NFL FREE AGENCY: TOP 4 AVAILABLE SAFETIES

BY ADAM GREENE

We’ve arrived at the end of our free agency journey. The safety position might be undervalued in the current NFL landscape, but this was an especially shallow group even for this time of the year. I limited my selections to just four, as the other free agents currently in the wind don’t seem to give any real advantage over the rookie undrafted free agent pool.

With Organized Team Activities wrapping up, every NFL team should have gotten a solid look at its roster, its new free agent additions and draft picks and know, now, where that roster needs some help. Here are my picks for the four best safeties available to fill that need.

1. JOHN JOHNSON III

Age: 27

Size: 6-0, 209 pounds

2022: 101 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one interception, four passes defended, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 62.8

John Johnson III started his career as a third-round pick for the Los Angeles Rams in Sean McVay’s first season with the team, taken with LA’s second third round selection right after Cooper Kupp. It’s safe to say that the Rams nailed that entire draft as it set up not one, but two Super Bowl teams for the franchise as they added Gerald Everett in the second and Josh Reynolds and Samson Ebukam in the fourth. Johnson, like all those other guys, started early and kept his job, appearing in all 16 games as a rookie and starting 11. He started every single contest of the Rams’ 2018 Super Bowl run, but missed most of the next season, his final in Los Angeles, with an injury. He was snapped up off the free agent market by the Cleveland Browns and spent the last two seasons as one of their starting safeties. As elite as those numbers are for last season, they’re not JJIII’s best. That was his 2018 Super Bowl campaign where he notched 119 tackles, three for a loss, one forced fumble, four interceptions and 11 passes defended. He’s young, he’s healthy and he’s unquestionably a starter on pretty much any NFL team he’d join. I’m assuming the reason he’s currently unemployed is his asking price and the fact that his position is, as I mentioned earlier, so undervalued.

Where he should end up: Jacksonville Jaguars

One of the ways you boost an up and coming team is by adding veterans with a winning pedigree. Johnson has played both safety positions in his career and could slide right in at free safety opposite Rayshawn Jenkins today and upgrade the entirety of Jacksonville’s defense. Considering he’s still available this late, the Jags could tie him up for a season with a one-year deal, then add him as a long-term starter if he fits their defense next offseason. The Jags might be the fourth best team in the AFC. They’re certainly the fifth and there’s no reason to screw around when they can make strides to catch the teams ahead of them before Trevor Lawrence eats up their salary cap in another year.

2. ADRIAN AMOS

Age: 30

Size: 6-0, 214 pounds

2022: 102 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, one interception, five passes defended, one fumble recovery

PFF Grade: 53.4

Adrian Amos entered the NFL in 2015 as a fifth-round pick for the Chicago Bears and was an absolute steal, starting every game for Chicago and finishing his rookie campaign with 67 tackles, two tackles for a loss, two passes defended and a sack. He just got better from there and, after his four years in Chi-Town were up, he signed on for another high school term with their NFC North patriarchs, the Green Bay Packers. Amos hasn’t missed a game since 2017 and has started all but four when he was healthy enough to play.

Where he should end up: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs would love to see last year’s second round pick, Bryan Cook out of Cincinnati, take a step forward this season and his defensive backfield mate, Justin Reid, is fine. Amos is better than both and, as I’ve written in other articles like this, Kansas City’s window is open right now. Very open and the only thing that can shut it are a flood of injuries, especially to Patrick Mahomes (which would end their season instantly) and poor defensive play. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has proven he can work with whatever he’s been given in KC, but why not toss him the best roster possible with a guy that should come relatively cheap on a one-year deal?

3. DURON HARMON

Age: 32

Size: 6-0, 205 pounds

2022: 86 tackles, two interceptions, one defensive touchdown, five passes defended, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 72.3

Duron Harmon spent his first seven years in the NFL with the New England Patriots after being selected in the third round of the 2013 draft out of Rutgers. He only started a handful of games each season for the Pats, but was a key player on three Super Bowl championship teams and four teams that made it there. Signed by then head coach Matt Patricia to join the Detroit Lions in 2020, Harmon became a full-time starter and remained in that role in his next two stops, the Atlanta Falcons and last year with the Las Vegas Raiders. Last season was Harmon’s best, but even mostly coming out of the bullpen for the Pats, he was a quality safety and was mainly a back up or third option because of the guys who were in front of him — Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung.

Where he should end up: New England Patriots

The Pats wasted a safety spot last season on Jabril Peppers, who’s been a thorough disappointment since he joined the league as a first round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2017. The Browns couldn’t trade him fast enough and, for whatever reason (the fact that he’s still an elite athlete, I guess), he landed a starting spot with New England a season ago. It’s going to be a rough year for the Patriots. They’re the fourth best team in their own division by a significant margin and nowhere near good enough to make the cut in a seven-team playoff field. If they have any chance at sniffing close to .500 again, they need to put the best defense on the field that they can and Harmon would be a solid upgrade over Peppers and no one who’s watched a down of football would argue.

4. KARL JOSEPH

Age: 29

Size: 5-10, 200 pounds

2022: Did not play

PFF Grade: N/A

Karl Joseph did not suit up at all last season after playing in just two games in 2021 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That preseason he bounced around with the Las Vegas Raiders as well and probably wasn’t fully healthy even in the two games in which he played. He’s still young and, as long as his ankle is fully recovered, could be a guy a team can steal off the free agent trash heap and get a legitimate starter in the defensive backfield. At worst, he’s a spot starter and rotational player. His best year was in 2017 with the then Oakland Raiders, who drafted him in the first round out of West Virginia the season before. He recorded 79 tackles, two for a loss, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, one interception and four passes defended. He was a key figure in the Cleveland Browns’ 2020 playoff run, finishing that year with 67 tackles, two for a loss, two fumble recoveries, a pick and four passes defended. In the Browns’ first playoff win since the 1994-95 season, Joseph recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and nearly helped the Browns upset the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round when he picked off a Chad Henne pass in the end zone.

Where he should end up: Green Bay Packers

I’m not a big believer in what the Packers are doing at present, but one thing they will field is a solid defense. The one weak spot on that defense is at safety, where they’re currently slated to start Jonathan Owens and Darnell Savage. Owens should be more than fine, added as a free agent early this offseason from the Houston Texans after a 125 tackle, one sack, four passes defended season. Savage, who the team spent a first round pick on in 2019, is the issue. He’s never really lived up to his draft position and, while I wouldn’t give up on him yet (and the Pack haven’t, since they picked up his fifth-year option), I would add some insurance and Joseph, if he’s ready to play would be just that. A guy that can come out of the bullpen and make plays when needed.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

Connect with us our socials on Twitter and Instagram for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.