Benchwarmers- The Best Of The Rest- A Look At Free Agency Heading Into Week 1
Over the years I usually take a look at the top free agents heading into week 1. Here is look at the top 3 free agents at each position as we head into the 2016 season.
QB’s
1. | Matt Leinart- 77 OVR, 74 AWR, 82 THP, 89 THA | 10 year pro, 34 years old, 6’4”, 224#
This may not be a popular pick but I think if it were me and I needed a QB, I would chose Leinart due to his 74 AWR.
2. | Christian Ponder- 80 OVR, 60 AWR, 91 THP, 91 THA | 5 year pro, 28 years old, 6’3”, 2183
I have been surprised over the last couple seasons that Ponder has found himself in the free agent pool. He had everything needed going back to his rookie season but he is a scrambler. I still think he could be a QB3 on teams who like having 3 QB’s and could perhaps elevated to a QB2 due to injury.
3. | Colin Kaepernick- 87 OVR, 75 AWR, 94 THP, 84 THA | 5 year pro, 28 years old, 6’5”, 220#
Kaepernick has had a couple chances to prove his worth with the Bufallo Bills, namely in 2013 and 2015 but the results have not been good where he has averaged a QB rating of 53. He is still better than having a punter come in and play QB so he is plenty good enough for a QB3 roster spot. I think he also like Ponder could be promoted to a QB2 due to injury.
RB’s
1. | Brandon Jackson- 82 OVR, 89 AWR, 91 SPD, 78 STR, 87 AGI, 89 ACC, 77 CAR, 75 BTK | 9 year pro, 31 years old, 5’11”, 216#
I totally expect Jackson to be signed by a team soon wheter it be due to injury or simply due to the fact that he is better than most RB2 and RB3’s.
2. | Glen Coffee- 84 OVR, 66 AWR, 91 SPD, 66 STR, 94 AGI, 93 ACC, 80 CAR, 82 BTK | 3 year pro, 29 years old, 6’2”, 197#
Coffee has always been an intriguing lower calibur RB, in my opinion. He has great height at 6’2” with good AGI (94) and ACC (93) and adequate SPD (91). I think he could make a team’s roster as a RB2 or RB3.
3. | Tevin Coleman- 79 OVR, 49 AWR, 91 SPD, 84 STR, 89 AGI, 73 ACC, 72 CAR, 82 BTK | 1 year pro, 23 years old, 6’1”, 210#
This will probably be another unpopular choice here and I understand that. There are many more balanced RB’s in free agency but Coleman’s 84 STR has me impressed. He has what I believe would be the wors ACC (73) of a RB ever but I just have to think, this guy could be a great RB3 and third down RB. He is 6’1”, 210# and 84 STR with decent SPD (01). I do not think there are many defensive lines who could stop this guy on 3rd and inches or 3rd and 1.
FB’s
1. | Mewelde Moore- 99 OVR, 90 AWR, 73 SPD, 72 STR, 74 ACC, 77 CAR, 79 BTK, 71 RBK, 46 PBK | 12 year pro, 34 years old, 5’10”, 209#
Moore has already received a good amount of potential SFL Hall of Fame talk due to how he has dominated the FB position (777 career pancakes vs just 4 sacks allowed) . I can see him on an SFL roster very soon, I know that I looked at my roster and considered signing him.
2. | Oren O’Neal- 89 OVR, 68 AWR, 73 SPD, 74 STR, 72 ACC, 57 CAR, 58 BTK, 85 RBK, 57 PBK | 9 years pro, 32 years old, 5’11”, 245#
O’Neal has enjoyed a very nice career between the San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. This converted TE will not get it done on the ground but his 85 RBK behind him he could still be a lead blocker for any SFL team.
3. | Kendall Brock- 80 OVR, 35 AWR, 82 SPD, 71 STR, 86 ACC, 70 CAR, 65 BTK, 54 RBK, 58 PBK | 1 year pro, 24 years old, 5’9”, 195#
I think this sophomore FB has interesting potential but there are multiple very obvious warning signs, specifically his AWR of 35 and size of just 5’9” and 195# but his athletic attributes including SPD (82), AGI (86) and ACC (86) are good for a FB.
