2017 NFL Free Agents: Hidden Gems Still on the Market

There are very few top talents left on the board for this NFL free agency. Right around now, most of the discussions are about where quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Adrian Peterson and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins are going to land, while we keep an eye on the Tony Romo situation in Dallas.

That doesn't mean that the NFL's game of musical chairs is over just yet, though. There are still plenty of names on the market, and teams have a lot of room to fit in 90 players on their roster at this point in the offseason.

With that in mind, we'll walk you through who some of the eight most talented players who are still available are, with the biggest names, the ones being talked about 24/7, excluded from the list. These are starting-caliber players at this point in their careers, or have the talent to be so, but the market has not yet crowned them as such in mid-March.

Devin Taylor, EDGE

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Over the last two years, Devin Taylor of the Detroit Lions recorded 11.5 combined sacks. While that doesn't sound like a great number, it ranks third among 2013 draft picks, just behind Kawann Short's 17 and Ezekiel Ansah's 16.5.

The numbers for 4-3 defensive ends are going up, as the New York Giants have set the market at the position in back-to-back offseasons with the signing of Jason Pierre-Paul to a deal worth $40 million in guaranteed money, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Looking at the market, the average salary for pass-rushers is about $2 million per each sack.

That means that Taylor should have signed around a $10 million-per-year contract as a 4-3 defensive end. Philadelphia's Vinny Curry has an average salary of $9.45 million and has recorded six sacks in the last two seasons. Miami's Andre Branch has an average salary of $8 million and has recorded 9.5 sacks in the last two seasons.

Curry signed his deal last February, and Branch signed his contract this month. In this market, with such a weak 2013 pass-rushing class entering their second contracts for the first time, it's insane that Taylor, who right now looks like he's been replaced with Kerry Hyder and Cornelius Washington in Detroit, is still on the market as a 27-year-old.

Colin Kaepernick, QB

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For whatever you think of Colin Kaepernick off the field, he improved as a passer in 2016. In 2015, when he had disastrous games like a four-interception matchup in a 47-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, he had a passer rating of 78.5. That number jumped all the way up to 90.7 in 2016, his best since his mark of 91.6 in 2013, when the San Francisco 49ers went 12-4 and made it to the NFC Championship Game with him at quarterback.

To put those numbers into perspective, Kaepernick's 2015 was better than Jay Cutler's 2016 from a passer rating standpoint, and Cutler is being talked about as potential starting quarterback, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, among others, have linked the quarterback with the New York Jets.

Kaepernick had a passer rating over 90 in 2016. Cutler has done that once in his 11-year career. Kaepernick had an interception percentage of 1.2, while Cutler's career best was 2.2, nearly double Kaepernick's 2016.

I don't blame fans for not watching a bad San Francisco 49ers team last season, but, as a talent, Kaepernick is incredibly underrated nation-wide. If he finds a spot where he can compete for a starting job, there's a decent chance that Kaepernick doesn't give it up.

DeAndre Levy, LB

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DeAndre Levy was always on the cusp of being a nationally known name in Detroit, but could never put together back-to-back seasons of quality play. The linebacker was a third-round pick in the 2009 draft, and by 2014, he was a second-team All-Pro selection.

Unfortunately, Levy played just one game in 2015. He followed that up with five games in 2016. The 29-year-old has battled knee, quad and hip issues since he signed a four-year deal in August of 2015, but the Lions general manager Bob Quinn, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, said "I feel like [Levy] will be back next year," at the scouting combine.

So why isn't he? If Levy can prove that he's healthy, and that's a big if, he could be a massive steal for a team willing to take a chance on an injury risk. If he puts together a 121-tackle season like in 2014, he hits. If he puts together a six-interception season like in 2013, he hits.

He's a linebacker on the right side of 30 with 86 NFL starts under his belt and All-Pro honors on his resume. Those type of linebackers don't typically sit on the open market and wait for a call in mid-March.

Christine Michael, RB

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Christine Michael, despite bouncing around the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers rosters in 2016, recorded seven rushing touchdowns last season as a tailback. That put him 15th league-wide in rushing touchdowns and just one short of the likes of the Jay Ajayi tier of rushers in 2016.

Michael is a freak athlete running back who found himself in the dog house at Texas A&M, but he was still drafted in the second round based on talent. His career has taken him on a tour with four teams in the last 19 months, but at 26 years old, no one should rule him out as a starting running back in the NFL.

