Free agency comes next week, and it will get chaotic. Teams and agents have been talking numbers and potential contract structures for weeks now, and eventually deals start rolling through one after the other.
Executives don’t view this year’s free agency class as strong compared to other years, but a large number of players will get paid, and teams are prepared to spend, especially after the salary cap increased by $16.6 million (from $208.2 million to $224.8 million). The cap is expected to take another significant jump next offseason.
While players like Jessie Bates, Orlando Brown Jr., Tremaine Edmunds and Javon Hargrave are set to headline the free agency market, several other names should also cash in. Here’s a look at 10 free agents who could get paid more than you might expect:
Top 150 Free Agent Rankings | Free Agency Tracker
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 6
The Eagles acquired C.J. Gardner-Johnson before the start of the season for a pair of Day 3 picks, and he played a massive role in the secondary. He finished the year tied for the league lead with six interceptions, despite missing five games.
His production, age (25) and versatility will make him a hot commodity on the open market, and Philadelphia could be bracing to lose him.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 10
Jimmy Garoppolo’s health is a primary concern, as he’s missed 32 games to injury since 2016. The one year he didn’t miss any games was the 2019 season when the San Francisco 49ers made the Super Bowl. Garoppolo has a quick release, is loved by his teammates and has proven he can be a viable starter.
An advantage Garoppolo has in free agency is his connections around the league, thanks to the Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick coaching trees. There’s Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, Robert Saleh with the Jets, DeMeco Ryans and Bobby Slowik with the Texans and Ran Carthon with the Titans.
Familiarity goes a long way in the NFL. It will not be a surprise if Garoppolo gets a deal somewhere in between what Geno Smith ($35 million per season) and Derek Carr ($40 million per season) got.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 20
The wide receiver market is not strong, and the position’s draft class is not as stacked as in previous years. That will benefit Jakobi Meyers, who should get at least $13 million per year. The 26-year-old former undrafted free agent finished 2022 with 67 catches, 804 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games for the New England Patriots.
He caught 70 percent of his targets, ranking 10th among all receivers (minimum 90 targets). Simply put, Meyers could not have found a better time to be a free agent, especially after last year’s spike in pay at the position.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 21
Jamel Dean started 38 games in four years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including 15 this past season, his first as a full-time starter. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound Dean plays physically and matches up well with big-bodied receivers. He allowed a completion percentage of 51.9 percent during the past two seasons.
Dean, 26, will be a highly coveted player, and his market could end up taking him to at least $14 million per year.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 23
Dalton Schultz ranks fourth in receptions, seventh in yards and fifth in touchdowns among all tight ends during the past three seasons. He’s one of seven tight ends with 2,000 or more yards during that stretch. Travis Kelce, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert and Darren Waller are the others. Schultz also brings value as a run blocker, something he’s improved on throughout his career.
The Dallas Cowboys used the franchise tag on Schultz last season, but he’ll hit the open market this time. Expect his market to take him over $10 million per year.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 26
Isaac Seumalo is the least talked about offensive lineman on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ front, but he deserves his flowers. The 29-year-old can play all three interior positions and started all 20 games in 2022 after playing just 12 games the previous two years because of knee and foot injuries.
Expect him to land somewhere in the $8 million- to $11 million-per-year range.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 34
A second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, Jawaan Taylor is coming off the best season of his young career, specifically from a pass-protection standpoint.
Taylor, 25, has been durable, starting every game he’s played, including 100 percent of Jacksonville’s snaps in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and 98 percent of the snaps this past season.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 45
Zach Allen racked up 95 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 61 pressures and 12 pass breakups during the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He was in the same defensive line room with future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt during that span, and Allen gave Watt a ton of credit for helping take his game to the next level.
Teams are always looking to add pass rushers, and Allen’s best football is in front of him. He’ll turn 26 in August.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 49
A third-round pick in 2019, Bobby Okereke has been a full-time starter for two seasons and took a significant step forward this year with 151 tackles (99 solo), six tackles for loss, five passes defended and two forced fumbles.
He showed he could play more than one linebacker spot during his four years with the Indianapolis Colts. The off-ball linebacker market is reasonably deep this year, but Okereke should have a decent market.
The 33rd Team Free Agency Ranking: 86
A Denver Broncos‘ third-round pick in 2019, Dre’Mont Jones has 22 sacks in his first four seasons, and his 138 quarterback pressures are top 20 among all interior defensive linemen during that span.
