

1:22:00Ollie Connolly:I think not offensive, but I think Anzalone is is pretty grossly.

1:22:05Gregg Rosenthal:That's how I felt, too. So actually, I feel good about He has moved down and down. He started much higher, and I think it's more of a, to quote the great Chris Wesley, name over game situation when we're making this list. He's just a name that I know. He's played a lot for a good team. But yeah, he maybe doesn't make sense on this list. Greg Newsome is a guy I would be wary of, but I think he might get paid a lot. I was torn of, he was a cornerback that the Jaguars traded for during the season from the Browns. If I had made this list a year ago of prospective free agents, like he's probably in the top 40 because I just think of him as a young, rising, really talented cornerback.

1:22:49Gregg Rosenthal:So I think he could get a pretty big contract. I could be wrong. And yet, it wouldn't kill me to take him out of the top 101.

1:22:58Ollie Connolly:No, he terrifies me as a signing. He's just so up and down, but he will put together like three straight weeks. so a board line or pro level where you might kick yourself if one he's not on this that's enough that's enough you got to make the 101 yep i think he is to me the only true fit outside of cleveland where he was before where it would make sense is the jets the volume of man coverage the system they run that would be one i'd be willing to to say we could maybe bring him in plug him in for two seasons otherwise i think someone's going to have real bias remorse where they pay him he's such a poor scheme fit that he's not even on the team in a season so i asked you for some boomer

1:23:33Gregg Rosenthal:bust players. You put Malcolm Kuntz, who wasn't great last year, coming off an injury, but now he's a year further removed. Could be interesting. You put Hassan Redick, which the fact that you think he could be a boom is all I need to hear in terms of where he is. I tend to agree. Rashid Shahid, we talked about. Chico Konko is a guy that we agreed for that category and a guy I would be intrigued to sign absolutely like what do you think his his market will will be i think it's

1:24:04Ollie Connolly:gonna be really high with these teams moving to as much too tight end as possible i think he'd be an excellent fit for the patriots uh for josh mcdaniels he's just the reason why it's been more bust to me is i have such a feel just like deep in my football bones that there's way more in there but you might get to like week three and just look around the rest of the staff and go actually we were really wrong about the untapped potential and we thought the titan staff were bozos those actually they were onto something and you would just know it in your gut really early well

1:24:32Gregg Rosenthal:he i know there's some different strengths and weaknesses but he's just playing out the that's what i always thought about johnny smith why i thought that signing by the patriots uh was fantastic and then it turned out i don't i think what you see was was what you got and actually they're kind of similar in terms of they looked really good as rookies and just stayed that way so that that's an interesting guy to think about you put christian wilkins down which i'm glad you mentioned a guy who had a hundred million dollar contract from the Raiders then got cut there was that whole story about like that he made people uncomfortable in the locker room the injury was devastating but he is out there uh and he's just a reminder I did write him down with a big question mark like in my 120s but I just don't know what his deal is but he was a guy who earned a 100 million dollar contract in the NFL so I'm glad we mentioned him on the show yeah and played at a

1:25:26Ollie Connolly:level that probably could have even got a little bit more than that the year he got the contract it's just is he okay mentally how is the foot health um if he's dialed in and there's a you know sound medical check you're going to get him on cheapest contract imaginable if he wants to play um and so i think if you're one of the contenders looking for sub rush help if you just imagine him going to the texans and it's like week seven it's like the texans brought christian wilkins in i feel like it would terrify everyone the texans got their their hands on him and so if I was a team who was like rebuilding looking for some juice up front I would certainly

1:25:59Gregg Rosenthal:be making the call early to find out what's going on Texans is a great fit for him to rebuild his value because you could get him on one of those Sheldon Rankins or Tim Settle Derek Barnett deals or it's like one for five or whatever and sell him on the idea of rehabbing his value play for a good team he's someone I'm going to be looking for all right the last thing we'll talk about is just the painful omissions these are also kind of sleepers for me um a sleeper would be buster brown who i mentioned earlier but the painful omissions jack jones is not on my list um pat ricard is not on the list jimmy garoppolo is just outside the list he probably why are you upset about leaving jimmy

1:26:40Ollie Connolly:garoppolo off why would you pay jimmy garoppolo money he's gonna have a market why don't you do

1:26:47Gregg Rosenthal:Don't you, to play, to be a good backup quarterback. I think back, I always say backup quarterbacks are so undervalued because it's so valuable to have a guy who could play three pretty good games. Don't you think that's Jimmy Garoppolo? No. You don't? No. I mean, you know who disagrees with you? Sean freaking McVay.