TE’s
1. | Thomas Duarte- 74 OVR, 55 AWR, 79 SPD, 69 STR, 79 AGI, 86 ACC, 75 CTH, 52 RBK, 51 PBK | rookie, 22 years old, 6’2” 231#
I am choosing Duarte here due to him being a rookie. After rookie progression he will have 80 SPD, 70 STR, 80 AI and 87 ACC. I think these positives out weight the negatives with him which in my opinion is his size of 6’2” and 231#. He may not be a starter but I think he is good enough to hold down a TE roster spot.
2. | Adrien Robinson- 82 OVR, 56 AWR, 82 SPD, 66 STR, 76 AGI, 82 ACC, 78 CTH, 62 RBK, 58 PBK | 4 year pro, 26 years old, 6’4” 267#
Robinson is still young at 26 years of age plus he has adequate SPD (82), ACC (82), CTH (7
and JMP (85), which I like for a TE. These things added to his size of 6’4” & 267# make for a very serviceable TE for any team. Look, he’s also caught 65 passes for 885 and 9 TD’s over the last two years
.
3. | Anthony Fasano- 84 OVR, 85 AWR, 74 SPD, 64 STR, 76 AGI, 75 ACC, 78 CTH, 60 RBK, 58 PBK | 10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’4”, 258#
I went with the veteran here partly due to the great TE AWR of 85. Fasano will not do anything to hurt a team as a TE2. He does not have great athletics but the AWR is enough for me to put Fasano on this list.
WR’s
1. | Matt Jones- 82 OVR, 75 AWR, 83 SPD, 65 STR, 81 AGI, 85 ACC, 94 CTH | 11 year pro, 33 years old, 6’6”, 220#
I do not care that he is 33 years old or just 83 SPD. He is the former #2 overall pick for a reason. You can not teach height of 6’6” or 94 CTH. I am currently looking at my team and trying to find a way for Jones to be a Tampa Bay Buc by the end of the night.
2. | Mike Williams- 80 OVR, 56 AWR, 92 SPD, 64 STr, 93 AGI, 94 ACC, 83 CTH | 6 year pro,29 years old, 6’2”, 205#
We have had extremely strong WR classes (not this year though) so this is the only reason I can think of that would allow a 6’2” WR with 60+ STR, 92 STR, 93 AGI and 94 ACC being a free agent. Honestly, I think Williams could be a top 3 WR on certain teams. This guy is not going to hurt any SFL team’s depth chart. This guy should be signed early this season.
3. | Denarius Moore- 78 OVR, 57 AWR, 93 SPD, 61 STR, 90 AGI, 93 ACC, 80 CTH, 94 JMP | 5 year pro, 28 years old, 6’2”, 200#
Moore is another 6’2” WR with 90+ in all the areas you want it; SPD (93), AGI (90), ACC (93) plus a kicker 90+ in JMP (94). He is another guy who will not hurt but only help any SFL WR depth chart.
OT’s
1. | Jason Fox- 84 OVR, 69 AWR, 64 SPD, 89 STR, 70 AGI, 71 ACC, 90 RBK, 90 PBK | 6 year pro, 28 years old, 6’6”, 314#
Fox has the 70+ AGI and ACC plus 90 in RBK & PBK. He is a guy who could start as a plug and play guy at his LT position for any SFL team and that team would not be concerned.
2. | Marcel Jones- 76 OVR, 60 AWR, 63 SPD, 97 STR, 69 AGI, 70 ACC, 80 PBK, 84 RBK | 4 year pro, 28 years old, 6’7”, 320#
I like the size Jones brings to the game at 6’7” and 320#. He has amazing STR (97) to boot and is fairly athletic with 69 AGI and 70 ACC.
3. | Nat Dorsey- 86 OVR, 88 AWR, 55 SPD, 85 STR, 60 AGI, 65 ACC, 91 RBk, 89 PBK | 12 year pro, 33 years old, 6’7”, 322#
Yes, Dorsey is nearing the end of his SFL career but he still has great size at 6’7” & 322# plus h still has mid 50’s SPD (55) great AWR (8
and good blocking (91 PBK & 89 RBK). If a team needed a RT due to injury they could certainly do worse with someone other than Dorsey.
OG’s
1. | Lucas Patrick- 77 OVR, 56 AWR, 54 SPD, 99 STR, 54 AGI, 68 ACC, 82 PBK, 84 RBK | rookie, 23 years old, 6’3”, 313#
He may not be great, but I think Patrick is plenty good enough to where he should have been drafted in this year’s draft. While not an athletic freak, I like his maxed out STR (99) and decent rookie (especially for an undrafted guy) AWR of 56.