There’s still room to improve, but contracts are all about projecting forward rather than rewarding past production. With Jones turning 26 in January, he should do well on the open market. Look for him to land a deal with an annual value of $14 million to $18 million.
Other names to keep an eye on:
In the first installment of our two-part Super Bowl MVP series, we took a deep dive into the history of the Super Bowl MVP. We did that so we can make more informed bets. Now, we’re going to analyze more than two dozen players with a path to winning this year’s Super Bowl MVP. The lines provided in this column come from BetMGM. If you’re considering a Super Bowl MVP wager, make sure you line shop at multiple sportsbooks for the best odds and promotions.
If you’re considering a bet on a quarterback, 31 quarterbacks (~55%) have won the Super Bowl MVP. The most common paths to a quarterback winning Super Bowl MVP are either high-end production or a late, game-winning drive.
Can a dual-threat quarterback with a loaded supporting cast like Jalen Hurts win Super Bowl MVP? He sure can. Should we bet on him to do so at +110 odds? Not only do you have to essentially pick the winning team with that bet, but as we just discussed, quarterbacks win this award 55% of the time. I’d rather bet the Eagles’ money line at -125, considering how many of his teammates have a realistic path to a spike game.
If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, there’s a high chance Patrick Mahomes is the driving force behind that outcome. That said, I’d rather bet the Chiefs’ money line at +110 than I would on betting Mahomes to be the game’s MVP at +125.
>> READ: Mahomes’ Legacy Nearing All-Time Great QBs
A running back hasn’t won the Super Bowl MVP since Terrell Davis in Super Bowl XXXII (32). That said, exceeding 100 total yards with two or more scores will put a running back right in the mix for this award.
Early in the week, Miles Sanders was available at 50:1 odds on FanDuel, which I viewed as an early misprice. Sanders has a realistic path to 100 yards rushing and multiple scores behind the Eagles’ top-five offensive line. I’m not head over heels at 30:1 odds, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to talk you out of that bet, either.
Isiah Pacheco has been the Chiefs’ primary ball carrier for months, but his usage has been scaled back during his past four games, which includes the playoffs. Pacheco has been a pleasant surprise this season, but he has yet to put up a monster box score. Considering how pass-centric the Chiefs’ offense is, a lot of things would have to bounce Pacheco’s way for him to win the Super Bowl MVP over Mahomes or Travis Kelce.
Jerick McKinnon went on a touchdown spree down the stretch, scoring nine times during his last six regular season games. Apart from the touchdowns, McKinnon has only breached 100 yards receiving once this season, and he’s only had double-digit carries in two games. McKinnon has only 30 total yards during this year’s playoffs.
If you’re considering a bet on a pass catcher, eight (~14%) wide receivers have won the Super Bowl MVP. No tight end has ever won this award. In most instances where a pass catcher has won this award, they accounted for a large portion of the team’s passing offense while the quarterback has more of an average or worse outing. Further, recent Super Bowls where a wide receiver wins the MVP have gone under their game total.
Kelce is the standalone primary pass catcher in Mahomes’ offense, which puts him in a strong position to win the Super Bowl MVP. A tight end has never won this award before, which might actually be an advantage for Kelce if he has a big game and the Chiefs win. That type of outcome offers an opportunity for history to be made, which could be a tiebreaker of sorts for voters.
A.J. Brown breached 100 yards receiving in five games this season while scoring multiple touchdowns in two of those matchups. Brown certainly has the spike game potential to win this award. However, my primary concern with betting on the Eagles’ offense in specific ways is they have four, bordering on five, players capable of massive production.
DeVonta Smith also breached 100 yards receiving in five games this season while scoring multiple touchdowns in one of those matchups. Four of those five 100-yard outputs came in the final six regular season games, including two with Gardner Minshew at the controls. Smith has considerable spike game potential, which is why I’d have his MVP odds closer to Brown’s. If I were an oddsmaker, I’d have Smith’s MVP odds in the 18:1 to 20:1 range.
I don’t see Dallas Goedert as an automatic cross-off, but he’d have to outproduce Hurts, Sanders, Brown and Smith to contend for this award. Considering Goedert only had one 100-yard game this season, he has a narrow path to winning Super Bowl MVP.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is coming off his best game of the season, which also happens to be just the second time he breached 100 yards receiving this year. The Eagles’ cornerbacks are among the best in the league, which reduces my already limited enthusiasm in Valdes-Scantling having another spike game.
JuJu Smith-Schuster breached 100 yards receiving twice this year, in back-to-back October games. Smith-Schuster is currently on the injury report and hasn’t breached 40 yards receiving in any of his last five games, which includes the playoffs.