He's only averaged 68 carries a season since 2012, dating back to his last year at Texas A&M, which means that in theory he should be fresher than most 26-year-olds. When you juxtapose that to NFL draft prospects, who can come into the league at 24 years old without anyone batting an eye, his recent touchdown production and his draft pedigree, you begin to start asking questions about why he's on the open market.

Running backs aren't getting paid big money anymore, as you can tell when fullbacks and blocking tight ends are now making top-10 running back money, but teams still run the ball, even if they do it more from the shotgun in 2017. Michael could be a difference-maker for a team, if it finally clicks for him in the fifth year of his NFL career. He may also be able to contribute in the return game.

Eugene Sims, EDGE

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This might be the deepest sleeper of any player on this list. Last season, opposite of Robert Quinn, the Los Angeles Rams' rotation of Eugene Sims, Ethan Westbrooks and William Hayes was fairly interchangeable at defensive end.

After transitioning to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, the Rams traded Hayes to the Miami Dolphins to turn a seventh-round pick into a sixth-round pick, while Sims, the only player older than new head coach Sean McVay, was released and Westbrooks went untagged as a restricted free agent. The Rams clearly wanted to rid themselves of "end" bodies, while they recently signed Connor Barwin to a one-year deal worth a maximum of $6.5 million, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

What that means now is that Sims, a mid-level defensive end who is average at best as a pass-rusher, is on the open market. He may not be a premier player, as he's never recorded more than three sacks in a season, but the 31-year-old didn't record 20 starts in 99 career games by accident. His skill set is what you should imagine when you think of a baseline end in this league, and in today's defensive end market, that's still meaningful.

Erik Walden, EDGE

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When Erik Walden signed a four-year, $16 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts after being a part-time player for the Green Bay Packers, many thought the Colts overpaid for the 3-4 outside linebacker. In his first three years with Indianapolis, he recorded just 12 sacks.

That meant that the 31-year-old had just 21 sacks over eight NFL seasons heading into 2016. In 2016, though, he recorded 11 sacks, his best sack total in his career by nearly double his career high and quadruple his next best mark.

Lorenzo Alexander, the 33-year-old special teamer turned pass-rush specialist was the breakout player of 2016 in the pass-rushing department with his 12.5-sack season, but Walden wasn't far behind him. Since then, the Colts have added Jabaal Sheard, John Simon, Margus Hunt and Barkevious Mingo, all players who were pass-rushers last season, in free agency.

Alexander re-signed with the Bills for a two-year, $9 million contract this offseason. Walden likely won't be returning to the Colts, as it's hard to imagine how he'd fit in that rotation now, but he should be more sought-after in this pass-rushing market.

Rolando McClain, LB

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Rolando McClain was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft class and is still just a 27-year-old. The linebacker, when on the field, looks every bit as talented as his draft selection.

With that being said, he has a history of off-field issues, including a year-long suspension in 2016 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, after serving a four-game suspension for the same issue to start the 2015 season. Talents of his caliber seem to get second and third chances, though, as you have to look no further than Oakland's Aldon Smith.

The problem is, McClain has only played in 24 of 64 possible games since 2013. At this point, he's the best middle linebacker on the market, but how much a team will invest in a character red flag like him, who has already been in the NFL's testing system and failed several times, will be the question.

If he does get a chance to start somewhere, expect him to be on a one-year "prove-it deal," like the last two contracts he signed with the Dallas Cowboys. He is an absolute risk versus reward and locker room decision, as his pure talent will almost surely outweigh his contract.

T.J. McDonald, S

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Safeties aren't the most exciting football players for fans, since they get the least amount of screen time of any starters in the league on Sundays, and they're really only noticed when they've done wrong, but T.J. McDonald has been one of the better safeties in the league for the Los Angeles Rams over his last couple of seasons.

McDonald is a 26-year-old former All-American who was drafted in the top 100 and has started in 53 of 53 active games in his NFL career. Last May, McDonald was charged with a DUI, but that didn't stop the Rams from starting him in 2016. For the team to make a statement now by not re-signing him would be pretty surprising.

Still, if he faces the potential of suspension, a team would be banking on McDonald missing the start of the season. Andy Benoit of The MMQB called McDonald a top-three strong safety in 2015, and there were no signs that McDonald had a significant on-field drop off since then.

The safety market has at times been overrated by those outside of the NFL, with the likes of George Iloka and Louis Delmas coming to mind in recent seasons. We'll find out soon if we can add McDonald to that list.