2025 NFL Free Agency

[Heyjoe4]

Yeah, the timing is kind of lousy. Still, between draft free agency and trades we can see a lot of improvement

Agreed - I think most of us trust Gluten to find and sign the right talent, draft, FA, maybe a trade. Yeah the overall talent pool for FAs is weak, but guys can transform radically when changing teams, thinking of McKinney going to GB and Barkley to the Eagles.

 

[Dantés]

Part of me wonders if some of the "moves" might include saving money long term by extending our known "futures" now. Like Tom...give him that 3 or 4 year extension now. He is the RT of the future without question....

I've wondered the same.

Christian Watson
Romeo Doubs

Zach Tom
Sean Rhyan
Rasheed Walker

Kingsley Enagbare

If they don't use club options...

Devonte Wyatt
Quat Walker

 

[Heyjoe4]

I've wondered the same.

Christian Watson
Romeo Doubs

Zach Tom
Sean Rhyan
Rasheed Walker

Kingsley Enagbare

If they don't use club options...

Devonte Wyatt
Quat Walker

Great list, thanks. The only guy I wouldn't extend is Watson. He's a hit, but mostly a miss as a player. Too many injuries, too many drops, and too little consistency. I don't wanna give up on him, but it's way too risky given the uncertainty around him.

The other guys, they are the future. If Gluten has money to burn, use it on some of these guys.

 

[Dantés]

Great list, thanks. The only guy I wouldn't extend is Watson. He's a hit, but mostly a miss as a player. Too many injuries, too many drops, and too little consistency. I don't wanna give up on him, but it's way too risky given the uncertainty around him.

The other guys, they are the future. If Gluten has money to burn, use it on some of these guys.

I would extend Tom now, but everyone else I would want to see another season from before I committed space to them into the future.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I would extend Tom now, but everyone else I would want to see another season from before I committed space to them into the future.

Yeah Tom is by far the closest to "sure thing" on that list. Jury still out imo on first rounders Wyatt and Walker. I'm encouraged by their play as the season progressed. And Wyatt's youth on the iDL is needed. This may be Clark's last year in GB after an uninspiring season. Hell have the chance to prove that was a fluke. I'm not betting on it. Those guys give and take a beating.

 

[Pkrjones]

... So to say that you wouldn't want the Packers to spend that level of money unless it was on arguably the best WR of all time is another way of saying that you would never be ok spending free agent money at WR.

Nope, just don't think the field stretcher role that Watson occupied requires big $$ to fill.

Tutu Atwell (5'-9", 165 lbs) would be a lower-priced FA ($4mil/yr?) who could fill it & also has a decent play history of excelling.

Possible day 3 rookie picks/UDFA's to fill this role could be: Arian Smith, Agiye Hall, Jordan Watkins, or Julian Fleming.

 

[PackerDNA]

I would extend Tom now, but everyone else I would want to see another season from before I committed space to them into the future.

Definitely be proactive with Tom. The longer you wait the more expensive he's going to be.

 

[tynimiller]

I would extend Tom now, but everyone else I would want to see another season from before I committed space to them into the future.

This x1,000

 

[tynimiller]

Nope, just don't think the field stretcher role that Watson occupied requires big $$ to fill.

Tutu Atwell (5'-9", 165 lbs) would be a lower-priced FA ($4mil/yr?) who could fill it & also has a decent play history of excelling.

Possible day 3 rookie picks/UDFA's to fill this role could be: Arian Smith, Agiye Hall, Jordan Watkins, or Julian Fleming.

Watson is not just a straight streak speed threat. Tutu doesn’t touch half of Watson’s game IMO

 

[Dantés]

Wyatt isn’t as young as you’d think. He’s only 2.5 years younger than Clark, despite Kenny being picked 6 years earlier.

 

[Dantés]

Watson is not just a straight streak speed threat. Tutu doesn’t touch half of Watson’s game IMO

Plus I’m pretty sure that when Watson balanced his hamstrings, the trainers told him “the left is down about 1.5 Tutus.”

 

[Dantés]

Nope, just don't think the field stretcher role that Watson occupied requires big $$ to fill.

Tutu Atwell (5'-9", 165 lbs) would be a lower-priced FA ($4mil/yr?) who could fill it & also has a decent play history of excelling.

Possible day 3 rookie picks/UDFA's to fill this role could be: Arian Smith, Agiye Hall, Jordan Watkins, or Julian Fleming.

Atwell has never been that player so why would we expect him to fill that role in Green Bay?

 

[tynimiller]

MVS is about 100 times more capable of replacing Watson's role and he IMO fails to achieve even 70% of it.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Nope, just don't think the field stretcher role that Watson occupied requires big $$ to fill.