I like Quez Watkins as a player, but he’s seeing limited opportunities, and he’s only exceeded 40 yards receiving in two games this year.
A number of Chiefs’ wide receivers are on the injury report, which could lead to another uptick in opportunities for Skyy Moore in the big game. Moore has only exceeded 50 yards receiving in one game this year. He’d need to have the outlier of all outlier performances to win Super Bowl MVP.
When Kadarius Toney is healthy, he’s a difference-making talent that would warrant serious consideration at 150:1 odds. Unfortunately, availability has been a major issue for Toney throughout his two-year career. Toney left the AFC Championship early with an ankle injury.
Defensive linemen have won the Super Bowl MVP three out of 56 times. If you’re considering a bet on one of those options, you’re looking for a decisive victory that’s primarily driven by the winning team’s pass rush. You’re then looking for one player to have multiple sacks and, ideally, at least one forced turnover.
Haason Reddick ended up being one of the more impactful signings of last year’s free-agent class. Reddick had 16 sacks, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries during the regular season. He had multiple sacks with at least one forced fumble or fumble recovery in three different games this year.
If Reddick has that kind of performance during an Eagles win in a low-scoring affair, he would have a real shot to win MVP. Not all major sportsbooks have released Super Bowl MVP odds yet. Reddick is on my short list of options I will bet on if I can get him at a better price.
If you’re going to bet on a Chiefs defender, Chris Jones has the best chance for a game-derailing performance by a considerable margin. Including the playoffs, Jones had five multi-sack games this season, and he’s one of the premier interior defenders in the league.
Brandon Graham has been a disruptive force for over a decade, but this season he had a career-best 11 sacks with three multi-sack games. If Graham has a big Super Bowl, he also has a compelling story, as he missed most of the 2021 season with an Achilles injury.
Frank Clark is a good player that would need an outlier performance against an elite offensive line to put himself in the Super Bowl MVP conversation.
George Karlaftis had an encouraging rookie year, and he was among my favorite players in last year’s draft class. Karlaftis had six sacks this season, but he’s still searching for his first multi-sack game.
Josh Sweat finished the year with 11 sacks and two multi-sack games. He had another three games with 1.5 sacks. Sweat is a pass rusher capable of spike games, which makes him an interesting super longshot option.
Fletcher Cox is at least a borderline Hall-of-Fame defensive tackle. If he has a big game, he’ll at least be in the conversation.
If you’re considering a bet on a linebacker, only three (~5%) have ever won the Super Bowl MVP. You’re going to need a performance with multiple splash plays (sacks or turnovers) without any offensive player on the winning team having a big game.
Nick Bolton is an interesting longshot candidate that finished with the second-most tackles in the league this season. In Week 11 against the Chargers, Bolton had 14 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. If this contest ends up being low scoring in nature, and Bolton has the kind of box score he had against the Chargers, he could bring home the MVP.
T.J. Edwards has emerged as a rock-solid linebacker for the Eagles during the last two seasons. That said, he didn’t have an interception this season, and he only has two in his four-year career. Betting on Edwards to have a massive spike game against Mahomes’ offense is pretty thin.
If you’re considering a bet on a secondary player, only three (~5%) cornerbacks or safeties have ever won the Super Bowl MVP. You’re going to need multiple turnovers, maybe a score, without any offensive player having a game-breaking performance.
Darius Slay plays the overwhelming majority of his snaps on the perimeter (~91%). The Chiefs don’t have a perimeter receiver that “needs” the ball for their offense to function, which means they could go out of their way to avoid Slay if they wanted. Slay is an exceptional player, but I’d be surprised if he saw enough opportunities to have a monster game.
James Bradberry also plays the overwhelming majority of his snaps on the perimeter (~90%). Bradberry is one of the better second corners in the league, but he’s more likely to be tested than Slay. Keep in mind Bradberry has just one multi-interception game in his seven-year career.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a versatile player who, in a best-case scenario, has a game with a forced fumble, an interception and close to 10 tackles in his range of outcomes.
Justin Reid is a good player, but he only has seven interceptions in his five-year career.
L’Jarius Sneed is currently on the injury report after playing only four snaps in the last week. Sneed has eight interceptions in his three-year career.
Trent McDuffie had a good rookie year, but he has yet to record an interception as a pro.
The biggest week in prop betting is upon us, and The 33rd Team’s Betting and Fantasy experts have you covered with the best Super Bowl player props.