1:27:08Ollie Connolly:And I appreciate Sean's perspective. I like Tom Moore's perspective about Peyton Manning. If Peyton goes down, we're reffed. Don't worry about the backup. I believe in that side of things. I would rather just go into the draft and throw a dart, throw a Ty Simpson or Garrett Nussmeier, one of the day two guys, then I would be interested in bringing Jimmy Garoppolo in.

1:27:27Gregg Rosenthal:I was like wanting to love his preseason with the Rams. And then it was like, I guess they were always afraid to play him. So then you never really saw it. Or even his practice. I'm thinking of like when I saw them do the move the ball field for an entire day. And I was like, okay, they love Jimmy Garoppolo. But I yeah, it's a big difference watching him and Matthew Stafford in the same practice. So it's maybe unfair. Kairos Tonga. I felt bad about leaving off the list. Snoop Huntley put up some good film last year. I felt bad about leaving off the list. Najee Harris was, you know, pretty highly ranked on this list a year ago.

1:28:02Gregg Rosenthal:Bradley Pinion is a good punter. Justice for punters. Maybe he should be on the list. I think he led the NFL and in punts inside the 20 this year, if you care about it. Like he's a good directional punter, but, but you know, I don't know if he deserves to make the list of, are there any guys I didn't leave on? Maybe the group I just said that, that you really love that you would put on or anyone else? I guess you gave your sleepers of guys that we haven't mentioned.

1:28:25Ollie Connolly:Yeah. I mentioned God deck who I think should be on there. And then Jalen Naylor, not making the top one-on-one. I find a little bit peculiar. I think he's got, we mentioned about the Juwan Jennings signing of, can you find someone who's more in that reliable category? I don't think Neil is quite at the Jennings level, but can I see him having a super productive season for a very good offense? I absolutely could. Having a quarterback who is willing and capable and allowed to throw to the middle of the field would really help Jalen Naylor in a new spot.

1:28:52Gregg Rosenthal:Good dig there. I think it's because I have these relationships in my mind, you know, parasocial relationships with these guys who I've watched for so long and I've ranked them sometimes on this list. And it's like, you know, can I really leave old Dallas Goddard off the list? No, I, you know, I haven't hit Kevin Byard or Cam Jordan. And it's like, I got to get all these guys on. And then I don't feel as bad about Jalen Naylor, who I don't really know as well, you know.

1:29:18Ollie Connolly:But even like you've got Tyreek on the list, who is in the Tyson zone. You mentioned all the off the field problems anyway, but is in the sense of you're going to bring him into the locker room and not know what's going to happen day to day, whether he'll be there on Monday, whether you got to cut him on Friday. That is not a concern with Jalen Naylor, who I think can be a really productive player.

1:29:36Gregg Rosenthal:you've done it. You're right. And Tyreek Hill specifically, I didn't even put on the list initially. And then I was just like, I'll just throw him in at the seventies. But I don't feel that. I don't feel that in my soul. And I did some digging on him this week and nothing came back in, in the type of way where it's like, Oh, it's not good. You know, like, I don't know if he's playing football anytime soon anyways like this like we don't know just injury alone we know that NFL teams are craven and if Andy Reid has a chance to give Tyreek Hill another shot for three million dollars I mean he's definitely doing that whatever it is but he might not he just might not even be able to play all right I'm gonna look for some guys to take off but you're right Jalen Naylor fits the profile would you rather have Jalen Naylor or Christian Kirk Jalen Naylor yeah I think so too Kirk, it was that one game, but it was pretty schemed up for the Texans.

1:30:35Gregg Rosenthal:And before that, he was struggling to produce, to get on the field. We've done it. And this will maybe be the last Top 101 episode that we ever do that isn't every single player one minute per. Thank you, Ali Connelly. You can catch Ali at the Read Optional podcast. He's also, you're writing a lot these days, right? So what can they find there in terms of the podcast and what you're writing?

1:31:01Ollie Connolly:We are in full draft season, full scouting reports, as deep as you could ever imagine. It's almost like uncomfortable how deep we go on the prospects, the scheme fit, the strengths, the weaknesses, the grades, all of it.

1:31:14Gregg Rosenthal:So it's my dream to get you on a podcast with Jeremiah and see what happens, you know? Just like throw some red meat out on players that I know you guys disagree and see what happens. But we're going to be tapping into your draft expertise, if we can, in the next couple of months. And of course, we're thinking draft over the next week. We are going to the combine. That's the next show you're going to hear is me from Indianapolis with Ian Rappaport on Monday. Unless he backs out last second, and then this will be a document that he did that. But it'll be me and Ian. The top 101, the written version, comes out Monday morning.

1:31:54Gregg Rosenthal:Thank you, Ollie. Thanks to everyone for listening.

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