11 best post-June 1 NFL free agents, from Asante Samuel Jr. to Keenan Allen
11 best post-June 1 NFL free agents, from Asante Samuel Jr. to Keenan Allen
June 2 is an important date on the NFL calendar. It's the day players released in the offseason can have their dead salary cap hits spread over the current season and the next. It's also the day players can be signed in free agency without affecting a team's compensatory draft pick formula.
The NFL's compensatory pick formula is designed to bolster teams who lose more than they gain in free agency. Compensatory picks are awarded at the end of rounds three, four, five, six and seven based on the value of players lost and the offsetting contracts of veterans signed as free agents. By waiting until June to sign players, teams can maximize the value of losing players in March by bringing in draft assets for the following spring.
1 GLARING WEAKNESS FOR EVERY NFL TEAM: What's your favorite team missing this offseason?
That means the Philadelphia Eagles can ensure a mid-draft haul after losing starters Milton Williams, Josh Sweat and Mekhi Becton after their Super Bowl-winning season. The Pittsburgh Steelers can capitalize on their losses and potentially find a starting quarterback (even if he's a 41-year-old media headache who was 2024's 22nd-best passer). The post-June 1 free agent market won't be a spending spree, but it will provide more action than we've seen in the last six weeks of NFL roster building.
Let's talk about the best players available late in the free agent process, in no particular order.
CB Asante Samuel Jr.
2024 team: Los Angeles Chargers
Samuel lacks ideal size as an outside corner (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) and has minimal experience in the slot. Though he's failed to live up to his father's spectacular example, he's been a solid presence who allowed a 87.8 passer rating in coverage (two interceptions, 15 passes defensed, three touchdowns allowed) over the last two seasons. His return from the shoulder injury that ended his 2024 after four games may loom in the heads of general managers considering him.
WR Keenan Allen
2024 team: Chicago Bears
WR Amari Cooper
2024 team: Cleveland Browns/Buffalo Bills
Let's tackle these two former Pro Bowlers at the same time. Both Allen and Cooper had their least productive seasons of their past eight years. But both remained moderately useful on a per-snap basis. Allen's 1.65 yards per route run (YPRR) ranked 50th among 90 qualified wideouts. Cooper's 1.62 ranked 53rd. Allen is more productive. Cooper is younger and more engaged as a blocker. Either brings value as a WR3 type on a one-year deal -- think Adam Thielen in Carolina. But further decline is expected for two players in their 30s who play a position that relies heavily on athleticism.
RB J.K. Dobbins
2024 team: Los Angeles Chargers
A draft flush with running backs has dented Dobbins' value despite his comeback 2024 campaign. The oft-injured back ran for 905 yards in 13 games last season after totaling only nine games the previous three seasons. While he brings modest value as a receiver, Dobbins' 0.6 rush yards over expected (RYOE) per carry ranked 14th among qualified running backs last season and he's still just 26 years old.
S Justin Simmons
2024 team: Atlanta Falcons
Laying a bet on a safety who turns 32 in November is a tricky wager. While Simmons wasn't able to keep a streak of All-Pro selections alive in his lone year as a Falcon, he remained a valuable asset against the pass. He knocked down seven passes, intercepted two more and just 57 percent of his targets to be hauled in as the nearest defender. He may no longer be an explosive presence, but he remains a disruptor in the right secondary.
CB Mike Hilton
2024 team: Cincinnati Bengals
Need a veteran slot corner? Hilton's your huckleberry, even though he took a step backward alongside the rest of a defense that helped get Lou Anarumo fired this offseason. Hilton allowed 75 percent of his targets last season to be caught, which is a troubling trend for an aging veteran. But he's not *that* old (he just turned 31) and he remains a useful asset against the run (46 stops in 257 run snaps last season). A modest bet on a revival could pay out huge.
G Brandon Scherff
2024 team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Poor Brandon Scherff has only played for two NFL teams in his 10 year career; the Dan Snyder-era Washington Commanders and the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose dysfunction escapes eras and shines like the aurora borealis. He may be removed from his perennial Pro Bowl days, but at 34 years old he can still bring steady play and above-average pass blocking to the offensive line.
EDGE Za'Darius Smith
2024 teams: Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions
Smith is entering the Jadeveon Clowney phase of his career, where he inks a one-year deal, gives you six to nine sacks per season and generates some trade interest near the deadline. His pressure rate has hovered around a solid 15 percent each of the last three seasons.
CB Shaquill Griffin
2024 team: Minnesota Vikings
The success rate for 30-year-old cornerbacks isn't great. Griffin's history of inconsistency doesn't help matters. But he's recorded a passer rating allowed of under 76.0 each of the last two seasons, albeit in much more of a "rotational guy" role than as a lock-solid starter.
S Julian Blackmon
2024 team: Indianapolis Colts
A market failed to develop for Blackmon after a frustrating 2024 in which his missed tackle and yards per target allowed rates spiked. That's been the case in four of his five NFL seasons, but his 2023 campaign was Pro Bowl worthy (four interceptions, four total missed tackles, a 46.6 passer rating allowed). Now it will only take a modest bet for a team looking to restore him back to pretty-goodness.
ST Jalen Reeves-Maybin
2024 team: Detroit Lions
How much do you value special teams play -- not from a returner or gunner, but from a linebacker who offers little utility as a defender? Reeves-Maybin saw his tackling and coverage skills decline in a 10-game 2024, but he's an intuitive special teamer who brings high effort to the kicking game and was a 2023 second-team All-Pro as designated special teamer.
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