Best NFL free agents still available: No. 5 OT Dennis Kelly
2022 team: Indianapolis Colts
2022 PFF grade: 58.9
Top fit for 2023: Cleveland Browns
Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, Dennis Kelly has spent time with four different NFL teams, playing in 130 games and starting 54 of them. He has primarily played right tackle, but offers the versatility to play at left tackle and both guard spots, and that is where his value lies.
He started all 16 games at RT in 2020 for the Tennessee Titans, and performed about league-average, but his ability to function as a quality swing lineman at four different positions is what should draw a team like the Cleveland Browns to him.
Cleveland has plenty of issues right now, but losing All-Pro RT Jack Conklin for the season in Week 1 was devastating. Rookie fourth-rounder Dawand Jones has done a solid job filling in, but it remains to be seen how well he will hold up.
Aside from starting LT Jedrick Wills Jr., the only other tackle on the roster is James Hudson III, whose limited NFL action has been very rough.
The Browns have experienced plenty of OL injuries over the past few seasons, and would do well to bolster the group with some solid veteran depth, the likes of which Kelly can provide.
Best NFL free agents still available: No. 4 S Andrew Adams
2022 team: Tennessee Titans
2022 PFF grade: 70.9
Top free agent fit for 2023: Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are no longer the Super Bowl contender that they have been in seasons' past, and a major reason for that is an exodus of talent from their defense. The secondary is not nearly as strong as even a season ago, with Derion Kendrick, Cobie Durant, Jordan Fuller, and Russ Yeast comprising the starting unit.
Some safety help would surely be welcome, and that's where Adams comes in.
Undrafted in 2016 out of UConn, Adams started 13 games for the New York Giants as a rookie, and has been a quality defensive back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Titans since then, winning the Super Bowl in 2021.
He's provided quality year-to-year consistency, and would be at worst quality depth for the Rams.
Having a deep secondary has never been more important than it is today, and even though they aren't an elite team anymore, the Rams will be competitive until Matthew Stafford retires, and adding Adams to the defense would be a good move in improving the team's chances in 2023.
Best NFL free agents still available: No. 3 EDGE Melvin Ingram
2022 team: Miami Dolphins
2022 PFF grade: 70.3
Top free agent fit for 2023: New York Giants
The New York Giants were thoroughly embarrassed in Week 1 by the Dallas Cowboys, which did not get their hyped-up 2023 campaign off to a good start. New York did emerge victorious in Week 2, but fell to the 49ers on Thursday Night Football in Week 3.
Their defensive front seven is extremely talented, not to mention quite expensive, featuring players like A'Shawn Robinson, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard WIlliams, Azeez Ojulari, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
There's just one problem. Through the first two games, the Giants had logged zero sacks. They're the only team in the league to be in this situation, and while there are plenty of mitigating factors, and things are likely to regress to the mean, it wouldn't hurt to add some more pass-rushing threat.
The Giants totaled two sacks on Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers, one by Thibodeaux and the other combined by Williams and D.J. Davidson. Having Ingram on the field likely doesn't change the result of that game, but it would help moving forward.
Ingram has been a consistently underrated player for the duration of his 10-year career, and played his role as a rotational rusher quite well last season with the Miami Dolphins, finishing with six sacks and 10 QB hits, despite starting only three games.
He'd perform a similar duty with the Giants, spelling Ojulari and Thibodeaux, and perhaps even joining them on the field in obvious passing situations.
He made a lot of sense for NYG over the offseason, and after two weeks, perhaps he makes even more now.
Best NFL free agents still available: No. 2 C Ben Jones
2022 team: Tennessee Titans
2022 PFF grade: 71.9
Top free agent fit for 2023: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals were perhaps the most obvious tank candidate heading into the 2023 campaign, as they had just fired their head coach and entered the year with signal-caller Kyler Murray on injured reserve, not to mention the rocky place that the QB-team relationship is currently in.
The roster needs many things, including a complete overhaul, but one area that could use some immediate help is the offensive line, and in particular the center position. Hjalte Froholdt is the current starter there, having spent the previous two seasons with Cleveland, starting six games at guard. The Cardinals signed him in free agency and moved him to center, and the results have been less than stellar.
Whether Murray remains in Arizona beyond this season, or the Cards decide to start over, it is in the team's best interest that he remains healthy once he returns this year. Upgrading from Froholdt would help those chances, and Ben Jones would be just that.
A key cog in the offensive line that made way for Derrick Henry to gain over 3,500 yards from 2019 to 2020, Jones has started every game he's played in since 2014, and made his first Pro Bowl in 2022.
He's never gotten a ton of notoriety around the league, but he has been one of the NFL's best and most consistent centers for the better part of the last decade. He is now 34 years old, but still has some gas left in the tank, and could provide some stability to a young and tumultuous Cardinals line.
Best NFL free agents still available: No. 1 DL Matt Ioannidis
2022 team: Carolina Panthers
2022 PFF grade: 66.4
Top free agent fit for 2023: New Orleans Saints
The Saints lost David Onyemata in free agency, and he's playing great for the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans' iDL rotation of Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepard, Malcolm Roach, and Bryan Bresee has potential but is mostly unproven. The group could use another quality veteran with a track record of success, and that is Matt Ioannidis.
He isn't typically listed among the best defensive tackles in the game, but Ioannidis has been an extremely effective player for a long time. He is now in Year 8, and has collected 25.5 career sacks for the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.
He has a nearly 10 percent pressure rate in each of the past two seasons, which ranks up with the best of the best. Ioannidis isn't flashy, but he is consistent at creating pressure from the interior, a skillset that is at an all-time high in terms of value.
Ioannidis also has a lot of physical and athletic similarities to Bresee, whom the Saints took in the first round this past April. Both have arm lengths that fall in the bottom 25th percentile, which can be a high hurdle to overcome for a tackle, but Ioannidis has done it, and perhaps Bresee could learn a thing or two from seeing the veteran generate more interior pressure.
