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Potential Landing Spots: Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions
After briefly entertaining retirement, Mack is returning for 2025 and will enter the free-agent market as the top available edge rusher. With his remaining time in the league being limited, Mack may prioritize going to a club poised for success in the coming year, something the Commanders and Lions could pitch.
Although Dan Quinn’s defense may have finished in the top 12 in sacks this season, it came largely as a result of the scheme. Washington committed to a top-five blitz rate (32.8%) — the highest ever for a Quinn-led defense — and clocked the fewest snaps with four or fewer pass-rushers in the NFL during the regular season. With Dorance Armstrong finishing as the Commanders’ only pass-rusher to exceed a 70.0 PFF overall grade and the contracts for Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell expiring, adding a force on the edge like Mack would allow Quinn to maintain balance.
The Lions may not hold quite as much cap space as the Commanders, but they do possess something others cannot offer: the opportunity to pair with another elite edge rusher, freeing up Mack for more one-on-ones. Mack and Aidan Hutchinson would be an enticing duo, boosting a pass rush that fell off a cliff when Hutchinson went down early in the 2024 regular season.
Potential Landing Spots: Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals
Tennessee could poach Sweat from the City of Brotherly Love with a bit of brotherly love of their own. Josh’s younger brother, T’Vondre Sweat, is coming off a fantastic rookie campaign for the Titans, having earned a 76.2 PFF overall grade.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon enjoyed a prolific pass rush while at the helm of the Eagles’ defense but has struggled to replicate that success with his new team. Armed with the NFL’s fourth-most projected cap space this season, Gannon is well positioned to revamp his defensive front, and the expectation is that he will gravitate toward familiar faces from his time in Philadelphia, making Sweat a likely target.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions
With BJ Ojulari — the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2023 — set to return from a torn ACL that knocked him out for the entirety of the 2024 campaign, Jonathan Gannon could quickly build a powerhouse defensive line with a few free-agent additions. What better place to start than with the raw talent of Reddick, whom Gannon coached to a breakout season back in 2022 with the Eagles?
Following a season-ending injury to Aidan Hutchinson, Lions general manager Brad Holmes reportedly checked to see if a deal could be reached to acquire the disgruntled Reddick. However, a trade never materialized, in part due to a clause in the original trade agreement that would require New York to send a 2026 second-round pick to Philadelphia if the Jets were to send Reddick back to the NFC. With Reddick slated to hit free agency and that no longer being a problem, Holmes may again try his luck at bringing in the former second-team All-Pro.
Potential Landing Spots: Los Angeles Chargers
Had Koonce not suffered a season-ending injury heading into 2024 and instead carried over his momentum from the back half of 2023, he would undoubtedly rank much higher on this list.
With Khalil Mack slated to cash in as one of PFF’s top-five free agents this offseason and Joey Bosa potentially becoming a cap casualty after struggling with injuries and on-field production in 2024, Los Angeles will certainly be in the market for a young pass-rusher to build this unit around. The 26-year-old Koonce could create a solid tandem with Tuli Tuipulotu — the team’s second-round pick in 2024 — and would save the team significant cap space to attack other glaring needs.
Potential Landing Spots: New England Patriots
Mike Vrabel inherits a roster that needs a boost at nearly every position group, and New England holds the cap space to do so this offseason. New England’s interior was especially ineffective in 2024, totaling the lowest pressure rate from defensive tackles (7.6%) in 2024. Odighizuwa would be an instant upgrade, having recorded two consecutive seasons with a 78.0-plus PFF pass-rush grade and a 14%-plus win rate.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings
Williams made great strides as a pass-rusher in 2024, earning the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade (90.4) among interior defenders and recording top-five marks in win rate (17.2%), pressure rate (14.6%) and pass-rush productivity rating (8.3) during the regular season.
