Jadeveon Clowney, Leonard Floyd's Best Landing Spots After 2023 NFL Draft Day 1

The first day of the 2023 NFL draft has finished, and a couple of former top-10 picks are still out there on the free-agent market.

Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, is once again a journeyman as he looks for his next landing spot after his recent stint with the Cleveland Browns. The edge-rusher had nine sacks with the team in 2021 and two last year.

But now he's looking for the fifth team of his nine-year career. Clowney has also spent time with Houston, Seattle and Tennessee.

It's probably not the path the South Carolina product had in mind for his age-30 season given his draft pedigree.

Fellow edge-rusher Leonard Floyd has still surprisingly not found a new home after a successful tenure with the Los Angeles Rams over the last three years.

The 30-year-old was a salary-cap casualty this offseason as he was released by Los Angeles after he helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title in 2022.

It was the best three-year stretch of his career since being taken No. 9 overall in 2016 by the Chicago Bears. The Georgia product had 29 sacks in that time span to go along with 184 total tackles.

It's shocking that both Clowney and Floyd are still out on the market as they are productive and capable of giving a big boost to a defense.

Here are few organizations that may be the best fits for either edge-rusher next season.

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Chicago Bears

The Bears have plenty of holes all over their roster. There was a reason they initially held the No. 1 pick in the draft before trading it to the Carolina Panthers.

Perhaps their most glaring flaw was their defense, more specifically their pass rush. Chicago had a league-worst 20 sacks, which will be a big point of emphasis for head coach Matt Eberflus, a former defensive coordinator.

Another reason why the Bears are a candidate is that they have money to spend. They have over $24 million available in salary-cap space. So, if they want to sign multiple players to boost their defense, they are more than capable.

It would be a bit of a homecoming for Floyd, who spent the first four seasons of his career in the Windy City and would immediately become the top pass-rusher on the roster.

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Detroit Lions

Something special is brewing in Detroit.

With an electric offense that ranked top-five in the NFL in both total yards per game (380.0) and points per game (26.6), the Lions are just a couple of key pieces away from making some serious noise in the NFC.

And one of those pieces is another pass-rusher to help out Aidan Hutchinson, who finished with 9.5 sacks in his first season in the league.

But aside from Hutchinson, Detroit can still use another star to help its defense after allowing the most yards per game of any team in the league (392.4).

The Lions also allowed 25.1 points per game, tied for third-worst in the league.

Clowney or Floyd could be a huge difference-maker and push them over the top.

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Carolina Panthers

Kicking off a new era with No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, the Panthers might as well give a boost to new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

They ranked in the bottom half of the league in both yards per game (350.2) and sacks (35). Carolina will be looking to give star pass-rusher Brian Burns a running mate.

Burns, entering the fifth season of his career, has gone to back-to-back Pro Bowls and is coming off a career year in which he posted a personal-best 12.5 sacks.

Having another talented guy on the other side would only make life easier for him and help get new head coach Frank Reich's tenure off on a good note.

They also have a good amount of cap space available with $15.2 million, according to Spotrac, so they may be able to afford someone like Floyd, who should be a little more expensive than Clowney.