[PARAM]

After reading some comments about how much money the Rams gave Austin Blythe, I was curious about the other options. Here's two lists of free agents. One is older, experienced guys. The first is PFF actual list of the top 90 available. Of course these lists are those who are still available. If we missed out on someone better than Blythe (or Whitworth) who signed elsewhere (other than Castanzo), I don't know who that was.

Here's a list of the top 90 available as of 3/31

LINK

I included comments on some of the players because I thought, "this is what's available????"

1. QB CAM NEWTON
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Panthers are expected to release Newton.
2. QB JAMEIS WINSTON
3. EDGE JADEVEON CLOWNEY
4. CB LOGAN RYAN
5. DL MIKE DANIELS
6. CB PRINCE AMUKAMARA
7. LT JASON PETERS
8. EDGE EVERSON GRIFFEN
9. TE DELANIE WALKER
10. QB JOE FLACCO
11. EDGE CAMERON WAKE
12. S DAMARIOUS RANDALL
13. DL DAMON HARRISON
14. DL TIMMY JERNIGAN
15. CB BRANDON CARR
16. S TAVON WILSON
17. S ERIC REID
18. CB TRAMON WILLIAMS
It’s pretty crazy that 36-year-old Tramon Williams was the 11th highest-graded cornerback in coverage this past season and the eighth-most valuable cornerback in the NFL. He gave a handful of 40-yard plays that he wishes he had back, but in his 18 games played he allowed under 45 yards in coverage in 13 and allowed one catch or fewer in eight. He turns 37 this week which will scare a lot of teams away, but he’s worth pursuing to fill a short-term need.
19. CB JOHNATHAN JOSEPH
While he was far from elite and clearly lost a step, it was pretty remarkable to see Johnathan Joseph still force 11 pass breakups. All-in-all, Joseph allowed 627 yards in coverage on his 427 coverage snaps which led to him posting a 65.0 receiving grade – his second-lowest since 2009. Though in the year prior, Joseph was among the 10 highest graded cornerbacks in the league. He’s on a quest for a ring, and any team that has a chance at one in 2020-21 in need of outside help should consider Joseph on a one-year deal.
20. OT DEMAR DOTSON
Considering he came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Demar Dotson has had an incredibly successful career. He’s been consistently average to slightly above average starting at right tackle for the Buccaneers and has been among the 15 most valuable tackles in the league since his 2012 season when he was named the starter. The last two years though, Dotson’s age has started to show as he has posted two of his lowest-graded seasons since 2013. He’ll turn 35 next season, so he fits more of a short-term need for perhaps a contending team.
21. OT CORDY GLENN
In the first five seasons of his NFL career from 2012 to 2016, Cordy Glenn was one of the top tackles in the league. In fact, he was actually the 14th most valuable tackle in PFF WAR in that span. He posted 80.0-plus pass-block grades from 2013 to 2016 and was a solid run-blocker too. Though he’s experienced a handful of injuries the last few seasons and hasn’t been the same player. He posted a career-low overall grade of 67.4 in 2017, was traded to the Bengals and went on to post two of his worst seasons in the Queen City. At 30-years-old and with the injury baggage, Glenn is a bit of a risk.
22. LB NIGEL BRADHAM
23. S JAVIEN ELLIOTT
Elliott didn’t give up many explosive plays, but he did surrender a catch rate over 80% in his slot role and made only three plays on the ball.
24. S TONY JEFFERSON
25. S RESHAD JONES
26. RB DEVONTA FREEMAN
Devonta Freeman produced the worst PFF grade among running backs in 2019 while on the fifth-largest contract. Freeman was just 29th in WAR this past year while playing the 10th most snaps among running backs. In simplest terms, he got more opportunities to produce a higher amount and failed to match.
27. WR TAYLOR GABRIEL
28. CB DRE KIRKPATRICK
29. CB TRAMAINE BROCK
30. OL RON LEARY
