Three weeks left & four divisions worth of players to preview before free agency opens: moving to the potential gold mines of the NFC North.
Chicago Bears
Stephen Paea
Not much here. How could one roster have so much talent on one side of the ball and so little on the other? Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett: they’re all top tier contributors in the NFL. Hard to believe that this was one of the best statistical defenses just a couple years ago. Paea is the only viable defensive contributor that will hit free agency. He contributed 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles last year. But the defensive line is the strength of the Eagles defense. I don’t know that Paea has a place here. The rest of Chicago’s impending free agents would be organizational filler & special teams contributors for Philly. Interestingly, there may be a way to grab some of that Chicago talent listed above. The bears have a lot of young talent to pay in the coming years, to save money they could part ways with guys like Cutler or Marshall. Either of those guys would upgrade this team.
Detroit Lions
Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, Corey Hilliard, Garrett Reynolds
It seems like every couple of years one franchise stands above (or lurks below) the rest of the NFL in terms of dirty play & off-the-field misconduct. Back in the day, if you had talent, you could play in Oakland. The Cowboys, Steelers, Bengals, Ravens: they all took a turn in the shadows of the NFL landscape. Is it possible the Lions are stepping up as the new iteration of NFL outlaw? I digress…Suh is going to get an insanely large amount of money to stomp on the opposition. He is, quite possibly, the worst culture fit for Kelly’s locker room on the free agent market. All the talent in the world: none of the class or sportsmanship. Don’t count on this guy playing for Chip any time soon. Nick Fairley has been a classic under-achiever since entering the NFL in 2011. In his four years, he has logged only 66 tackles & 13.5 sacks. Last season he played in only 8 games after spraining his MCL playing in London. On the plus side, he has an extensive list of off the field accomplishments: having been arrested several times for drug possession, reckless driving, driving under the influence, etc. Hilliard spent last season on IR with a Lisfranc injury. He is already in his sixth season and will be 30 by the time next year rolls around. The Eagles will want to get younger on the OL if anything. Reynolds is another 6 year NFL veteran but is just 27 years old. He can play four OL spots and would add depth to an aging Eagles line.
Green Bay Packers
Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin, John Kuhn, Bryan Bulaga, Don Barclay, Tramon Williams, Davon House
Without going back to look at previous posts, this has got to be one of the longest list of any team evaluated yet. Any one of the guys on this list will make the Eagles a better all-around team. Cobb is a no-brainer. He is as close to Jeremy Maclin as you can be but has more play-making ability in the open field and is two years younger. Either the Packers lock him up or franchise tag him. Boykin, on the other hand, is very much in play. Losing touches to guys like Cobb, Davante Adams, Quarless, etc. Boykin is exactly the kind of talented player that could benefit from a scheme like Kelly’s. In 2013, he did manage 49 catches for 681 yards. More than Riley Cooper did last year. John Kuhn. Ok, I admit, Chip Kelly likely wouldn’t spend the roster space on a FB. But if he had last year, the Eagles likely could have won games in San Francisco & Arizona…just sayin. Bulaga is probably feeling like a million bucks after finally finishing a season healthy. In 2012, he spent the last 2 months on IR with an injured hip. In 2013, it was a torn ACL that stole his season during preseason. Last year, he started 15 games and will now be looking to get paid. The only problem is he will want to start & the Eagles have two guys that fill those starting roles on the roster. Even still, if he could be had it would be a huge score for the Birds. Barclay, however, could absolutely be had and would instantly become the most talented backup the Eagles have. He started 14 games in 2013 but lost last year to an ACL tear. He plays four positions on the OL and made the Packers in 2012 as an undrafted free agent. Sounds like a Kelly guy. If it were my money—and if he isn’t resigned by Green Bay first—I’d sign him at 4:01 pm on March 10th. Williams has had a fine 8 year career in Green Bay. He is extremely durable having played all but one game in the last four seasons. He has experience. He has skill. He could, and probably will, go out as one of the best defensive backs in Packer history. If the Eagles could milk the last few years out of his career, he would be a fantastic complement to a young & talented rookie: much more so than Cary Williams. House is younger & hungrier. He came out today and said “I think my film shows I’m a starter.” Is he just doing his best Brandon Boykin impression? Likely not, he has played an incredible small amount in his NFL career and has definitely not had the kind of highlight-laden career Boykin has. He is bigger than Boykin at 6 feet tall and 195 lbs. Someone will take a shot on that alone…and we know how Kelly likes his measurables.
Minnesota Vikings
Christian Ponder
Ponder is one of the more intriguing QB names on the free agent market: a first round talent out of Florida State with a career 59.8% completion percentage. He has 38 career touchdowns against 36 interceptions. For lack of a better comparison, he is a cheaper & younger Mark Sanchez. So why not just resign Sanchez? Cost & opportunity: he will get paid to start somewhere because there are just too many terrible NFL signal-callers last year.
