The NFL's Best Bang-for-the-Buck Free-Agent Signings

Plenty of low-buzz players continue to linger on the open market, but the club lights are on, and the NFL's annual free-agent party is essentially over. The league's 32 teams have combined to sign more than 200 players to contracts worth a total of nearly $2.5 billion.

The financial details associated with those deals are available from Spotrac. Many seem team-friendly, many more appear to be player-friendly, and some feel about right.

Let's break down that first category by taking a look at a dozen pacts that seem like tremendous bargains relative to the market.

Patrick Robinson to the New Orleans Saints

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Contract: 4 years, $20 million with $10 million guaranteed

Slot cornerbacks are basically starters these days, and Patrick Robinson is coming off a career year in which he was one of the best slot cover men in the NFL. It took a while for the 2010 first-round pick to discover his groove in that spot, which could explain why he's returning to the team that drafted him for only $5 million per season.

Thirty-three corners make more than that, despite the fact Robinson recorded a career-high five interceptions—including a crucial playoff pick—in 2017. Per Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks completed just 54.5 percent of their passes when targeting Robinson. That was the best mark for a slot corner in the NFC, and the 30-year-old was a big reason why the Philadelphia Eagles won their first championship in more than half a century.

This was a coup for the New Orleans Saints.

Sheldon Richardson to the Minnesota Vikings

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Contract: 1 year, $8 million with $7.8 million guaranteed

Sheldon Richardson is a 27-year-old 2013 first-round pick with a Pro Bowl nod on his resume. He's missed just two games over the last two years and is coming off a season in which he was often dominant inside for the Seattle Seahawks.

Mark Chichester of PFF called Richardson "a force in both the run game and in the pass-rush" in 2017.

"Through 17 weeks of the 2017 season," Chichester wrote, "Richardson racked up 36 total quarterback pressures and 22 run stops, which ranked ninth and 17th among defensive tackles this year, respectively."

There was some risk associated with signing Richardson because he's been suspended twice in his five-year career, but guaranteeing him less than $8 million and committing for only one year was a sweet deal for a team that might view the big man as a final puzzle piece.

Tyrann Mathieu to the Houston Texans

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Contract: 1 year, $7 million with $6.5 million guaranteed

Versatile defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was an All-Pro safety in 2015. And while he hasn't been as effective the last couple of years, a torn ACL in December 2015 explains part of that. But the Honey Badger started 16 games in 2017 and led the league in snaps, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman. And he's still only 25 years old.

That makes him an absolute steal on a one-year prove-it contract worth only $7 million.

Thirty-four safeties and corners have higher average annual salaries than Mathieu, and Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reported the LSU product turned down a more lucrative offer from the Arizona Cardinals, who drafted him in the third round in 2013.

Rashaan Melvin to the Oakland Raiders

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Contract: 1 year, $5.5 million with $4.9 million guaranteed

Speaking of prove-it deals, the Oakland Raiders landed a potential late-blooming cornerback on a cheap one-year deal that will give Rashaan Melvin a chance to prove his worth.

The 28-year-old journeyman (he had cups of coffee with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots) showed some promise in nine starts with the Indianapolis Colts in 2016 before breaking out with three interceptions and 13 passes defensed in 10 games as the team's top-performing corner last season.

Per PFF, opposing quarterbacks posted a passer rating of just 60.3 against Melvin in 2017, which was the 10th-lowest mark in the league. For a one-year commitment of less than $6 million, that's more than worth it.

Jimmy Graham to the Green Bay Packers

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Contract: 3 years, $30 million with $11 million guaranteed

At 31, five-time Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham might not be the same player he was in New Orleans, but the 6'7" Miami product remains one of the top red-zone targets in the game. He was one of just three players to catch 10 or more touchdown passes in 2017, and all 10 came on plays from inside the opposing team's 20-yard line.

So Graham's presence could be a boon for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, especially if the Pack use Graham more liberally out wide the way the Saints did. No matter where he lines up, though, Rodgers will take full advantage of the big guy's massive catch radius.

Graham didn't come cheap at $10 million per year, but not much of his contract is guaranteed beyond 2018. Thirteen tight ends possess deals with more guaranteed cash than Graham's.

AJ McCarron to the Buffalo Bills

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Contract: 2 years, $10 million with $7.9 million guaranteed

AJ McCarron might not become a franchise quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, but the 27-year-old Alabama product did enough during his four years as Andy Dalton's backup with the Cincinnati Bengals to prove he should at least get a chance.

In three late-season starts in place of an injured Dalton in 2015, McCarron completed 65.1 percent of his passes, passed for four touchdowns to zero interceptions and posted a 100.1 passer rating. He was lights-out with a 106.8 rating the following preseason, but his numbers in 2017 weren't pretty in either the preseason or regular season (though they did come in a small sample).