Leary’s grade has dropped in each of the four past NFL seasons, falling from 78.3 in 2016 to 58.4 in 2019. The 30-year-old NFL veteran did, however, earn a 74.7 PFF pass-blocking grade alongside a 52.6 PFF run-blocking grade in 2019. He’s a quality depth piece that should come at depth-player pricing on the open market.
31. CB AQIB TALIB
32. EDGE MARKUS GOLDEN
Golden (29) played a career-high 916 defensive snaps with the Giants in 2019 and earned just a 60.3 PFF grade in the process. He totaled just 64 pressures across his 509 pass-rushing snaps and earned only a 63.0 PFF pass-rushing grade.
33. OL JOSH KLINE
In Kline’s lone season with Minnesota (2019), he earned a 65.1 overall grade that ranked outside the top-50 qualifying interior offensive linemen in the NFL. The 30-year-old veteran is a high-floor producer in pass protection, but he’s a stop-gap solution with little upside in the run game at best.
34. EDGE PERNELL MCPHEE
Pernell McPhee has had a brutal injury history, leading to a limited role over the last few years.
35. OL MIKE PERSON
Person (31) is an older interior offensive lineman that played over 1,000 offensive snaps for the 49ers in 2018 and 2019. Among the 98 guards with at least 400 offensive snaps played in 2019, Person ranked tied for 77th in overall grade (61.8) and 104th in PFF pass-blocking grade (60.3).
36. WR RASHARD HIGGINS
37. LB WESLEY WOODYARD
Woodyard played just 416 defensive snaps and earned one of the lowest single-season PFF grades (54.0) of his career in 2019.
38. EDGE JABAAL SHEARD
39. EDGE VINNY CURRY
Thirty-one-year-old Vinny Curry had a career year in 2019 as a pass-rusher, posting an 81.7 pass-rush grade ranking 12th at his position and pressure rate that tied for fourth with J.J. Watt at 16.9%.
40. S CLAYTON GEATHERS
41. EDGE EZEKIEL ANSAH
In his one season away from Detroit with Seattle in 2019, Ezekiel Ansah had the worst season of his career. He had never recorded an overall grade lower than 65.0 in his six seasons with the Lions and owned a 56.0 overall grade with the Seahawks, generating a career-low pressure rate under 9%.
42. EDGE CLAY MATTHEWS
The Rams signed Matthews to a two-year, $9.25 million deal last offseason to start opposite Dante Fowler Jr. at edge, and that is what he did. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the result was the worst season in Matthews' career. He earned just a 54.2 overall grade on the year, struggling in run defense and missing 12 tackles in 44 tackling opportunities. The pass-rushing numbers don't look bad at first glance — 40 pressures in 280 pass-rushing snaps — but he benefitted from attention placed on his teammates, namely Aaron Donald. 24 of those 40 pressures for Matthews were designated as cleanup or unblocked opportunities. All of that led to Matthews being expendable. The Rams will look to fill his snaps with someone else in 2020.
43. EDGE TERRELL SUGGS
44. RB CARLOS HYDE
Carlos Hyde had the best season as a ball-carrier yet in 2019, producing the 11th best rushing grade at his position at 77.2. Though the most important trait for a running back to carry relies in the receiving game and Hyde has been largely ineffective in that area all throughout his career.
45. OL JORDAN MILLS
46. LB DARRON LEE
47. CB DARYL WORLEY
48. CB NEVIN LAWSON
49. CB ROSS COCKRELL
50. TE DAVID MORGAN
51. QB BLAKE BORTLES
52. CB BASHAUD BREELAND
53. S ANTOINE BETHEA
54. WR TED GINN JR.
55. WR PAUL RICHARDSON JR.
56. OT KELVIN BEACHUM
57. S JAHLEEL ADDAE
58. CB VERNON HARGREAVES III
59. CB TRUMAINE JOHNSON
60. CB PJ WILLIAMS
61. WR JOSH GORDON
62. OG JOHN MILLER
63. DI MARCELL DAREUS
64. DI SHELDON DAY
65. LB MARK BARRON
66. OL JAMES HURST
67. DI MARGUS HUNT
68. S MORGAN BURNETT
69. WR JARON BROWN
70. WR CHESTER ROGERS
71. RB CHRIS THOMPSON
72. OT JASON SPRIGGS
73. RB LAMAR MILLER
74. RB LESEAN MCCOY
75. DI ANTHONY CHICKILLO
76. WR JOHNNY HOLTON
77. CB B.W. WEBB
78. TE LUKE STOCKER
79. S TEDRIC THOMPSON
80. LB ALEC OGLETREE
82. DI COREY LIUGET
82. EDGE KAREEM MARTIN
83. OL CAM ERVING
84. LB JAKE RYAN
85. CB MORRIS CLAIBORNE
86. EDGE KAMALEI CORREA
87. EDGE BENSON MAYOWA
88. DI ADAM GOTSIS
89. CB CYRUS JONES
90. S JOHNSON BADEMOSI