2. | Davin Joseph- 93 OVR, 96 AWR, 55 SPD, 92 STR, 60 AGI, 67 ACC, 94 PBK, 86 RBK | 10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’4”, 312#
I like the vetran Joseph to be signed at some point this season as an injury replacement or maybe even by a playoff team who might not be happy with a younger less experienced player heading into the post season.
3. | Jeremy Branch- 87 OVR, 62 AWR, 61 SPD, 94 STR, 65 AGI, 67 ACC, 92 PBK, 92 RBK | 7 year pro, 28 years old, 6’1”, 290#
Branch may not seem dominating but let this sink in; he is under 30 years old, has 60+ SPD (61), 90+ STR (94), 60+ AGI (65), 60+ ACC (67) plus 90+ blocking (92 PBK, 93 RBK). He is plenty good enough to be a depth OL or even a potential starter and not even a starter just due to injury.
C’s
1. |Jimmy Landes- 79 OVR, 51 AWR, 66 SPD, 99 STR, 70 AGI, 77 AGI, 82 PBK, 82 RBK | rookie, 23 years old, 6’1”, 245#
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know…. He’s 6’1” & 245# meaning he is a long snapper. I just have to wonder, would be work out at center though? The answer is probably not but could be be one of the best long snappers in the league? With this kind of SPD and ACC, I think Landes is a very interesting option. I though, am not willing to risk the roster spot on him to find out, lol. Or am I?
2. | Jacob McQuaide- 87 OVR, 67 AWR, 65 SPD, 99 STR, 73 AGI, 75 ACC, 86 PBK, 85 RBK | 5 year pro, 29 years old, 6’2”, 247#
I thought my eyes were deceiving me so I had to do a double take. Here is a nother long snapper who played and looks to have even started for the Washington Redskins last year. He did not do horribly plus the Redskins were starting a young QB. The obvious knock on McQuaide is that he is 29 years old so he would only be a 1 year guy as most GM’s will cut bait on a 30 year old OL with sub 70 AWR. He makes my list anyways.
3. | Kory Lichtensteiger- 85 OVR, 78 AWR, 57 SPD, 93 STR, 69 AGI, 67 ACC, 85 PBK, 85 RBK | 8 year pro, 31 years old, 6’2”, 298#
Finally, a standard, albeit smaller than average center. He has started for the Miami Dolphins in the past and done well so I am sure he still has a season of quality play left in him.
LE’s
1. | Adam Carriker- 82 OVR, 65 AWR, 79 SPD, 61 STR, 75 AGI, 77 ACC, 84 TAK | 9 year pro, 32 years old, 6’6”, 295#
Carriker is a former 1st round draft pick who has been feast for famine. He has had two seasons with at least 15 sacks but 3 seasons with only a single sack. While he does not have much STR (61), he still has good SPD (79).
Cunningham has decent SPD (82) and okay ACC (80) which allows him to top this list at LE.
2. | Jared Crick- 86 OVR, 60 AWR, 73 SPD, 86 STR, 72 AGI, 81 aCC, 80 TAK | 4 year pro, 27 years old, 6’6”, 285#
Crick has the body that seems to go better with a RE than LE but even with that he could bring support to most SFL DL’s.
3. | Jermaine Cunningham- 83 OVR, 59 AWR, 82 SPD, 78 STR, 73 AGI, 80 ACC, 73 TAK | 6 year pro, 29 years old, 6’3”, 252#
RE’s
1. | Michael Johnson- 89 OVR, 35 AWR, 78 SPD, 84 STR, 77 AGI, 79 ACC, 90 TAK | 7 year pro, 29 years old, 6’7”, 260#
Johnson is a freak size wise but the knock on him has always been his AWR (35). He still tops my list of available RE’s.
2. | Scott Crichton- 84 OVR, 61 AWR, 55 SPD, 87 STR, 85 AGI, 82 ACC, 81 TAK | 2 year pro, 25 years old, 6’3”, 260#
Crichton has it all for a RE with the exception of SPD (55). His SPD is slow even for a DT. If he even had 70 SPD, he would be a starting RE. Perhaps he can still be a productive RE with 55 SPD.
