All-Still-Available FA Team: Former All-Pros Everywhere

 This is probably one of the biggest dead spots in the NFL off-season. We are a few weeks from the draft and a few weeks past when FA really settled in. Still, there are some amazingly good players available in the FA pool for this time of year and so we are going to make a team of the best available FAs heading into the heart of draft season. (Again, for whatever reason, this team is much better than in years past, there are still a ton of good FA options)

Quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick, 39 years old (from WAS)

QB is one of the weaker positions here (as you would expect) but even still, we got a good leader to command our team of free agents! Fitzpatrick has had one of the weirdest careers in NFL history as he is still in the league at nearly age 40 and has been on so many different teams, never really catching on anywhere. The weirdest part is how he has seemed to get better with age. He should eventually get signed somewhere but teams are skeptical right now as he is 39 and coming off a major injury. Still, I'd bet you he still has some game left in him.

Running Back: Sony Michel, 27 yo (from LAR)

There were a few players we looked at here to make our All-FA team, but we ultimately gave Michel the nod. Melvin Gordon was a close second as he is still a productive RB under the age of 30, but from what we saw most recently, Michel was the best option. When injuries ravaged the LA backfield, Michel was the guy to step up, and boy did he ever. The former first round pick had four straight games of over 75 yards rushing late in the season including two games of over 120. When health returned to LA, Michel took a seat back on the bench, but he showed what he can do behind a good O-line as an RB1. He should get signed soon.

Wide Receiver 1: Odell Beckham Jr., 29 yo (from LAR)

The receiving core may be the strongpoint of this team. How is OBJ still available? I'm not 100% sure. You can peg a lot of that on the fact that he tore his ACL in the Super Bowl, but still, he was on his way to a monster night in that one and showed the world he is still an elite receiver in the right situation when playing with the Rams. He should be ready for the season too even with the injury. I'm not quite sure what the pause is for right now, maybe money or fit, but he will get signed, soon if I had to guess.

Wide Receiver 2: Will Fuller V, 27 yo (from MIA)

For Fuller it appears to be all about the fit, but at just 27 years old, he could have a wildly productive career ahead of him. I've talked about this before, but he should really sign with Cleveland. He and Deshaun Watson have a great connection and the last time we saw the two of them play together, it was to the tune of over 10 TDs and both looked like some of the best players at their respective positions. Fuller could succeed in a lot of places, just not somewhere like Miami again where the deep ball is not the QBs strong suit. 

Wide Receiver 3: Julio Jones, 33 yo (from TEN)

The former superstar receiver gets the final wideout spot on our roster. While it was close between Jones and a few other veterans, we know that he can still be a great receiver when healthy. That is the issue though, as the 33 year old receiver is injury prone. At this point, he will probably be signed on a cheap one year deal, so it no longer becomes a major deal if he misses time, but if he wants to continue to produce into his mid 30s, he will have to stay on the field, and find a good fit (like Green Bay or Indy).

Tight End: Rob Gronkowksi*, 32 to (from TB)

This is a weird one for our team, but I still had to do it. Gronk is coming off of another great season, but his football future is very up in the air. When Brady retired, it seemed like a sure thing that Gronk would do the same. Now that Brady is back, Gronk is seriously mulling his football future, and is yet to decide if he wants to come back or not. He would have been signed long ago if he was committed to playing. At age 32, Gronk could still play for years more as he still produces like a top tier TE. It's all about if he comes back or not. 
Honorable mention (due to Gronk's situation): Eric Ebron (from PIT)

Offensive Line:

OT Duane Brown, 36 yo (from SEA)
OG Ereck Flowers, 27 yo (from WAS)
C JC Tretter, 31 yo (from CLE)
OG Quinton Spain, 30 yo (from CIN)
OT Eric Fisher, 31 yo (from IND)

This All-FA team is going to have a stout offensive line. Another shock for this time in the off-season, the players available on the offensive line are still so good. Starting at LT, Duane Brown is one of the best to play the position in NFL history. He is up there in age at 36, but still one of the surest pass protectors in the game. He would be a great 1-year add anywhere. Ereck Flowers was a surprise cut earlier this off-season, and it's even more surprising how he has stayed an FA for this long. At just 27 he is one of the above average OGs in the game and has years ahead of him. At Center, the Browns shocked the world but cutting Tretter who is probably a top 5 player at the position in the league, so it's also quite shocking that he finds himself available still at this point too. The other guard spot is probably the weaklink of the FA OL, but Quinton Spain is still a serviceable guard who started in the Super Bowl this past season for the Bengals. Finally, our RT is Eric Fisher who also should be signed by now. He's only 31 which is young for tackles and is a great pass protector too. Injuries are really the only big red flag with him.

Edge Rusher 1: Jadeveon Clowney, 29 yo (from CLE)

Clowney has become a fixture on this All-FA team each year. For whatever he reason he always takes his sweet old time before making a decision every single year. This year is most surprising as he is actually coming off of a quite productive season in which he had over 9 sacks and looked great alongside All-Pro DE Myles Garrett. I'd expect him to eventually re-sign with Cleveland, but for now, he is our top rusher on our All-FA team.

