After roughly three months of 2023 NFL free agency moves, there still are a lot of good players unsigned and available to teams looking to fill holes. So who are the top remaining free agents? We stacked the best of the rest. We factored in each player's age, positional value (quarterbacks get a boost), expected future production and scheme versatility. Restricted and exclusive free agents are not included. We added a few guys who were released during free agency's first week, and we will remove players from this list as they are signed.
Let's jump in, starting with a recently released offensive playmaker.
See Bowen's original top 100 list
1. Dalvin Cook, RB
2022 team: Minnesota Vikings | Age entering 2023 season: 28
The best cutback runner in the league, Cook topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2022 for the fourth straight season. The downhill acceleration still jumps out on the tape, and Cook can create big plays; he had 66 rushes of 10 or more yards over the past two seasons. Cook fits best with a zone-run team that will also deploy him in the pass game, given his ball-carrying vision and open-field juice after the catch.
2. DeAndre Hopkins, WR
2022 team: Arizona Cardinals | Age entering 2023 season: 31
A savvy route runner, Hopkins can attack the leverage and cushion of defensive backs, using his body control to separate. He can lean on his upper-tier coverage awareness to manipulate zone schemes and find open grass. Despite declining third-level speed at this stage of his career, Hopkins can move the chains from various alignments and isolate in scoring position, logging 39 red zone touchdown receptions in his career. He would be a good fit for a contending team and can upgrade just about any wide receiver room in the league.
3. Yannick Ngakoue, DE
2022 team: Indianapolis Colts | Age entering 2023 season: 28
Ngakoue had 9.5 sacks in 2022, bringing his total to 65 over eight NFL seasons. Given his subpar tape as a run defender, however, he should be targeted as a situational pass-rusher, a role in which he can use his top-end traits to win on the edge: burst off the ball, hand usage and the ability to bend around offensive tackles. We know NFL teams value edge rushers, and so Ngakoue will have a market even if he tops out as a pass-rusher on nickel snaps.
4. Marcus Peters, CB
2022 team: Baltimore Ravens | Age entering 2023 season: 30
Peters hasn't played a full season since 2018, but he's a true ball hawk with the coverage traits and excellent backfield vision to finish. Even though the production was down for him last year (one interception, six pass breakups), he has notched 32 interceptions and 93 pass breakups in his eight pro seasons.
5. Dalton Risner, G
2022 team: Denver Broncos | Age entering 2023 season: 28
Risner fits best in a gap run scheme as a close-quarters mauler with a strong and rugged play style. He ranked 10th in the league in run block win rate (74.4%) among guards. He can anchor in pass protection, but he has some issues when asked to redirect on his edges. He was just average in pass block win rate in 2022 (92.3%, 31st among guards).
6. Jadeveon Clowney, DE
2022 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2023 season: 30
Clowney's production dropped off in Cleveland last season, as he had just two sacks in 12 games. He's a straight-line power rusher who can set a hard edge versus the run game given his physical tools. He has never fully turned those tools into production, though; the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft has zero double-digit-sack seasons. Clowney could be a rotational addition by a contender.
7. Teddy Bridgewater, QB
2022 team: Miami Dolphins | Age entering 2023 season: 30
Bridgewater can be viewed as a potential bridge starter or a dependable and experienced No. 2 next season. He attempted 79 passes for the Dolphins in '22, completing 62% of his throws with four touchdown passes and four interceptions.
8. Justin Houston, OLB
2022 team: Baltimore Ravens | Age entering 2023 season: 34
Houston's market will be impacted by his age, but the production is still there for the veteran to sign with a contending team as a rotational edge rusher. In 2022, Houston finished with 9.5 sacks (tied for 20th) and 32 pressures. He's a detailed pass-rusher who can win one-on-one.
9. Melvin Ingram, OLB
2022 team: Miami Dolphins | Age entering 2023 season: 34
Ingram produced six sacks and 22 tackles in 17 games this past season. Given his age, Ingram should be targeted as a sub-package rusher who will benefit from a heavily schemed defense, one that uses multiple fronts and stunts to put him in defined one-on-ones.
10. John Johnson III, S
2022 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2023 season: 27
The on-the-ball production dipped last season for Johnson in Cleveland, as he finished with one interception and four pass breakups. The veteran safety still has the range from the post and split-field alignments, though, and that will open some doors for him on the market.
11. Kareem Hunt, RB
2022 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2023 season: 28
Hunt has the traits to carry the ball on early downs in a shared backfield approach (3.8 yards per carry), but it's the pass-catching ability that should help the veteran draw multiple suitors on the market. Last year, he caught 35 passes -- and he has logged 211 receptions in his six pro seasons.
12. Ezekiel Elliott, RB
2022 team: Dallas Cowboys | Age entering 2023 season: 28
Elliott's short-area acceleration has diminished, and he lacks a second gear in the open field. But he's still a punishing runner with excellent contact balance and the pass-protection technique to pick up blitzers. Elliott should be targeted as a power back who can win in short-yardage and goal-line situations and catch the ball out of the backfield on screens and swings. In 2022, Elliott rushed 876 yards at 3.8 per carry. It was his seventh season with the Cowboys, who released him as free agency officially opened.