Don’t you dare tell NFL decision-makers that free agency is over. A common cliché you hear from general managers around the league is how player acquisition — signings, trades, draft picks — is a 365-day window.
Although the first couple of waves of free agency are in the books, there are still a handful of players who are available and could help a team win next season. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings and edge rusher Joey Bosa are the only two players in the top 50 of The Athletic’s Top 150 free agents list that remain unsigned, but stretch that out to the entirety of the list, and there are still 30 players looking for work.
In a special edition of our regular trending column during the season, let’s bridge the gap between free agency from earlier this month to the NFL Draft next month. We’ll look at the five teams we’re most intrigued by going into the draft, as well as five teams on the other end of the spectrum.
But we begin with our Bonus Five, where we’ll go to that pool of remaining free agents and hypothesize about where some of them could fit best.
Bonus Five: Remaining free-agent fits
5. Bobby Wagner with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs recently said goodbye to a franchise lifer, as linebacker Lavonte David announced his retirement this week after playing his entire 15-year career in Tampa Bay. The Bucs signed Alex Anzalone in free agency, but they can still do more to bolster the middle of their defense. Tampa Bay drafted David in the second round in 2012 with the No. 58 pick. Eleven picks before that, the Seattle Seahawks selected Wagner, who has turned in a likely Hall of Fame career. He’s not the player he was in his prime, but he’s shown to still have some juice.
4. Tyreek Hill with the Kansas City Chiefs: Travis Kelce is running it back for another season, so why not get the old band back together and see if they can rekindle some old magic? It’s an environment that Hill is familiar with, so that should help with his rehab from last year’s gruesome injury, and it’s a relatively low-stakes move for the Chiefs. Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are already in place on the depth chart, and they could add another receiving talent in the draft. Kansas City has little to lose by bringing Hill back and plenty to gain.
3. Joey Bosa with the San Francisco 49ers: This isn’t just about the fact that Bosa’s brother, Nick, is one of the premier edge rushers in the NFL and locked in long term with the 49ers, although that doesn’t hurt. Bosa had a bit of a resurgence last year in Buffalo, playing in 15 games, his most since 2021. He also made an impact, tallying five sacks and leading the league with five forced fumbles.
2. Kirk Cousins with the Las Vegas Raiders: After the way things went in Atlanta, Cousins likely has some acceptance for his situation, which is that he is no longer a clear-cut NFL starter, as he was in Minnesota and what he probably expected to be when he signed with the Falcons. He’s a veteran guy who has seen a lot and can be a solid mentor to the expected No. 1 pick, Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders’ front office has also made it clear that they’re not sold on making Mendoza the Day 1 starter as a rookie. Cousins would give the franchise a good stopgap option, while the Raiders would give Cousins an opportunity to display to the rest of the league what he has left in the tank.
1. Jauan Jennings with the Buffalo Bills: Trading for D.J. Moore gives the Bills an upgrade at wide receiver. Considering what the situation was like before the trade, it’s not really saying much. Moore will certainly help Josh Allen, but the front office’s job is not complete. Jennings is another reliable target who has played well in his first five NFL seasons in San Francisco. Neither he nor Moore is expected to be a legit No. 1 type of receiver, but having two players at that level could help bring the best out of each of them.
Not ranked: Aaron Rodgers with the Pittsburgh Steelers: This is a little different from the rest because it’s a player returning to the same team he was on last season, but Rodgers’ future continues to hang in the balance. Completing the Brett Favre cycle went out the window when Kyler Murray signed in Minnesota, but giving another run with the Steelers could be entertaining for all. Rodgers has one year of chemistry with a lot of the skill-position players, and the Steelers added Michael Pittman Jr. to the roster and have a lot of draft capital. Rodgers and new head coach Mike McCarthy have shared mutual admiration, despite the stories of how their time together in Green Bay ended. Will it be good for any of the parties involved? Who knows, but it should be entertaining.
Who knows if it will work, but it makes sense for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers to reunite. (Michael Longo / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Road to Los Angeles
A pre-draft look at teams positioned to make a Super Bowl run next season.
5. Buffalo Bills: Adding Moore from the Chicago Bears was a fine start to addressing the need at wide receiver, but it can’t be where the front office gets comfortable. Whether it’s adding another player like Jennings or trading for a veteran or making a move in the draft, the Bills need to make some more upgrades. But Josh Allen in his prime will always give the team a chance to compete for a championship.
4. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs addressed a huge need by signing running back Kenneth Walker in free agency, fresh off his Super Bowl MVP performance. Adding Justin Fields as the backup quarterback as Patrick Mahomes works his way back from a late-season torn ACL was also a good move. Kansas City has nine picks in next month’s draft, including two first-rounders, headlined by the No. 9 pick and four selections in the top-100. They’ll need to hit on a few of those players on defense because they did thin out a bit in the secondary.
3. Denver Broncos: The Broncos boasted an elite defense in 2025, which helped carry them to the AFC Championship Game. Offensively, Bo Nix had his moments, but consistency was an issue week-to-week and even within a game. Adding wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is the kind of aggressive move you love to see Denver make as they try to stay on top of a competitive division.
2. Los Angeles Rams: A lot of people viewed last year’s NFC Championship as the true Super Bowl because the Rams were one of the best teams in the NFL. A lot of their hopes hinged on Matthew Stafford’s decision on his future, and he declared pretty early in the offseason that he’ll be back. Los Angeles filled a big need by trading for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
1. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers added legitimate talent on both sides of the ball this offseason, signing wide receiver Mike Evans in free agency and trading for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. Christian McCaffrey is the engine for the entire operation, and he’s getting older, so that’s a potential concern, as is losing defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. But given how decimated the 49ers were in 2025 with injuries, it can’t possibly get worse on that front … right?
Not ranked: Pittsburgh Steelers — The quarterback position is a big question mark, whether Aaron Rodgers chooses to return or not. Rodgers was serviceable last season but far from his MVP-caliber play in Green Bay. However, assuming Rodgers does return, adding Pittman and Rico Dowdle to the offense will help. The biggest thing is that the Steelers are far from finished. They have 12 picks in this year’s NFL Draft, the most of any team in the NFL. They can still add a lot more young talent or dip into the trade market — or both.
Bottom Five
A pre-draft look at teams that appear to be racing to the top of the 2027 draft board.
5. Las Vegas Raiders: It’s hard to judge this team when you don’t know who will be playing quarterback for them in 2026. It could be Mendoza, or it could be a veteran stopgap. It could also be a combination, with Mendoza taking over midseason. Regardless, the Raiders are still at least one more offseason away from being in any playoff contention, especially in a brutal division.
The Raiders are expected to take Fernando Mendoza at No. 1, but aren’t necessarily going to make him their Day 1 starter. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
4. Cleveland Browns: The Browns used free agency to really address the offensive line, which is great, aside from the fact that they still don’t have a player who can succeed throwing the ball behind that offensive line. Maybe it’s not fair to bail so early on Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders but last season was not terribly promising for either player.
3. New York Jets: The Jets made a lot of moves, albeit none of them really did much to change the fortunes of the team. For where the Jets are, free agency was never going to be the answer. They have two picks in the top-16 next month. They need to hit on their draft picks and make sure they thread the needle of giving experience to their young players while not putting them in a bad position that would ruin their confidence once the team is actually set up to win.
2. Arizona Cardinals: Unlike the Dolphins, it’s hard to see what the Cardinals’ plan is for the future, aside from just being bad. They don’t have any direction at quarterback, which isn’t the end of the world if the goal is to get your guy in the 2027 NFL Draft. They do have some talented players on offense, but it’s hard to see much winning on the horizon, especially playing in the toughest division in the league.
1. Miami Dolphins: You really have to respect the approach from the Dolphins, and there’s no sarcasm in saying that. The new front office and coaching staff understand the difficult spot the old regime put them in by having to deal with the Tua Tagovailoa situation, and the Dolphins are embracing the tank. It’s hard not to feel bad for quarterback Malik Willis when this is his first shot at the starting job in the NFL, but the teardown and looking ahead beyond 2026 is exactly what the Dolphins should be doing.
Not ranked: Indianapolis Colts — The Colts’ 8-2 start to last season may end up being one of the most costly things for the franchise in the long haul. It led them to buy in on Daniel Jones, to the extent that they traded away multiple first-round picks for a cornerback. Jones’ play was already fading before he fractured his fibula, and then eventually he tore his Achilles. Meanwhile, running back Jonathan Taylor, who was the true engine of the offense, fell off in effectiveness during the second half of the season and is entering his seventh NFL season, nearing the end of his prime running back years. Ironically, even after acquiring Sauce Gardner for a hefty price, the defense has problems at linebacker and in the secondary. Questions were already swirling about coach Shane Steichen’s job security, and another underwhelming season could spur a leadership change. It feels like the franchise is discombobulated at every level.
