2023 NFL free agency rankings: The 100 best free agents, from Lamar Jackson to Derek Carr and more

The NFL free agent period begins March 15, bringing excitement and a daily news cycle that keeps the NFL the No. 1 sport year-round, as well as hope for teams that need to replenish their roster for the 2023 season.

The reality is that leeway is never as good as it sounds on paper, and players are usually available for a reason. This does not mean that there is no talent. Look what the Philadelphia Eagles acquired last season in Hoson Reddick, who signed as a free agent last March. He had 16 sacks and was instrumental in the defense that helped the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

This year’s class is led by two quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr. Jackson will not be on the list when he becomes official as he will be tagged with the Baltimore Ravens, but for now he tops the list. Carr made the list after he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s already in the process of meeting with teams, making it the hottest item right now.

He’s a good player who could help teams in need of quarterbacks like the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.

At the moment they are ranked 1-2 in my ranking of the top 100 players in this year’s class. Some of these players won’t be available when the period officially opens in two weeks because, like Jackson, they’ll get some sort of tag restricting their movement.

The free agency class is loaded in some areas. There are many quality defenders on the market, some good inside defense players and even some top forwards. There aren’t many top-tier receivers, so there aren’t any in my top 25.

So dive in and take a look at my top 100. This is guaranteed to piss off a lot of you, but that’s okay. This is my list and it’s based on my beliefs at the moment, although I’m leaning towards some of the younger players on the rise.

Jacksonville wide receiver Christian Kirk was one of the free agents last year, and it worked for the Jaguars. Some players in this category this year are Jaguar right tackle Jawaan Taylor (#8 on my list), Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (#14), Cardinals guard Zach Allen (#28), Texans guard Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (#, 32) and 49ers linebacker Aziz Al-Shair (No. 38).

The target age for signing free agents should be between 25 and 28, which puts these players right in the target zone.

Free will is fun, but most of the time it doesn’t decide whether a team makes the playoffs or not. The hope of most teams is to find one or two newcomers to help your team get through the rough patches.