The unofficial start of the 2024 NFL season is just a few weeks away. The new league year begins in mid-March, and with the change from 2023 to 2024, teams will begin their process of improving their rosters enough to challenge the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Free agency is the first part of that process, and we've been gearing up for the start of player-acquisition season all week here at CBSSports.com. We're going to continue that process below by finishing up our look at the offensive line.
When we released our rundown of the top 25 offensive free agents last week, that group included just four offensive tackles. Here, we'll add six more to the list and call it a top 10. That list is as follows (in reverse order, 10-1):
(Note: Some players might agree to deal between now and the start of free agency).
| PLAYER | 2023 TEAM | POSITION | SNAP % | AGE | PREVIOUS AAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yosh Nijman | Packers | OT | 21.1% | 28 | $4.3 million |
| Andrus Peat | Saints | OT | 69.9% | 31 | $5.5 million |
| Chukwuma Okorafor | Steelers | OT | 40.8% | 27 | $9.8 million |
| George Fant | Texans | OT | 80.6% | 32 | $3.0 million |
| Donovan Smith | Chiefs | OT | 66.3% | 31 | $3.0 million |
| Jermaine Eluemunor | Raiders | OT | 86.5% | 30 | $3.0 million |
| Mekhi Becton | Jets | OT | 89.6% | 25 | $4.6 million |
| Jonah Williams | Bengals | OT | 100.0% | 27 | $4.4 million |
| Trent Brown | Patriots | OT | 55.3% | 31 | $6.5 million |
| Tyron Smith | Cowboys | OT | 60.1% | 34 | $6.0 million |
Unlike the group we highlighted on the interior of the line, this is not a particularly inspiring bunch. There are probably only five or six surefire starters here, and only two or three who can be counted on to be above-average players at the position. Accordingly, Spotrac only has market value projections for Smith (one year, $7.5 million) and Williams (four years, $43.4 million, $10.9 million AAV). That Smith valuation seems low to me considering his importance to Dallas and the value a team like, say, Kansas City could get out of him on a one-year deal, but the range seems about right for Williams.
It would, however, be somewhat of a surprise to see more than a few of these players get multiyear deals. That's especially true because the best players of the group are on the older side. Williams (27) and Becton (25) are the only starter-quality players who have yet to hit their physical prime, and Williams took a step backward this past season moving to the right side of the offensive line. Becton has dealt with numerous injuries and various other issues throughout his career to date.
Still, teams always need help along the offensive line, and our free agency primer lists the Ravens, Panthers, Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, Raiders, Rams, Patriots, Jets, Steelers, 49ers and Titans as teams who could use help at tackle.
That means this group of players should have a healthy market -- in theory. The upcoming draft is considered very deep at tackle, with our draft rankings here at CBSSports.com including 10 offensive tackles among the top 60 players alone. Considering the relative weakness of the free agent group, it wouldn't be surprising to see teams tighten their belts a bit when it comes to these guys, holding back from giving out multiyear deals, especially for sizable dollar amounts.