NFL Top 20 2010 Free Agents

NFL News and Updates
It’s been almost a month since the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl 44, the Super Bowl hangover has gone and the offseason transactions and prep work have started and free agents are about to be signed, here is a couple quick news hits and the top 20 free agents via ProfootballWeekly.com
Julius Peppers meets with Bears – All-Pro Defensive End is meeting with the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith flew to Charlotte to meet with Peppers and his agent and the trio are returning to Chicago for negotiations. – Peppers had a few up and down seasons in Carolina but as we saw that night against the Vikings he can own a game. The Bears hope that he will bring that intensity for 16 games a year if signed.
The Carolina Panthers turnovers at QB continue- The Carolina Panthers cut Jake Delhomme late Thursday, just over a year after they gave him a lucrative contract extension only to watch him have his worst season as a pro. – This had to happen, Coach John Fox was lucky to escape the ax at the end of the season and he’s not going to place his employment future on the turnover prone Delhomme.
The New York Jets hate your Quarterback – A few hours before the NFL’s free agency period began, the Jets improved their secondary in a big way by agreeing in principle with the San Diego Chargers to acquire talented but troubled cornerback Antonio Cromartie on Thursday night. – This is a fantastic pickup for the Jets, AC and Derrelle Revis on each side of the field will limit QB passing options. If AC can keep his head together, that’s an ”if” because it’s easier to get into trouble in NYC than San Diego.
1. Julius Peppers
DE / Carolina Panthers
Age: 30 FA type: Unrestricted

Peppers is hitting free agency at an almost-perfect time for all of the following reasons: The salary cap is likely to disappear. He’s an elite pass rusher and an athletic marvel, which could bode well for Peppers being a blue-chip performer for several more years. A proven star as a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme, Peppers also boasts the skill set needed to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 front. It would be stunning if Peppers didn’t break the bank.

2. Brandon Marshall
WR / Denver Broncos
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

One of the game’s top receivers, Marshall has caught more than 100 passes in each of the past three seasons. However, Marshall and head coach Josh McDaniels have a strained relationship, and the Broncos might look to move him in the offseason. Any team acquiring Marshall knows it will be getting a No. 1 wideout, but it also will be taking a significant risk, considering the on- and off-the-field issues that have dogged Marshall throughout his career.

3. Vince Wilfork
NT / New England Patriots
Age: 28 FA type: Franchise

The Patriots wasted little time giving Wilfork, one of the game’s top interior linemen, the franchise tag, but they would like to sign him for the long term. Strong, tough and feisty, Wilfork is a premier run stuffer. Were he ever to hit the open market, he would command top dollar, considering the scarcity of stellar nose tackles.

4. DeMeco Ryans
ILB / Houston Texans
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

Looking for a quick, instinctive, productive “Mike” linebacker who leads by example and rarely comes off the field? Ryans is your guy. The former Alabama standout has notched at least 112 tackles in each of his four NFL seasons and has had a major impact on the development of standout SLB Brian Cushing.

5. Vincent Jackson
WR / San Diego Chargers
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

A premier field-stretching threat, the 6-5, 230-pound Jackson set career highs in catches (68), yards (1,167) and touchdowns (nine) in 2009. He brings a strong résumé into free agency — his production has steadily increased in his five NFL seasons, he’s in the prime of his career, and his combination of size and athleticism makes him a tough matchup. However, he has been arrested twice for driving under the influence, with a four-day jail sentence pending.

6. Elvis Dumervil
OLB / Denver Broncos
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

He has emerged as one of the NFL’s better pass rushers and led the NFL with 17 sacks in 2009. At 5-11 and 248 pounds, he doesn’t look like a prototypical 3-4 edge rusher, but he’s quick and understands how to play with leverage. The Broncos likely will retain him.

7. Richard Seymour
DE / Oakland Raiders
Age: 30 FA type: Franchise

The Raiders traded a 2011 first-round pick for Seymour, so it’s no surprise that they gave him the franchise tag. A stout, rugged defensive end, Seymour no longer is the star he was earlier in his career, but he brings toughness and experience to a talented, though sometimes inconsistent, Raiders defense. Interestingly enough, he had two sacks each in a pair of games last season and no sacks in 14 others.

8. Owen Daniels
TE / Houston Texans
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

Daniels was perhaps on his way to his best season ever in 2009 when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Nov. 1 at Buffalo. He’s expected to be ready for training camp, and if healthy, he’ll again rank among the league’s better playmakers at his position. In an uncapped year, the Texans will be able to retain his rights with a restricted free-agent tender, but he would like to sign a long-term deal.