Edge Rusher 2: Melvin Ingram, 32 yo (from KC)

It looked as if Melvin Ingram's career might have been over at the trade deadline of last season, then he was shipped from Pittsburgh to Kansas City for a late round pick, and he instantly popped. Ingram put up some sacks but more importantly was a constant pressure creator for Kansas City as they made another AFC Championship game run. Now he is back on the market as an FA but has shown he still has something left in the tank. For our team, having a Clowney/Ingram edge rushing duo would be pretty nice. This team is looking quite good so far.

Defensive Tackle 1: Akiem Hicks, 32 yo (from CHI)

Hicks still being a free agent is one of the bigger surprises of the market so far. He was easily within my top 30 FAs and still feels like one of the better defensive tackles in the league. Hicks is one of the rare elite rushers from the interior spot. He had 3.5 sacks last year which is pretty good for a DT. He also is a premier run stuffer as well. He just stops gaps and creates pressure, both at an elite level, and he would be a huge add to a contender at this point in FA. Hicks would be one of the best players on this whole roster.

Defensive Tackle 2: Darius Philon, 28 yo (from LV)

This might be the least well known name on our roster, but he is quietly another really good free agent who could be a big add to any team's interior DL. Philon was having the game of his life for the Raiders during that infamous Chargers game in week 18 as he was creating constant pressure on Derek Carr and stopping the run with ease. Sadly, he went down with an injury in the game and we didn't see him again. Now he finds himself back on the couch as an FA, but he showed us last season that he is good at both creating pressure and stuffing the run (similarly to Hicks) and is just 28 years old. I expect him to be signed by someone eventually and make an NFL roster this coming season, he clearly has all the potential in the world. 

Linebacker 1: Kyle Van Noy, 31 yo (from NE)

I was shocked to see the Pats cut Van Noy after another productive season for them, but they did, and now he finds himself still available as an FA in mid-April. Van Noy is a great do-it-all LB, he showed us that again last season with 66 total tackles, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1o pass deflections, and a pick. Those are near ALL-PRO NUMBERS. WHY IS HE NOT SIGNED YET? This one really confuses me and he should eventually go to a contender. For the time being, he really upgrades the defense of this roster.

Linebacker 2: Anthony Barr, 30 yo (from MIN)

LB continues to look like one of the strong points of this roster as along with the stud that is Van Noy, Anthony Barr is also in the second level of this defense. Barr is just a couple years removed from being considered one of the very best at the position. Now he's just 30 and is still coming off of a season that many could consider elite. Barr racked up 72 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 picks, and 5 pass deflections in just 11 games for Minnesota. That is elite production despite missing 6 games. I could see him eventually returning to Minnesota for the right price, but if not, another contender needs to swoop him up while they can. What a player this is.

Cornerback 1: Stephon Gilmore, 31 yo (from CAR)

Another blue chip talent that is still somehow available at this point in FA is the former DPOY Stephon Gilmore. There is definitely interest around the league for him (the Colts and Rams publicly) among others, but for now, Gilmore does still find himself on the market. While he is getting up there in age for a CB, he is still one of the best cover corners in the game and could be a CB1 for many teams in the league right now at one of the hardest positions to have continued success. Don't expect him to be on the market for much longer. For now, he gives our roster an elite CB1.

Cornerback 2: Joe Haden, 32 yo (from PIT)

This might be the weakest link of our roster so far. As expected, corner is a pretty depleted position on the market this long into FA, and so we have to go with a relatively bad pick here at CB2. Haden is not terrible, but he certainly isn't what he once was for the Browns and Steelers early in his career. Haden still is a good zone cover corner but has lost a step and is risky to play as a one on one corner in man. I think Haden probably still has at least one more year left in the tank, but our All-FA team might get burned a few times with him opposite of Gilmore.

Safety 1: Tyrann Mathieu, 29 yo (from KC)

Here is another one of the headliners/team captains of our roster. No one saw the Honey Badger being available this long into FA at all. Many thought he was about to cash in on a mega-deal somewhere, but we were very wrong as even the Chiefs went with Justin Reid over him on a deal that Mathieu says he would have accepted. At 29 years old, Tyrann still has a few good years left in him and he is a great player who doubles as a tremendous leader. After the draft I can see him signing a decent short term deal with a contender but somehow he remains one of our team captains at the current moment.

Safety 2: Terrell Edmunds, 25 yo (from PIT)

While the former first round pick hasn't been anything special in his early NFL career, he is still just 25 years old and again, is a former first round talent. His production this past year wasn't even bad, it was decent actually. He produced 89 tackles, 1 sack, 2 picks, and 6 pass deflections. That is pretty good production for a guy who is still somewhat raw. At 25, he has a lot of potential and a lot of football ahead of him if he finds the right situation. I think a desperate team will bring him in and he could have a career year in 2022 (pending the situation). He becomes our youngest player on the roster.

Special Teams:

K Michael Badgley, 26 yo (from IND)
P Ty Long, 29 yo (from LAC)