Jonathan Gannon is very familiar with Williams’ game, having coached the former third-round pick for the first two years of his career. Given the Cardinals’ pass-rushing woes (31st in team PFF pass-rush grade in 2024) and ample cap space, expect Gannon to target familiar faces, like Williams, to revamp his pass rush in 2025.
Brian Flores is known for his aggressive blitz packages but tends to find pressure without blitzing, having ranked 28th in total pressures (144) without the blitz. Williams would fit well in Flores’ scheme at 5-technique, where the Vikings‘ highest-graded pass-rusher failed to eclipse a 65.0 PFF pass-rush grade.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers
Arizona was a team in dire need of pass-rushing production this past season, which prompted the trade to bring in Baron Browning, who finished as the team’s highest-graded pass-rusher (77.2) and is scheduled to hit free agency. That type of immediate production should be rewarded. Should the Cardinals be unable to land one of their top targets, bringing back Browning on a cost-effective deal makes sense.
The Panthers desperately need pass-rushing help after their abysmal 2024, in which they ranked dead last in team PFF pass-rush grade (51.6). Without much cap space to work with, their best option would be to make an early offer to a high-upside player like Browning while other teams are fighting over the Josh Sweats and Khalil Macks of the world.
Potential Landing Spots: Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets
Onwuzurike is the penetrating 3-technique interior pass-rusher that every team covets. And given how ineffective the Jaguars’ interior pass rush was in 2024 — having ranked dead- ast in pass-rush win rate by defensive tackles (8.9%) — he will undoubtedly be a target for new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile’s defense. Pairing Onwuzurike’s 12%-plus pass rush win rate in each of the past two seasons with the already productive tandem of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker would certainly turn heads in the AFC South.
Javon Kinlaw’s time in New York was short-lived (unrestricted free agent this offseason), and now the Jets must look elsewhere to find interior pressure. With Aaron Glenn heading up this defense into the future and the team having limited cap space, the Jets could be in the market for a more cost-controlled option in Onwuzurike, whom Glenn is very familiar with, having just coached him last season in Detroit.
Potential Landing Spots: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers
After losing Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6, the Lions’ pass rush struggled to find production on the edge. From Week 7 onward, their defense ranked 27th in team PFF pass-rush grade. While Odeyingbo hasn’t burst onto the scene with gaudy sack numbers, he has quietly progressed each year within his role, culminating in a 13.0% pass-rush win rate this past season.
Although the Packers finished in the top five in sacks during the regular season, they led the NFL in unblocked sacks, raising concerns about the sustainability of their pass rush. Among Green Bay’s four edge rushers with 150 or more pass-rush snaps in 2024, only Rashan Gary posted a double-digit pass-rush win rate. At 286 pounds, Odeyingbo profiles well off the edge in Green Bay’s 4-3 defense.
Potential Landing Spots: Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears
If prioritizing young pass-rushers with high potential is a priority for Los Angeles, Young could fit well within the Chargers’ plans for the future. Although Young has yet to reach the potential that warranted him being selected second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, he has produced 70 or more pressures in each of the past two seasons. Jim Harbaugh is also quite familiar with Young’s game, having coached against him during Young’s time at Ohio State.
Young’s former head coach in New Orleans, Dennis Allen, was named Ben Johnson’s defensive coordinator in Chicago, so the 25-year-old pass-rusher may very well be a target for this defense in need of a bit more pass-rushing bite. While Young isn’t the perennial All-Pro many thought he would be, he is still a high-end No. 2 edge, evidenced by his top-20 pressure rate (14.6%) in 2024 while playing under Allen.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals
According to reports from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Arizona and Cincinnati pursued Ojulari at the trade deadline, but ultimately, a deal never came to fruition. Now, both franchises can bring in Ojulari without giving up any draft capital.
Although Ojulari has produced reasonable sack numbers in his limited role, he has yet to display a winning consistency, failing to exceed a 9.0% pass-rush win rate over the past two seasons. Nonetheless, should Arizona or Cincinnati miss out on the big names in this class, Ojulari could step in as a spot rusher.
