NFL free agency doesn’t even officially start until Wednesday at 4pm ET, but we’ve already seen most of the top players come off the board during the NFL’s legal tampering period, which began on Monday. Free agency is far from over, but with most of the big names gone, we can really start breaking down the signings today.

There have been some good signings, but there have also been their fair share of bad ones. So today, I’ll be handing out my NFL free agency awards, covering everything from the biggest bargain to the best overall free agent class.

Biggest Bargain: RB Rico Dowdle

Contract Details: 2 years, $12.25 million

Honorable Mentions: Devin Lloyd, Jamel Dean, Wan’Dale Robinson

I thought there were a lot of great bargain signings this year, but none were better than Rico Dowdle’s deal. Dowdle is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, is 27 years old and has less than 700 touches in his career. He’s produced at a very high level and doesn’t have much tread on his tires, so for the Pittsburgh Steelers to land him for just $6 million per season, making him the 22nd-highest-paid running back in the league, is a huge bargain.

Just take a look at some of the guys who are being paid more than Dowdle in 2026. Tony Pollard, Chubba Hubbard, Aaron Jones and D’Andre Swift are just a few names making more money than him. I mean, he signed for $1 million a year less than Kenneth Gainwell did.

And the craziest part about it is, his deal came after the likes of Kenneth Walker and Travis Etienne, who both cracked the $12 million per year mark. They reset the running back market, and Dowdle still got less than half of those two. I don’t think he should’ve gotten $12+ million, but I definitely thought, with those two setting the benchmark and the cap going up astronomically, he would’ve got at least $9 million per year and been on par with his former teammate Chubba Hubbard and guys like Rhamondre Stevenson.

I also want to shoutout the Steelers for their contract with Jamel Dean. He’s a really, really good cornerback, so to get him for $12 million a year and making him the 26th-highest-paid cornerback in the league is another great bargain.

Biggest Overpay: C Tyler Linderbaum

Contract Details: 3 years, $81 million

Honorable Mentions: Jaelan Phillips, Alec Pierce, Alontae Taylor

Before I get into this, I want to say that this is a great signing for the Las Vegas Raiders. They absolutely needed to improve their offensive line, and getting Tyler Linderbaum, a top-three center in the league, was a massive, massive get. Especially with Fernando Mendoza coming in and Ashton Jeanty coming off a tough rookie season. That being said, it was still a massive overpay.

Saying the Raiders reset the center market would be an understatement. They completely blew it out of the water, paying him $27 million per season. For reference, the next highest-paid center is Creed Humphrey at $18 million per season. The Bills should be thrilled they re-signed Connor McGovern before free agency started, but his $13 million per year salary is looking like an absolute bargain.

Two things can be true at once: the Raiders made an excellent signing and whatever they had to pay to get Linderbaum was worth it, but they also overpaid. They’re fine with it, but the other 31 teams are going to hate them for it.

Most Overrated Signing: QB Malik Willis

Contract Details: 3 years, $67.5 million

Honorable Mentions: Trey Hendrickson, Daniel Jones, Quay Walker

The Malik Willis hype train has gone too far. I mean, what are we doing ranking him as the No. 1 overall free agent when guys like Tyler Linderbaum and Trey Hendrickson, elite players at their position, are also hitting the market (I’m talking to you Gregg Rosenthal). Our job as writers is to make things interesting, but at some point it’s too much.

Did Malik Willis play great football in relief of Jordan Love at the end of last year? Absolutely. He completed over 80 percent of his throws for 409 yards and two touchdown with no picks while rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Those are great numbers. But Green Bay lost both of those game and averaged just 20 points. And before this stint, he had five total touchdowns to three picks in his career.

A $22ish million contract for a starting quarterback nowadays is great, but I don’t expect him to step in as Miami’s QB1 and just light up the league. I don’t even know if he lasts the full three years before they try to replace him. I hope I’m wrong for their sake, but I’m not as high on this signing as everyone else seems to be. I’d rather have Kyler Murray on the minimum for a year and see what I can get out of him.

Most Shocking Contract: LB Devin Lloyd

Contract Details: 3 years, $45 million

Honorable Mentions: Jaelan Phillips, Tyler Linderbaum, Zion Johnson

The three honorable mentions are on here because they got contracts much higher than many expected, but Devin Lloyd is my winner for most shocking contract because I don’t understand how he only got $15 million per season.

