It’s the final weekend of the season in the NFL, and we all know what that means. Over half the teams in the league will start getting ready for next year on Monday, and that means looking over lists of the top free agents.
Austin Gayle of The Ringer came up with a good one, mostly because he’s got a balanced list of names. The splashier ones like receiver George Pickens and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson are on it, but Gayle also included some surprising names, including two who make up half of the Kansas Chiefs secondary.
Cornerback Jaylen Watson is listed at #18, while safety Bryan Cook clocks in at #40. You could make the argument that Cook could rank higher on this list, but safety typically isn’t a high-value position in free agency, so that probably explains his landing spot here.
Gayle's descriptions and stats are spot-on, too. Watson gets his slot because of his size and arm length, but more importantly, he’s allowed just one touchdown and recorded three pass breakups and two interceptions, per Pro Football Focus. He’s played over 2,000 snaps at outside corner over the course of the last four seasons, which is a sneaky number given that the Chiefs other corner, Trent McDuffie, has been the popular All-Pro choice.
Gayle also cites other cornerbacks like DJ Reed, Charvarious Ward and Carlton Davis as outside corner comps who got $16-18 million per year last year, so it’s reasonable to think Watson will get a similar number.
Cook’s bona fides are just as good, albeit with a different positional fit. As Gayle notes, he’s played both deep and in the box as a safety, and he’s missed only 11 tackles during the last two years. He’s a physical, downhill player when he drops down into the box, and he knows how to use his flair for contact to break up passes. Cook keeps getting better in coverage, too, and he’s disciplined when it comes to keeping plays in front of him.
Like Watson, Cook will get a big number. To quote Gayle: “It would shock me if he signs for anything less than $15 million per year on the open market.”
A lot of people don’t realize both players will hit the market this year, and that includes plenty of Chiefs fans. The basic question here is a logical ask: Can the Chiefs really afford to lose half their secondary after the struggles they had with their pass rush getting home this season?