NFL Free Agency 2019: It’s all about the “D”
The quarterback position is the most important in all of sports, and therefore clearly the most vital in football. So naturally, once a rebuilding NFL franchise has the right quarterback, the next order of business is adding a few players who can disrupt the opposing quarterback.
Luckily for the NFL and its fans, this year’s free agent class has a myriad of those guys. It’s an odd year where both free agency and the upcoming NFL draft is thoroughly dominated by players on the defensive line.
Given the positions nature, all of these guys very well may be staying put, and either get the franchise tag or get paid in a long term contract by their current teams. But there’s other needs to address and positions to fill, and it’s the NFL, things happen. You never know where these young stars could land.
Demarcus Lawrence – Dallas Cowboys
“D-Law” enjoyed another great season for “America’s Team” this past year. The combination of him and David Irving (another free agent) on the defensive line and rookie standouts Jaylon Smith and Leighton Van Der Esch at linebacker helped lead a dominant Dallas defense.
The 26 year old had a career high in tackles this past year with 42. He also had a 10.5 sack season, following a 14.5 sack season the previous year. It’s fair to say the man has earned the respect and demand of extra help from the opposing offense in trying to stop him.
Lawrence served a four game suspension for substance abuse back in 2016, giving Dallas fans trepidations about the young stars future in Dallas. Since then he’s been clean, if he can stay healthy and out of trouble, he’ll be one of the premier pass rushers in the league moving forward.
Trey Flowers- New England Patriots
Anyone who watched Patriot games with me last year heard me yell and plead to “pay that man!” every time Flowers popped off my screen last year. He just wrapped up his fourth NFL season after coming out of Arkansas.
Flowers proved once again to be the lone pass rushing presence for most of the regular season in New England. In the postseason other players came around and followed suit, but still in all that’s a small sample size. It feels like a necessity for Belichick and the Pats to bring Flowers back next year.
He’s hovered at around seven sacks the last three years, posting a career high of 7.5 this past year. His ability for a player who can only get better at age 24 can’t be taken for granted by anyone this offseason.
Jadeveon Clowney- Houston Texans
The former number one overall pick back in 2014 had serious doubts regarding his effort when he came into the league. After a slow start to his career where people around the league felt questions about his work ethic were validated, he showed everyone some players need some time to develop and become comfortable with life as a professional football player.
Over the last few years he has proven to be a great counterpart to surefire hall of famer, three time defensive player of the year JJ Watt. Clowney had 38 tackles and nine sacks this past year. He also has 11 pass deflections and five forced fumbles in his young NFL career.
Clowney’s got freakish athleticism doesn’t come around very often, he’s a gem in this years free agent class. The guy ran a 4.53 40 time at the NFL combine a few years back. That 40 time was one tenth of a second slower than the first receiver to come off the board in that draft, Amari Cooper, who ran a 4.42. His rare speed combined with his 6’5 frame weighing 270 pounds, Clowney’s going to be a beast in this league for a while as long as he remains healthy.