Tutu Atwell (5'-9", 165 lbs) would be a lower-priced FA ($4mil/yr?) who could fill it & also has a decent play history of excelling.

Possible day 3 rookie picks/UDFA's to fill this role could be: Arian Smith, Agiye Hall, Jordan Watkins, or Julian Fleming.

Agreed Pkr. Watson did not leave big shoes to fill, except by himself. He has an injury history, he still drops passes, he's not a great route runner but he'll do. What he is - is very fast and very inconsistent. If they find an MVS-type in day two or three of the draft, he'll be able to do what Watson has done, and maybe stay healthy, and maybe catch the ball.

I'm not being fair to Watson here, the guy has flashed signs of greatness. But not enough, yet, imo.

Is Atwell a FA? Really small.

 

[Pkrjones]

Agreed Pkr. Watson did not leave big shoes to fill, except by himself. He has an injury history, he still drops passes, he's not a great route runner but he'll do. What he is - is very fast and very inconsistent. If they find an MVS-type in day two or three of the draft, he'll be able to do what Watson has done, and maybe stay healthy, and maybe catch the ball.

I'm not being fair to Watson here, the guy has flashed signs of greatness. But not enough, yet, imo.

Is Atwell a FA? Really small.

Yes, Atwell is a UFA, but digging deeper he's a slot/gadget receiver, not a field stretcher. Watson's role opens up the passing game for the others, but shouldn't require many-$millions per year to fill, imho.

 

[tynimiller]

Agreed Pkr. Watson did not leave big shoes to fill, except by himself. He has an injury history, he still drops passes, he's not a great route runner but he'll do. What he is - is very fast and very inconsistent. If they find an MVS-type in day two or three of the draft, he'll be able to do what Watson has done, and maybe stay healthy, and maybe catch the ball.

I'm not being fair to Watson here, the guy has flashed signs of greatness. But not enough, yet, imo.

Is Atwell a FA? Really small.

Watson...

Led the team in average depth of target at 17.8 (Melton with barely any targets tied him) but true second was Doubs at 12.3.
Of the four main WRs his 3.8% drop percentage was light years ahead of the others (Doubs 9.7, Wicks 11.8, Reed 12)
Passer Rating when targeted he was second to only Reed out of the main four WRs with a 93.3
Yards per reception of 21.37 was light years ahead of second place Reed at 15.58

Just being fast is something honestly a lot of players can do...thing with Watson is you play him with a cushion he will torch you on crosses or in cuts because he has the route running fully capable of doing this, and his hands are very solid (career drop percentage is essentially 5%). Add in the threat of being a rusher in spots or even having screens drawn up for him and Watson is not just a deep gadget type guy like many envision.

I don't say all this to oversell him, but there isn't a rookie out there that likely year 1 comes in and does all for the offense that Watson does right now when healthy I think is too much to ask a rookie. I don't personally see a FA out there that could likely step in and do his role either...the best WR targets like Godwin, Slayton or even if you want to bring in Higgins are not in the same vein as Watson.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Watson...

Led the team in average depth of target at 17.8 (Melton with barely any targets tied him) but true second was Doubs at 12.3.
Of the four main WRs his 3.8% drop percentage was light years ahead of the others (Doubs 9.7, Wicks 11.8, Reed 12)
Passer Rating when targeted he was second to only Reed out of the main four WRs with a 93.3
Yards per reception of 21.37 was light years ahead of second place Reed at 15.58

Just being fast is something honestly a lot of players can do...thing with Watson is you play him with a cushion he will torch you on crosses or in cuts because he has the route running fully capable of doing this, and his hands are very solid (career drop percentage is essentially 5%). Add in the threat of being a rusher in spots or even having screens drawn up for him and Watson is not just a deep gadget type guy like many envision.

I don't say all this to oversell him, but there isn't a rookie out there that likely year 1 comes in and does all for the offense that Watson does right now when healthy I think is too much to ask a rookie. I don't personally see a FA out there that could likely step in and do his role either...the best WR targets like Godwin, Slayton or even if you want to bring in Higgins are not in the same vein as Watson.

Thanks for the stats. He certainly improved his drop %, or so it seems. And yeah, he can't be replaced in FA or the draft. Maybe one of the best things he does, as you note, is clear underneath routes for the other WRs. Watson's speed has to be accounted for with a CB and a S. And until that freak, no-contact ACL tear, his health had certainly improved.

About the best Gluten can do is take a very fast WR on day two, or maybe he finds a hidden gem on day 3. Or just a reliable veteran like Godwin, not for speed though, just a veteran that the D has to pay attention to.

