2012 NFL Free Agents: Predicting Destinations for Top Available Players

The 2012 NFL draft is in full swing, but that doesn't mean teams are going to be able to fill all of their needs. Doing that is going to require free agency, which still has quite a few solid names left in its pool. 

Sure, the Peyton Mannings and Mario Williams' are gone, but there are players who, if nothing else, have tremendous upside. 

The remaining free agents obviously aren't perfect, but there's no question they can help certain teams.

Let's take a look at who's out there and where they'll go. 

Marcus McNeill, T, Philadelphia Eagles

McNeill is pretty easily the best available free agent, as he has a pair of Pro Bowls and six years of starting experience. 

He tends to get over-hyped a little bit, but when he's on, he can be a very good left tackle. And good left tackles are a commodity in the NFL, haven't you ever seen The Blind Side?

McNeill has had a little trouble staying healthy, but he'll still help whoever signs him, and I think that will be the Eagles.

Philly just lost star left tackle, so McNeill makes a lot of sense. 

Andre Carter, DE, New England Patriots

Carter, much like McNeill, is aging and injury-prone (he's almost 33 and tore his quad in December). Nonetheless, he is a top-flight pass-rusher.

In 14 games for the Pats last season, Carter registered 10 sacks, his fourth season with double-digit sacks. It's tough to believe teams won't want that kind of production, no matter how questionable his health is. 

Bill Belichick appears committed to fixing his defense through the draft (with two front-seven players drafted in the first round), and the Pats haven't reached out to Carter yet, but neither has anyone else.

I wouldn't be surprised if New England re-signs Carter for very good value. 

Jake Scott, G, Miami Dolphins

The Titans are re-making their offensive line, and that means Scott, a talented interior lineman, is on his way out of town.

He has started every game for the past seven seasons and rated as the sixth-best guard in pass protection last season by Pro Football Focus.

Despite his age (31) and limitations in the run game, I'd still call Scott a pretty sought-after free agent.

The two teams after Scott the most are the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, who both need to protect young quarterbacks. 

At this point it's a bit of a toss-up, but I'll go with the Dolphins.

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