No single event has shaped the NFL quite like free agency. 

It happens every year, so our generation doesn't really grasp the incredible weight of it all. Yet not so long ago, the idea of players switching teams was so foreign that even when it was allowed, it never really happened. 

We live in a world where it is rare for a Ray Lewis or a Tom Brady to play an entire career with one franchise. We live in a world where it makes total sense for a Peyton Manning or a Steven Jackson to chase one last ring or one last payday away from their adopted hometown. Heck, in this world, it's fortuitous for teams to get rid of their star players when they become financially cumbersome. 

We've come so far, it's almost impossible to make out the starting gate. 

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For more than a decade, the Baltimore Ravens have been synonymous with Ray Lewis. The iconic inside linebacker has been the beating heart, the praying soul and the screaming face of the Ravens franchise.

Just before the Ravens took the field for Super Bowl XLVII, Lewis stood up to give his last pregame talk. Per Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, Lewis's emotional 11-minute speech moved many Ravens to tears.

The man who led the Ravens deep into the playoffs year after year—and to two Super Bowl titles—is now a full-time dad.

All NFL teams that achieve perennial success have at least a few outstanding players, and many of them are built around one remarkable star—a legend—who serves as the inward and outward face of the franchise.

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The draft is the NFL's premier offseason event.

Actually, check that: It's the only premier offseason event in all of sports. Think about it—what started as something that newspapers barely covered has turned into a major event that is covered live by thousands of outlets and does better TV ratings than many playoff games in other sports. 

Yet, as a team-building event, fans often forget that the draft is a piece to the overall offseason puzzle. Is it the biggest piece? Yes. The most important? Certainly. But teams often think of the offseason as an overall picture that includes contract negotiations, player development and (most importantly after the draft) free agency.

Every mock draft done before free agency shakes out is inherently flawed because many teams' needs will change once they pick up a player or miss on one. With that in mind, here's my final mock before free agency starts and changes everything.

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"Speed kills." That's the reasoning NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal used for naming Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace his best available free-agent-to-be.

There's no denying Wallace's speed. At the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, he cut a 4.33 40-yard dash, faster than every other receiver, save one. Wallace's speed showed up on the field immediately; in his rookie season, Wallace led the NFL in average yards per catch with a whopping 19.4.

Since then Wallace has continued to be a deep threat, racking up 4,042 yards and 32 touchdowns in just four seasons in the NFL. Teams looking for a game-breaking wideout must be licking their chops and refilling their pens, ready to go to bidding war for his services—right?

Maybe they are, but buyer beware: Rosenthal himself said Wallace is "not...a complete receiver." The holes in Wallace's game are real, and the team that signs him to a monster contract will be getting this year's biggest free-agent bust.

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Mike Wallace is a game-changer. Of that there is no doubt.

Does that mean some teams should throw big money at the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver in free agency? I don't think so—but that obviously means very little. 

Wallace's game is speed, and in the NFL, speed will always be coveted, even if that comes in the form of a receiver who isn't suited to running a complete route tree. Wallace can take a top off a defense with the best of them, but when it comes to doing work across the middle of the field, you can count Wallace out. 

Of course, one big play can change an entire game, and that's what teams will be paying for when they sign Wallace to a big contract. 

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At about this time every year, NFL fans and general managers start making grave statements about "building through the draft" and "targeting spending carefully" and "focusing on keeping our free agents."

But at the stroke of Free Agency O' Clock, a quarter-billion dollars rains down from the heavens and Pro Football Talk sets a new traffic record.

In today's NFL, identifying talent in the draft and grooming players to become impact starters is more critical than ever. It's just not possible to hit on enough players enough years in a row to fully stock a contending roster.

Everyone thought former Indianapolis Colts GM Bill Polian had done it when the perennial-contender Colts had drafted 15 of their 22 starters themselves. Then, Peyton Manning got hurt and the Colts went 2-14.

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Dwight Freeney hits free agency at the age of 33, coming off his worst statistical year since entering the league.

However, smart general managers and personnel will look at his 2012 tape and see a player who, while not the all-around player he may have been in his prime, can still help a team—especially on obvious passing downs. 

Of course, it will come down to how much a team is willing to pay to have an aging pass-rushing specialist take up a valuable roster spot. 

In the video above, I take a look at Freeney's prospects in free agency, including a couple of possible landing spots. Let us know in the comments below where you see Freeney landing in 2013.

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The power balance of the entire NFL is about to shift. 

Every year, it does. Sometimes it only shifts a little. Sometimes the whole league gets a shock to its system. Whether big or small, the coaches and general managers of the NFL know it's coming, and they've spent all winter preparing for it. 

That's what free agency does in the NFL. Ever since R.C. Owens became the first NFL player to switch teams (in 1962), free agency has given players the ability to choose where to play and—ostensibly—where the good teams will be. 

Think about the Denver Broncos. They weren't supposed to be any good in 2013. Maybe OK, but not Peyton Manning good. How about the San Diego Chargers? They've lost so much talent in free agency over the past decade, they could be considered a minor league team for the NFC South.

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