The Carolina Panthers made Lloyd the fourth-highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. Is he a top-four linebacker in the league? No, but he’s probably top-1o and is coming off a career-year where he had five interceptions, and free agency is all about resetting the market. Teams overpay all the time on long-term deals, because they know by year two or three, it will look like a bargain with the cap going up and others signing bigger deals. So when Lloyd only signed for $15 million a year, I was shocked, especially because it seemed like there was a bidding war between the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals for his talents.

I thought Lloyd would easily break the $17 million per season mark, putting him on par with Zack Baun, and then when I heard there were three teams battling it out for him, I thought there was a chance he’d get $20 million a year. I guess the fans were much higher on Lloyd than teams were, but this feels like the Panthers got a huge steal.

Most Draft-Altering Signing: RB Kenneth Walker

Contract Details: 3 years, $43 million

Honorable Mentions: Travis Etienne, Devin Lloyd/Jaelan Phillips, all of Tennessee’s defensive signings

The signing that’s going to change the NFL Draft the most has to be Kenneth Walker to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs were contenders for Jeremiyah Love, especially after they traded Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams and picked up another first-round pick. Everyone wants a part of Love, especially after his combine performance, but with the Chiefs signing Walker, it signals that they will no longer pursue the Notre Dame prospect.

So, if they aren’t targeting Love, who will the target? Probably a cornerback. With Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson leaving town, they really need to get better at corner, and they should be in striking distance of the No. 1 corner in the draft, Mansoor Delane. And with Delane possibly coming off earlier than expected, we could see Cincinnati and Miami follow suit by taking two defensive backs, Caleb Downs and Jermod McCoy.

If that happens, what does Dallas do? It’s too early to take any of the other defensive backs, and probably too early to taken an edge not named David Bailey or Rueben Bain. Do they trade back? Do they reach on a player? Do they abandon their two biggest needs and draft best player available?

Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs will have ripple effects felt throughout the league.

Most Exciting Signing: RB Travis Etienne

Contract Details: 4 years, $48 million

Honorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker, Romeo Doubs, Trey Hendrickson

I think we can all agree this should be Kenneth Walker, but I don’t want to double up (just like the NFL awards does with MVP and OPOY), so I’m going with Travis Etienne.

Travis Etienne was the second-best running back available in free agency, and the Saints made a splash by signing him to a four-year deal worth $12 million per season. The Saints’ run game was atrocious last season, so by bringing in Etienne and adding David Edwards, they hope they can turn things around.

Etienne is exciting because if the run game actually improves (there’s no reason it shouldn’t), the Saints’ offense is going to be really fun. Tyler Shough is the real deal, so if Chris Olave, Travis Etienne, Juwan Johnson and their offensive line can stay healthy, they may have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFC. I’m really excited to see him in this Kellen Moore offense.

Best Free Agent Class: Las Vegas Raiders

Honorable Mentions: Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers

There have been some great free agent classes from teams like the Steelers, Saints and Panthers, but there’s no arguing that the Raiders have the top free agent class this offseason.

There’s a saying “quality of quantity.” Well, the Raiders have both. They signed the top offensive lineman available, brought in two of the best linebacker available, traded for a really solid cornerback, inked a deal with Kwity Paye off the edge, re-signed Eric Stokes, who’s coming off a breakout year, and added some receiver help in Jalen Nailor. Outside of Tyler Linderbaum, they didn’t sign the top player at any position, but they made the most of their money and got some really impactful players.

The Steelers have the best value, the Saints filled some huge positions of need and the Panthers signed arguably the two top defenders not named Trey Hendrickson, but the Raiders filled so many of their holes, and outside of Linderbaum, they didn’t have to break the bank to do so.

Most Disappointing Free Agent Class: Seattle Seahawks

Honorable Mentions: Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers

A lot of teams have been very inactive in free agency, but considering the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions, had some of the most cap space available and were set to lose a ton of impact players in free agency, their idleness has been very surprising. And not in a good way.

The Seahawks have lost Kenneth Walker Coby Bryant, Tariq Woolen and Boye Mafe to free agency, and to replace them, they have signed….Nobody. They brought back Rashid Shaheed (and if they don’t plan on using him more as a receiver this year, they tremendously overpaid) and Josh Jobe, but they haven’t brought in a single outside free agent.

They have $42 million to play with, which is the fifth-most in the league, and they’ve done nothing. Incredibly disappointing to see from the reigning champions, especially because they only have four draft picks.