3. | Lawrence Sidbury- 91 OVR, 48 AWR, 81 SPD, 76 STR, 78 AGI, 80 ACC, 93 TAK | 7 year pro, 30 years old, 6’4”, 265#
Sidbury is a veteran who has been a long time starter and has produced pretty well. He has totaled 227 tackles, 51 tackles for loss and 38 sacks. He slips a bit due to progression but would make for a solid RE2 or even starting RE due to injury.
DT’s
1. | Red Bryant- 87 OVR, 75 AWR, 58 SPD, 95 STR, 65 AGI, 68 ACC, 84 TAK | 8 year pro, 31 years old, 6’4”, 318#
Bryant has all the tools to be a starting DT. He should be signed as the first DT once a team is in need after week 1.
2. |Haloti Ngata- 86 OVR, 76 AWR, 51 SPD, 89 STR, 63 AGI, 73 ACC, 88 TAK | 10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’4”, 336#
Well past his prime, I still think Ngata would make for a good NT for a team running a 3-4 defense.
3. | Albert Haynesworth- 81 OVR, 92 AWR, 53 SPD, 81 STR, 60 AGI, 65 ACC, 80 TAK | 14 year pro, 35 years old, 6’6” 320#
Like Ngata, but even more past his prime, Haynesworth decided not to retire in 2016. They only thing going for him is his 92 AWR but due to the fact of most DT’s lacking AWR, I think he is unique therefore worth a roster spot.
LOLB’s
1. | AJ Hawk- 88 OVR, 89 AWR, 77 SPD, 78 STR, 79 AGI, 81 ACC, 82 TAK | 10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’1”, 246#
Hawks still possess enough skill to be a good LOLB2 or spot starter especially due to his 89 AWR. He managed 60+ tackles and 14 tackles for loss/sacks last year for the Atlanta Falcons.
2. | Manny Lawson- 78 OVR, 76 AWR, 77 SPD, 61 STR, 75 AGI, 77 ACC, 87 TAK | 10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’6”, 245#
Lawson if for sure an aging veteran whose best years are long behind him, he is still 6’6” and 245#. With that kind of size, I have no doubt he can still be a quality LOLB2.
3. | Tahir Whitehead- 81 OVR, 58 AWR, 83 SPD, 78 STR, 85 AGI, 88 ACC, 85 TAK | 4 year pro, 27 years old, 6’1”, 233#
Whitehead could start for some teams in my opinion. While he doesn’t have good size at just 6’1” he is also lacking in AWR (5
. These things should not have stopped some team from signing him as a LOLB2 in my opinion.
ROLB’s
1. | Donald Butler- 85 OVR, 78 AWR, 83 SPD, 65 STR, 83 AGI, 84 ACC, 82 TAK | 6 year pro, 28 years old, 6’1”, 242#
Butler played pretty well for the St Louis Rams last season which included some spot starts. Since he is under regression age I expect that he would also produce well in a ROLB2 position in 2016 as well.
2. | Johnny Baldwin- 89 OVR, 88 AWR, 81 SPD, 72 STR, 81 AGI, 79 ACC, 86 TAK | 9 year pro, 31 years old, 6’1”, 230#
Baldwin despite hitting year 2 regression still boats an AWR of almost 90 (8
, 80+ SPD (81) and TAK of 86. This should make him a very good ROLB2 choice,
3. | Brandon Chillar- 82 OVR, 94 AWR, 75 SPD, 54 STR, 74 AGI, 73 ACC, 89 TAK | 12 year pro, 33 years old, 6’3”, 253#
Chillar has godo size at 6’3” and 253# but he makes the list for the sole reason of his 94 AWR.
MLB’s
1. | Jordan Beck- 89 OVR, 94 AWR, 75 SPD, 72 STR, 74 AGI, 77 ACC, 90 JMP, 91 TAK | 11 year pro, 33 years old, 6’2”, 233#
Beck has had an increditble SFL career, totaling 1066 tackles and 24 interceptions. He is not as good as he once was but I think he can still play. I would expect for him to be signed once a team loses their starting MLB,
2. | Alfred Fincher- 84 OVR, 86 AWR, 80 SPD, 67 STR, 80 AGI, 82 ACC, 87 TAK | 11 year pro, 33 years old, 6’1”, 238#
Fincher has played at a high level throughout his SFL career. He had a solid year for the Lions as their MLB2 last season totaling 58 tackles and 10 tackles for loss/sack combo. I would expect for someone to sign him and allowing him to reach 1000+ tackles for his career.