9. Miles Austin
WR / Dallas Cowboys
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

Austin put it all together in his fourth NFL season, catching 81 passes for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns despite starting just nine games. The Cowboys would like to retain Austin, who has emerged as their No. 1 receiver, for the long term, and for good reason: He might have only begun to scratch the surface of what he is capable of doing. He was given a first- and third-round tender.

10. Marcus McNeill
OT / San Diego Chargers
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

Young, dependable left tackles don’t go lacking for suitors, and McNeill would surely draw considerable interest if he ever were to be eligible for unrestricted free agency. However, the Chargers are expected to try to sign him long term. The 6-7, 336-pound McNeill has missed only two starts in four NFL seasons and was a rock for an injury-ravaged San Diego O-line last season, playing every game.

11. Jammal Brown
OT / New Orleans Saints
Age: 29 FA type: Restricted

Brown missed the entire 2009 season with sports hernia and hip injuries, but when healthy, he’s a Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle who ably protects Drew Brees’ blind side. However, questions linger about his durability; he never has played a full season, missing at least one game in each of his five NFL seasons.

12. Jahri Evans
OG / New Orleans Saints
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

One of the game’s top guards, Evans is strong, athletic and durable. The Saints, who have no shortage of big decisions to make in free agency in 2010 and beyond, would be wise to sign Evans long term. However, he can be retained with a restricted free-agent tender in an uncapped year, which buys the Saints some time.

13. Karlos Dansby
LB / Arizona Cardinals
Age: 28 FA type: Unrestricted

Dansby is likely to test free agency and could draw interest from teams employing 3-4 and 4-3 fronts after playing multiple LB positions in six seasons in Arizona. Whichever team signs him will be getting an above-average starting inside linebacker with a varied skill set and good playmaking ability.

14. Braylon Edwards
WR / New York Jets
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

The Jets made a strong move to retain Edwards, whom they acquired from Cleveland in October, when they placed a first- and third-round tender on him Thursday. Whether Edwards will ever be a No. 1 receiver is a matter of debate — he simply drops too many passes, and he can disappear for large stretches of games. But at times, he looks like a prototypical go-to receiver: big, strong, fast. He always might be a “can’t live with him, can’t live without him” player.

15. Shawne Merriman
OLB / San Diego Chargers
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

There are legitimate concerns as to whether Merriman is the same player he was before tearing two ligaments in his knee in 2008. Merriman missed almost the entire ’08 season, and when he returned for the ’09 season, he wasn’t nearly as effective a pass rusher, notching just four sacks. Still relatively young, and now two seasons removed from knee surgery, can Merriman rekindle his old magic?

16. Logan Mankins
OG / New England Patriots
Age: 28 FA type: Restricted

The tenacious Mankins is one of the top guards in the AFC. Dependability is one of his greater assets — he has yet to miss a start in five NFL seasons.

17. Dunta Robinson
CB / Houston Texans
Age: 28 FA type: Unrestricted

With the Texans electing not to give Robinson the franchise tag, he will test free agency, and it would be no surprise if he garnered lucrative offers elsewhere. At his best, Robinson is a fast, physical cornerback capable of matching up with the opponent’s top receiver, but he didn’t start last season strongly, and he is less than three years removed from serious knee and hamstring injuries. There is a lot to like about Robinson, but he doesn’t come without some risk.

18. D’Qwell Jackson
ILB / Cleveland Browns
Age: 26 FA type: Restricted

The Browns’ premier free agent, Jackson is a quick, instinctive force in the middle of the Cleveland defense. He notched 59 tackles in just six games in 2009 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, and he has missed games in three of his four NFL seasons. However, the 6-foot, 240-pound Jackson is an integral part of the Browns’ stop unit, and he’s unlikely to be going anywhere. He was given a second-round tender.

19. Nick Collins
S / Green Bay Packers
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

Collins is one of the NFL’s top ballhawks, a safety who runs like a cornerback. Collins, who has intercepted 17 passes in five NFL seasons, trusts his instincts and occasionally will make an ill-advised gamble, but at his best, he can erase mistakes on the back end.

20. Kyle Orton
QB / Denver Broncos
Age: 27 FA type: Restricted

Orton comes off his strongest season in 2009. He set career highs in passing yards (3,802), touchdowns (21) and completion percentage (62.1) Any doubts about him being a starter-caliber QB should be squelched, but whether he merits to be paid like an elite passer is a matter of debate.