Predicting Where The Top 25 NFL Free Agents Of 2025 Will Land
With 2025 NFL free agency inching closer, it’s time to start playing matchmaker! So, let’s dive into our predictions on where the top 25 NFL free agents of this year’s class will land.
Will these NFL free agents stay put, or will they switch teams?
Tee Higgins: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are reportedly set to use the franchise tag on Higgins for a second straight year, thus preventing him from hitting free agency. Joe Burrow has been vocal about his desire to keep the band together, and we’d advise Bengals ownership not to upset its franchise quarterback…
Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are the league’s best-receiving tandem. Burrow himself just had a career year. We know the Bengals are notoriously cheap, but owner Mike Brown can’t let the super duo break up. Expect a $100-plus million deal for Higgins.
Sam Darnold: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Minnesota Vikings can’t commit to Darnold long-term with JJ McCarthy waiting in the wings, so expect the 2018 first-round pick to hit the open market once again.
We were tempted to go with the Las Vegas Raiders here, but we’re having a tough time envisioning them missing out on a chance to snag Shedeur Sanders in the NFL draft.
The Steelers need a new QB with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to hit free agency, and they can trust future Hall of Fame head coach Mike Tomlin to get the most out of Darnold. Pittsburgh gives him a multi-year with the hope that he can bring much-needed stability behind center.
Trey Smith: New England Patriots
Coming off his first career Pro Bowl nod, the two-time Super Bowl champion and Kansas City Chiefs’ mainstay is likely to price himself out of town.
The Patriots have over $100 million in cap space and must beef up an atrocious offensive line in front of young QB Drake Maye. Smith should get close to nine figures on his next deal, and no team has a better incentive to pay him that much dough than the Pats.
Chris Godwin: Pittsburgh Steelers
Coming off a gruesome season-ending ankle injury, the guess here is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers let Godwin walk and eye a safer option as a replacement.
The four-time 1,000-yard receiver would be a No. 1 on most other NFL teams. In this exercise, Godwin jumps at the Steelers’ offer to become Sam Darnold’s No. 1 instead of continuing to live in MIke Evans’ shadow.
Godwin’s arrival puts George Pickens in a better spot as the No. 2 wideout. With Darnold leading the offense, the Steelers suddenly mean business.
Ronnie Stanley: Washington Commanders
Coming off a stunning 12-win season and trip to the NFC Championship Game, the Commanders are loaded with cap space to further strengthen the supporting cast around Jayden Daniels.
The Baltimore Ravens’ Pro Bowl offensive tackle will surely want to play for a contender at this phase of his NFL career. If Stanley leaves Baltimore, how about joining the other side of the Beltway Bowl and providing Daniels with an ultra-reliable blindside protector?
Zack Baun: Philadelphia Eagles
Sometimes, the best move is not moving at all.
Baun inked a one-year deal with the Eagles and turned in a career year: 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and five forced fumbles. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod and helped the Eagles to a Super Bowl 59 title.
Baun is tailor-made for Vic Fangio’s defense. Why take more money elsewhere when you’re far from a guarantee to continue that elite production? Stay in Philly and keep on dominating. Mr. Baun.
Stefon Diggs: Dallas Cowboys
If you’re Jerry Jones, adding a big-named star playmaker to complement CeeDee Lamb would be a strong way of showing you really are “all-in.”
Diggs’ asking price should be reasonable, given that he’s 31 and coming off a season-ending ACL tear. Playing with younger brother Trevon will be tough for Stefon to pass up, and he’d perfectly slot in as Dak Prescott’s No. 2 receiver behind Lamb.
Talanoa Hufanga: Denver Broncos
Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II captained a stingy Denver defense that allowed just 18.3 points per game, the third-best mark in football. Now, if the Broncos could just shore up the last line of defense…
49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga, a 2022 First-Team All-Pro, is a top-five NFL safety when healthy. Injuries have limited him to 17 games in the last two years, but the risk is worth it. Hufanga and Surtain would be as deadly of a defensive back duo as it gets — one that would give Patrick Mahomes real trouble.
Khalil Mack: Baltimore Ravens
From one Harbaugh brother to another? Why not.
With Mack entering his age-34 season, he should be keen to take a little less to play for a championship contender. The Ravens need to address a pass rush that was non-existent in their playoff loss to the Buffalo, and Mack still has plenty of juice left.
Mack and Nnamdi Madubuike would be a top-tier pass-rushing duo to combat the onslaught of elite QBs in the AFC.
Amari Cooper: Kansas City Chiefs
DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Mecole Hardman are all pending free agents. With the Chiefs likely to lose Trey Smith, there will be cap room to upgrade the weaponry around Patrick Mahomes.
Cooper didn’t have much of an impact on the Buffalo Bills after coming over via trade with the Cleveland Browns. But this is an NFL player with seven 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, and we’re sure he’d regain that form in a Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid-led offense.
Josh Sweat: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers need more edge-rushing help, with Calijah Kancey’s modest 7.5 sacks leading the team in 2024. Sweat was a menace in the Eagles’ Super Bowl 59 blowout win over the Chiefs, recording 2.5 sacks in the annihilation of Patrick Mahomes.
Sweat is just three seasons removed from a career-high 11 sacks. HE can easily get that as the new lead edge rusher in Todd Bowles’ blitz-happy defense.
D.J. Reed: Buffalo Bills
As hard as it is to believe, the Bills actually had a woeful pass D that ranked 21st in 2024. And as we saw in the playoffs, the secondary didn’t do a whole lot in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs.
Sean McDermott has been eyeing a stud shutdown corner since Tre’Davious White’s prime ended several years ago. He’s awfully familiar with Reed, who’s spent the last three years with the Jets.