Regardless, Watson won't be seeing any action much before November. It was time anyway, but Doubs or Reed, maybe Hicks, need to take their game(s) to the next level. And Love has to return to the form that got him a big contract.

Hopefully Watson returns in time to join a big late-season run and to prepare for the playoffs. All is not lost.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Yeah Tom is by far the closest to "sure thing" on that list. Jury still out imo on first rounders Wyatt and Walker. I'm encouraged by their play as the season progressed. And Wyatt's youth on the iDL is needed. This may be Clark's last year in GB after an uninspiring season. Hell have the chance to prove that was a fluke. I'm not betting on it. Those guys give and take a beating.

I agree on Wyatt but the jury came to a conclusion on Walker last year...he's not a good linebacker. I have to believe that Clark's poor season was a result of the change in the defense, he's just been too good for too long for me to believe he's hit the end at only 29 years old (always surprised at how young Clark is).

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Regarding Watson; I don't think his impact can be quantified solely on the stats he puts up, when he's on the field the entire offense opens up. Get this, when Watson was on the field the Packers' receivers averaged 1.67 yards per route run and a 3.7% explosive play rate, good for FIRST IN THE NFL. Without Watson on the field those numbers fall to 1.3 yards per route run and a 2.4% explosive play rate, good for 13th and 19th respectively. Having Watson on the field leads to the most efficient AND most explosive group of receivers in the entire league but when he's not on the field, the receiving corps becomes m'eh.

This upcoming season, I am very curious to see how MLF addresses the offense's struggles when Watson is not on the field.

 

[tynimiller]

Regarding Watson; I don't think his impact can be quantified solely on the stats he puts up, when he's on the field the entire offense opens up. Get this, when Watson was on the field the Packers' receivers averaged 1.67 yards per route run and a 3.7% explosive play rate, good for FIRST IN THE NFL. Without Watson on the field those numbers fall to 1.3 yards per route run and a 2.4% explosive play rate, good for 13th and 19th respectively. Having Watson on the field leads to the most efficient AND most explosive group of receivers in the entire league but when he's not on the field, the receiving corps becomes m'eh.

This is going to be one of the things I'm most curious to see this coming season, how does MLF overcome the constipation of the offense when Watson isn't on the field.

Yup, he IMO is the best thing for our offense out of all the skill position players - Josh Jacobs was/is our best offensive weapon, but no one changes our offensive abilities more than a healthy Watson.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

My dream scenario for this offseason would be to sign Mack in free agency and trade for DK Metcalf. Those two moves would shore up the two biggest weaknesses on the team IMO and both are very feasible considering the Seahawks cap issues. I don't think Metcalf would be cheap but he's not going to carry the contract that Higgins will be asking for.

 

[gopkrs]

I agree on Wyatt but the jury came to a conclusion on Walker last year...he's not a good linebacker. I have to believe that Clark's poor season was a result of the change in the defense, he's just been too good for too long for me to believe he's hit the end at only 29 years old (always surprised at how young Clark is).

I wasn't on that jury. I believe he is already good enough that we don't need to look for his replacement and I believe he will be better playing with Cooper. Maybe put Cooper in the middle.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I wasn't on that jury. I believe he is already good enough that we don't need to look for his replacement and I believe he will be better playing with Cooper. Maybe put Cooper in the middle.

Good point and I thought Walker played better when Cooper was on the field. Defenses are gonna have to account for Cooper, and that should make the other LBs more effective.

As for Clark, I get that there was an adjustment to a 4-3. Problem is, over an 18-game season, he never seemed to adjust. I don't believe he's lost it though, and this season will be a pivotal one for him as he hits 30.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Yeah Tom is by far the closest to "sure thing" on that list. Jury still out imo on first rounders Wyatt and Walker. I'm encouraged by their play as the season progressed. And Wyatt's youth on the iDL is needed. This may be Clark's last year in GB after an uninspiring season. Hell have the chance to prove that was a fluke. I'm not betting on it. Those guys give and take a beating.

The problem in extending Wyatt is he's turning into a pass rush specialist. He doesn't even play 50% of snaps as a first rounder. He'll want to get paid like a 3 down player. I would wait on both Wyatt and Walker. If they play well and deserve an extention, Gute will need to carry significant cap space into the season if he wants to extend them. The longer he waits, the more likely the players try their hand at free agency.

 

[PackerDNA]

Here's a disaster scenario. For whatever reason the Packers don't get either Garrett or Crosby. But the Lions get one of them, and say the Commanders or Rams get the other.