3. |James Mike Johnson- 79 OVR, 57 AWR, 81 SPD, 83 STR, 81 AGI, 84 ACC, 94 TAK | 4 year pro, 27 years old, 6’1”, 238#
Johnson possess a good enough SPD/AGI/ACC/TAK set to be a MLB depth player, probably more in line with a MLB3 on a team running a 3-4 defense.
CB’s
1. |Dominique Rod Cromarie- 83 OVR, 74 AWR, 88 SPD, 56 STR, 93 AGI, 94 ACC, 69 CTH, 94 JMP, 58 TAK | 8 year pro, 30 years old, 6’1”, 184#
Rod Cromartie has entered regression but he still has 88 SPD plus 90+ in AGI (93), ACC (94) 7 JMP (94). I am actually very surprised to find a 6’1” veteran CB with these attributes as well as 74 AWR to still be a free agent.
2. | Antonio Cromartie- 84 OVR, 74 AWR, 85 SPD, 56 STR, 83 AGI, 88 ACC, 84 CTH, 85 JMP, 69 TAK |10 year pro, 32 years old, 6’2”, 208#
While Antonio is not as polished at this stage of his career as Dominique, I would still think someone would have signed him for his size of 6’2”. He has amazing hands (84 CTH) to go along with his great size.
3. | Ellis Lankster- 80 OVR, 53 AWR, 97 SPD, 59 STr, 99 AGI, 99 ACC, 65 CTH, 68 TAK | 7 year pro, 29 years old, 5’9”, 190#
Yes, he may be 5’9” but he has 97 SPD, 99 AGI and 99 ACC.
FS’s
1. | Kurt Campbell- 79 OVR, 88 AWR, 82 SPD, 54 STR, 85 AGI, 84 ACC, 52 TAK | 11 year pro, 33 years old, 6’1’, 227#
He may be old but he still managed 71 tackles last season for the San Diego Chargers. You also can n ot take away his frame of 6’1” & 227#.
2. | Louis Delmas- 84 OVR, 66 AWR, 88 SPD, 56 STR, 90 AGI, 90 ACC, 72 TAK | 7 year pro, 29 years old, 5’11”, 202#
Since Delmas is under 30 years old, I am sort of surprised he is not on an SFL roster since he possessed 88 SPD and 90 in AGI and AC.
3. | Corey White- 72 OVr, 54 AWR, 87 SPD, 51 STR, 85 AGI, 91 ACC, 73 TAK | 4 year pro, 27 years old, 5’11”, 206#
White has okay SPD (87) with above average ACC (91) making him a candidate for a roster spot as FS depth.
SS’s
1. |Michael Huff- 85 OVR, 95 AWR, 77 SPD, 56 STR, 75 AGI, 77 ACC, 76 TAK | 10 year pro, 33 years old, 6’0”, 205#
I know Huff has sub 80 SPD (77) but he is on the list due to his 90+ AWR (95).
2. | Pat Watkins- 74 OVR, 81 AWR, 77 SPD, 54 STR, 74 AGI, 76 ACC, 64 TAK | 10 year pro, 33 years old, 6’5”, 212#
Watkins makes the list for being 6’5” and having 81 AWR.I have always liked Watkins due to his unique size but thought he was taken a bit too early by the Atlanta Falcons or not progressed properly.
3. | Michael Mitchell- 83 OVR, 74 AWr, 87 SPD, 62 STR, 86 AGI, 88 ACC, 79 TAK | 7 year pro, 30 years old, 6’1”, 220#
I did not realize just how balanced of a SS Mitchell was until just now looking at him and he is even in his 1st year of regression.
K
1. | Neiron Ball- 78 OVR, 58 AWR, 88 KPW, 88 KAC | rookie, 24 year old, 6’2”, 236#
Ball might be worth a roster spot since he will get rookie progression and become close to a 90 KPW, 90 KAK guy. He has great size for a kicker at 6’2” & 236# with good STR (5
if you are someone who like size and STR in your kicker.
P
1. | Earl Tubbs- 86 OVR, 69 AWR, 84 KPW, 96 KAC | 12 yar pro, 33 years old, 6’5”, 243#
He does not have much power left (84) but is still accurate (96) and has the size most LB’s would kill for at 6’5” & 243#.