McCarron has a shot at turning into a strong starter, but the Bills are paying him like a backup or a bridge quarterback. The New York Jets gave Josh McCown the same $10 million but over just one year, the Chicago Bears paid Chase Daniel $10 million over two years, and Nick Foles picked up $11 million over two years from the Eagles.

Dontari Poe to the Carolina Panthers

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Contract: 3 years, $28 million with $13.3 million guaranteed

Dontari Poe's three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers isn't cheap, but a $9.3 million average annual salary over three years with only about half of it guaranteed isn't bad for a matchup nightmare of an interior defensive lineman.

And it looks even better when you consider the Panthers paid the 27-year-old Poe, who has two Pro Bowls on his resume and is coming off a strong season with the Atlanta Falcons, far less than the $50 million over five years the Bills paid his predecessor, Star Lotulelei, who is one year older, has never been to a Pro Bowl and is coming off multiple poor seasons.

An upgrade at a discount? General manager Marty Hurney will take it.

Julius Peppers Returns to the Panthers

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Contract: 1 year, $5 million with $2.5 million guaranteed

The Poe contract wasn't the only deal the Panthers got for a defensive lineman in free agency. They also re-signed ageless defensive end Julius Peppers at a comically low price.

It's doubtful anyone was willing to offer a long-term pact to a 38-year-old pass-rusher, but you'd have to think somebody would have agreed to pay Peppers more than $5 million for another year of work. After all, the dude had 11 sacks as a part-time player in 2017.

But Peppers has made nearly $160 million in his career, so it's possible he was willing to take a discount with the Super Bowl contender that drafted him second overall 16 years ago. In 2017, 36 3-4 outside linebackers or 4-3 defensive ends will have a higher cap hit than Peppers.

Adrian Clayborn to the New England Patriots

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Contract: 2 years, $10 million with $5.5 million guaranteed

The Panthers weren't the only team that avoided paying a premium for a strong pass-rusher. Somehow, the Patriots landed former Buccaneers and Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn on a two-year deal at the same annual rate as Peppers' with just $5.5 million guaranteed.

That despite the fact Clayborn should be in his prime at age 29 and is coming off a career year in which he recorded 9.5 sacks and a team-high 55 quarterback pressures, according to PFF, as a rotation edge-rusher.

Clayborn has lacked consistency throughout his seven-year career, but the Pats have a knack for getting the most out of veterans like him. At a cost of only $5 million per season and basically only one year guaranteed, there isn't much downside.

Cody Latimer to the New York Giants

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Contract: 1 year, $2.5 million

Some free agents get paid for what they've done. Others get paid for what they might do. Cody Latimer was paid for the former, which could benefit the New York Giants if he puts it all together in 2018.

The 2014 second-round pick is just 25 years old and coming off a promising fourth season in which he caught 19 passes for 287 yards and a pair of touchdowns—all career highs. Those numbers don't jump off the page, but practically all that production came during a seven-game stretch before his 2017 season ended prematurely as a result of a thigh injury.

Latimer was one of just nine receivers with at least 15 receptions, a catch percentage of 60 or better and an average of at least 15 yards per reception in 2017. And he's also a strong contributor on special teams.

It's shocking nobody was willing to pay him more than $2.5 million.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the Jacksonville Jaguars

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Contract: 2 years, $10 million with $4 million guaranteed

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins is in a similar boat in that he wasn't paid for potential despite being a talented 25-year-old 2014 second-round pick.

The former Buccaneer and Jet was guaranteed only $4 million on a two-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is odd considering he is a 6'5", 262-pound superathlete with a career reception rate of 61.4 and is coming off his best season.

Seferian-Jenkins averaged just 7.1 yards per catch but caught an impressive 50 passes in a mediocre Jets offense last season, but it's possible teams still don't trust him considering the injury issues and off-field problems that plagued him during his time with the Buccaneers.

This was a low-risk/high-reward move for the Jags.

E.J. Gaines to the Cleveland Browns

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Contract: 1 year, $4 million

Cornerback E.J. Gaines was solid when healthy during his lone season with the Bills in 2017, but the 26-year-old missed 26 games over the last three years and didn't get much love on the free-agent market.

Still, it's surprising Gaines had to settle for a one-year, $4 million deal with the Cleveland Browns. He surrendered a passer rating of just 75.2 last season and was excellent at preventing yards after the catch, according to PFF.

And no, that wasn't a huge sample size (11 games, 654 snaps, per Pro Football Reference), but you'd think it might have convinced somebody that the Missouri product's strong rookie season (two interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 70 tackles as a 15-game starter with the then-St. Louis Rams in 2014) wasn't a fluke.

If Gaines can reach those heights again in 2018, the Browns will have received plenty of bang for their four million bucks.