Could we have done better than Austin Blythe @ 3 mil or Andrew Whitworth @ 10 mil per? Possibly. Could we have done worse? Without a doubt.

LINK

The Graybeards are back.

For the sixth year, our front office (population: 1) has exhaustively combed through the NFL database of unattached free agents to build a starting roster comprised of players still available to all 32 teams.

The goal of the Graybeards is the same as it ever was: build a team that can reasonably compete in (affects Troy Aikman accent) OUR LEAGUE. The goal is in our motto: Just Win Sometimes, Baby. If we can field an 8-8 squad, our team headquarters will throw a rager of biblical proportions on New Year's Eve.

And you know what? I really think our 2020 squad can do it. Let's dig in.

Quarterback:

Cam Newton (31)
Jameis Winston (26)
Joe Flacco (35

Running back:

Devonta Freeman (28)
Carlos Hyde (29)
Lamar Miller (29)
Frank Gore (37)

Fullback:

Roosevelt Nix (29)

Wide Receiver:

Antonio Brown (32)
Taylor Gabriel (29)
Rashard Higgins (25)
Ted Ginn (35)
Josh Gordon (29)

Tight End:

Delanie Walker (36)
Luke Stocker (32)

Offensive line:

LT Jason Peters (38)
LG Ronald Leary (31)
C A.Q. Shipley (34)
RG Josh Kline (30)
RT Demar Dotson (34)


EDGE DEFENDER

Jadeveon Clowney (27)
Everson Griffen (32)
Cameron Wake (38)
Clay Matthews (34)


INTERIOR D-LINE
Mike Daniels (31)
Damon Harrison (31)
Timmy Jernigan (27)
Margus Hunt (33)


LINEBACKER

Nigel Bradham (30)
Alec Ogletree (28)
Darron Lee (25)


CORNERBACK

Prince Amukamara (31)
Brandon Carr (34)
Logan Ryan (29)
Tramon Williams (37)


SAFETY
Damarious Randall (28)
Tavon Wilson (30)
Eric Reid (28)
Eric Berry (31)


KICKER
Adam Vinatieri (47)

[Elvis]

[snackdaddy]

A guy like Clowney would sure be nice when you have a DL with Aaron Donald. But alas, we know it ain't possible. I like Clowney's talent, but he's not Von Miller/Kalil Mack level. Sometimes he disappears for stretches. I don't think I'd pay that much for him.

[Haden]

Clowney has never had a 10 sack season I believe. Grossly over-rated. Pass.

[PARAM]

I like Clowney's talent, but he's not Von Miller/Kalil Mack level. Sometimes he disappears for stretches. I don't think I'd pay that much for him.

It seems 32 NFL teams feel the same way as you Snack

Clowney has never had a 10 sack season I believe. Grossly over-rated. Pass.

Don't know if I agree with that or not, but he's played just one 16 game season in his career (6 years: 4 games, 13, 14, 16, 15, 13). Sacks? (0, 4.5, 6, 9.5, 9 and 3). There are other things like TFL (3, 8, 16, 21, 16, 7) and QB hits (0, 8, 17, 21, 21, 13), though some fans don't value that because "it's hard to interpret their impact", despite most experts believing there is a significant impact. And some that don't make the stat sheet like disrupting the blocking scheme allowing others to make a play.

Compare them to Donald (or Chandler Jones, Cam Jordan, Mack, etc) and they look pedestrian.
Donald (same 6 year career)
Sacks: 9, 11, 8, 11, 21.5, 12.5
TFL: 18, 22, 17, 15, 25, 20
QB Hits: 13, 37, 31, 27, 41, 24

Still, I have to wonder how Clowney might produce if he played next to AD?