NFL

NFL Free Agency 2022: Ranking the Top 221 Players · 1. Davante Adams, WR (Packers) — franchise tagged · 2. Terron Armstead, OT (Saints) · 3. Chandler Jones, edge ( ...

After washing out in Cleveland, Corbett found his way after being traded to the Rams and lived up to his draft slot (33rd in 2018) last season. Hughes is still going strong into his mid-30s (he turns 34 in August), and there’s an outsized demand for edge-rush help with defenses abandoning the blitz against elite quarterbacks. It’s fair to wonder how much of that was due to Matthew Stafford’s command of the offense, protections and the fact that defenses were loath to blitz Stafford (a leaguewide trend against elite quarterbacks), making life easier for his O-line. But in a league starved for competent line play, Corbett will surely get a multiyear deal this offseason. After a disappointing couple of seasons to wrap up his tenure in Cleveland, Ogunjobi moved to Cininnati on a one-year deal, and from the nose to three-technique, and recaptured his early-career form. His next team (or current one) will have to pay handsomely for the privilege now. There are limitations in coverage, though a team that asks him to blitz more often might have itself one of the NFL’s better three-down ’backers. —GG While he is, at times, susceptible against straight linear speed (who isn’t without adequate safety help?), Davis is physical and doesn’t get lost in bunch and trip formation plays that seem to pin down a lot of good cornerbacks in legal traffic. He’ll enter next year in his age-26 season, coming off his best year against the pass (an opposing quarterback completion percentage under 50%) and one of his best seasons as a tackler. Still, at a time when run-oriented offenses are poised to throttle the NFL, Clowney represents a set edge on one side of the ball, an incredibly valuable presence for any defense needing to increase stoutness. He’ll be 33 in May; perhaps he’s more interested in scaling back to a part-time role and his effectiveness was surely maximized when paired with Tom Brady (who’d better not come back because we’ve already given him all the sendoff he’s getting). But there’s no denying that the lighter, sleeker Gronk of the past two years was moving better as a receiver than he was in his late-Patriots days. Any team trying to poach him will have to decide whether the real Jessie Bates was the instinctive, rangy and physical ballhawk who showed up in 2020 and in last year’s postseason, or the inconsistent version (both in coverage and as a tackler) of the ’21 regular season. Without hyperbole, it’s safe to call him one of the best free agent values of the last decade as a member of the Packers last year.