Buffalo’s makeover on defense would start nicely with the signing of Reed, who has 42 pass breakups over the last four seasons.
Jevon Holland: Chicago Bears
The Bears have an established franchise QB in Caleb Williams, a new hot-shot head coach in Ben Johnson, and, oh yeah, a TON of cap space to use up this offseason.
One priority for GM Ryan Poles is to upgrade the safety position and provide better support for this dynamic cornerback tandem of Jaylen Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson.
Dolphins Jevon Holland does it all in centerfield as a ball-hawker, pass-rusher, and run-stopping machine. He has five interceptions, 25 picks, five forced fumbles, and five sacks since entering the NFL in 2021. Something tells us he’d excel in Chicago’s secondary and provide significant help to combat the NFC North’s three potent aerial assaults.
Najee Harris: Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders predictably missed Josh Jacobs, finishing with the league’s worst rushing attack in 2024. No matter who their quarterback is, new GM John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll have to bring in a capable 1,000-yard rusher to help the offense.
Carroll is all about running the ball…except with the Super Bowl on the line. Anyway, bringing in a player with four straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career on a mediocre Pittsburgh squad would be a beautiful move by the new-look Raiders.
Charvarius Ward: Cincinnati Bengals
On top of needing to pay Tee Higgins, the Bengals have to extend Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson. But hey, it doesn’t give Mike Brown an excuse to stop spending if he’s committed to building a winner around Joe Burrow.
Cincy ranked 21st against the pass in 2024 and 25th in scoring D. Adding a quality shutdown corner like Ward would fix that, not to mention that he racked up 41 pass breakups in 46 games over his three years with the 49ers.
Dre Greenlaw: Indianapolis Colts
The vastly underrated 49ers star and fan favorite is among the NFL’s most well-rounded linebackers. Pro Football Focus ranked him as a top-tier run-stopper and coverage LB in 2022 and 2023.
Colts GM Chris Ballard is under pressure to rebuild this team into a winner after a fourth straight non-playoff season. Adding Greenlaw to a front seven that already has DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye, and Laiatu Latu would suddenly make Indy a big-time player for the AFC South crown.
Haason Reddick: Los Angeles Chargers
If the Chargers lose Khalil Mack, they’ll have to act quickly to find a suitable replacement. Reddick had a forgettable one-year stint with the Jets that saw him record a single sack in 10 games.
Before that, he recorded 11-plus sacks in four straight seasons. Reddick and Joey Bosa together would be nightmare fuel for the rest of the AFC.
Cam Robinson: Houston Texans
The Texans’ offensive line was a disaster all season long, allowing CJ Stroud to take 52 sacks in the regular season…and 11 more in two NFL playoff games.
The draft is an option to upgrade the o-line, but the Texans could get a steady veteran presence like Cam Robinson on a reasonable multi-year deal here. The 6-foot-6 menace had a down year split with the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Texans are happy to bank on the big man bouncing back here.
Milton Williams: Detroit Lions
The Lions’ pass-rush and run D was a problem once superstar defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was lost for the year with a broken leg. So yes, it’d be a stunner if GM Brad Holmes didn’t add another impact pass-rusher in free agency.
Williams posted a career-high five sacks for the Eagles in 2024 en route to a Super Bowl championship. His incredible effort against the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 should speak to Dan Campbell, who needs proven winners and veterans to get this team over the hump.
Nick Bolton: Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys’ defense took a major step back following Dan Quinn’s departure last year. Micah Parsons is already one of the NFL’s premier defensive players, but what if he had Chiefs workhorse Nick Bolton as his sidekick?
Bolton was a key contributor in the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl championship-winning teams and nearly got them to a three-peat. Having recorded 100-plus tackles in the last three years, Bolton could single-handedly help Dallas reform into a top-10 defense with Parsons at his side.
Aaron Jones: Denver Broncos
The Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay in 2019. Now imagine if they added a consistent 1,000-yard threat like Jones to join an up-and-coming offense led by Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton?
Jones rushed for 1,138 yards and five touchdowns in a pass-heavy Minnesota offense in the 2024 NFL season. Sean Payton has always leaned heavily on running backs, so adding Jones to the backfield could bring another explosive element to the offense.
Carlton Davis III: Green Bay Packers
The Packers feel destined to trade or release oft-injured All-Pro Jaire Alexander, who also indicated that he has no desire to return to Titletown.
The Packers’ secondary struggled against top offensive units in 2025, so why not a double-whammy of a move by signing Carlton Davis away from the rival Lions? A Super Bowl 55 winner with the Bucs, Davis has 84 pass breakups and 11 picks since his 2018 rookie year.
There’s your replacement for Alexander. A Davis-Xavier McKinney secondary tandem would be a problem for the rest of the NFC North.
Osa Odighizuwa: Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals’ defense is devoid of game-changing talent outside of safety Budda Baker. They don’t usually pay for top-end talent in NFL free agency, but a second-tier option like Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa should be in play here.
Odighizuwa had a 2024 PFF run defense grade of 78.5, ranking 11th among interior defensive linemen. And with 11.5 sacks over the last three seasons, Odighizuwa would give Jonathan Gannon’s squad a well-rounded linemen to build the unit around.
Justin Fields: New York Jets
With the Aaron Rodgers era officially over, the Jets will be in the market for a new quarterback.
They aren’t in range to draft Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, so expect Gang Green to find their guy in free agency. Fields won four of six starts in Pittsburgh last season and looked more comfortable in a non-Bears offense.
Fields is young enough to be the long-term solution for the right team. Joining an offense with young studs Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall would have him well-suited to go off under new head coach Aaron Glenn.
Predicting Where The Top 25 NFL Free Agents Of 2025 Will Land
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