NFL Free Agency: The 36 Best 2012 Free Agents

While everyone anxiously awaits the final Collective Bargaining Agreement terms and conditions, it appears that the NFL is headed towards an agreement that players will be considered to be a free agent after four years in the league.

What is still up in the air is the feasibility of franchise tags and how many of them can each team apply towards their own free agents. It is with the future in mind that we look at who are the top players that are currently projected to be the top 36 free agents when the 2012 NFL season arrives.

Out of this group of future potential free agents, we find 27 players that appeared on at least one Pro Bowl during the past three seasons. The other nine free agents that finish off the list are noteworthy players.

How We Arrived at These 36 Players

First off, I need to put in a plug for KFFL.com. They have a great ongoing list of NFL free agents that is projected out from now until 2017. You can find a link for the free agents lists I used here. It is very possible that based on the final outcome of the CBA negotiations, that some of there lists will need to be updated, but we are using their list for now as our source for which players will be viewed as free agents in 2012.

The next thing that was considered was looking at the NFL Pro Bowl rosters from the last three years. If any free agent appeared as both a free agent and as a recent Pro Bowl member, that was a combination that was going to easily gain entrance for this story. If the free agent was on a Pro Bowl roster five years ago or longer, it is likely that their game now is not what is was back then, so that is why they are omitted.

The remainder of the players included were ones that I felt were noteworthy. We will start out with the 27 players that were on the Pro Bowl in the last three years.

Quarterbacks (3)

We have three recent Pro Bowl quarterbacks that are scheduled to be free agents in 2012. They are: Michael Vick (Philadelphia), Vince Young (Tennessee) and Drew Brees (New Orleans). Out of this group, nobody knows where Vince Young will land for the 2011 season. Perhaps he will sign a new multi-year deal with his team.

Vick and Brees would be the most attractive quarterbacks on the market for teams that have some serious cash available to spend and a big need for a quality starting quarterback.

Running Backs (3)

We also have three 2012 free agent running backs that have graced a Pro Bowl team during the past three seasons. They are: Adrian Peterson (Minnesota), Thomas Jones (Arizona) and Frank Gore (San Francisco).

Jones is obviously in the twilight of his career, while Peterson and Gore are better options. Gore had a streak of four straight 1,000 yard plus seasons snapped in 2010, while Peterson continues to keep rolling along.

Wide Receivers (5)

The 2012 free agent class is headed up by a total of five wide receivers that have recently appeared in a Pro Bowl.

The five are: Chad OchoCinco, Wes Welker, Dwayne Bowe, Reggie Wayne and Larry Fitzgerald.

Out of this group, we have one relatively younger wide receiver in Bowe (entering his fifth year), two more seasoned guys in Fitzgerald and Welker (both entering their eighth year) and then two guys that are getting up there in years in OchoCinco and Wayne (who are both entering their 11th year).

Expect a major push in free agency for teams to land Bowe, Fitzgerald and Welker.

Tight End (1)

Out of the group of tight end free agents in 2012, there are some noteworthy names, but only one of them has appeared in a Pro Bowl in the last three years and that is Marcedes Lewis.

Lewis is only entering his sixth year in the NFL in 2011, so he should be a priority for teams that have no real presence at the tight end position. The Buffalo Bills come to mind as a team that is in dire need of a quality tight end.

Offensive Linemen (2)

Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs and D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the New York Jets are the only two projected 2012 free agent offensive linemen that have appeared in a Pro Bowl game in the past three years.

So for teams that still have holes along the offensive line, they will have to focus on the 2012 draft for help where they might be able to land a Matt Kalil, a Matt Reynolds or a Nate Potter.

As for Waters, he will be entering his 12th NFL season in NFL so one has to wonder if Waters has much life left in his legs. Ferguson however, is only entering his sixth NFL season, so with much fresher legs and lots of upside left, you can well imagine that he will be in play in 2012.

Defensive Linemen (5)

We have five strong defensive linemen that appear to be free agents in 2012, and they are: Darnell Dockett (Arizona), Robert Mathis (Indianapolis), Haloti Ngata (Baltimore), John Abraham (Atlanta) and Mario Williams (Houston).

Out of this group, Ngata and Williams are the youngsters (both will be entering their sixth year in the NFL in 2011), while Dockett is entering his eight year and Mathis will be entering his ninth year. The senior citizen of the group is John Abraham, who is going in to his 12th season in the NFL.

Williams is undergoing a position transformation in Houston, so we will see how he fares at linebacker. If this move does not work out well, that might give him plenty of motivation to look elsewhere to play in 2012. The prize jewel of 2102 looks to be Ngata, and expect a number of teams to be loading up a Brinks truck to back up in to his driveway if he will consider playing elsewhere in 2012.

Linebackers (3)

The free agent class of 2012 has three linebackers that have recently played in the Pro Bowl game. They are Jon Beason (Carolina), London Fletcher (Washington) and E.J. Henderson (Minnesota).

Out of this group, Beason is the one that appears to be in the prime of his career, as he is entering his fifth season in the league. Fletcher is like an ageless wonder, as he is now coming in to his 14th NFL campaign, yet continues to play at an outstanding level. The middle-aged player of the group is Henderson, who is coming in to his ninth NFL season in 2011.

Expect teams to go after Beason and Henderson the hardest due to having more upside.

Defensive Secondary (5)

We have a total of five defensive secondary members with recent Pro Bowl experience. They are as follows: Ronde Barber (Tampa Bay), Michael Griffin (Tennessee), Chris Hope (Tennessee), Brandon Meriweather (New England) and Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh).

From the above collection, we have several younger players, in that Brandon Meriweather and Michael Griffin are both entering their fifth year in the NFL. Troy Polamalu is entering his ninth season, Chris Hope will be entering his 10th year and Ronde Barber, the ageless wonder, is coming in to his 15th season.

From the above group, I expect the most aggressive action will be on Meriweather, Polamalu and Griffin.

The Best of the Rest (9)

Now that we have broken down the top 27 free agents of 2012, here is the next group of nine, which we will refer to as the best of the rest.

Offense: Quarterbacks Jason Campbell (Oakland) and Kevin Kolb (Philadelphia). Running Backs: Reggie Bush (New Orleans) and Matt Forte (Chicago). Wide Receiver: Marquez Colston (New Orleans). Tight Ends: Greg Olsen (Chicago) and Todd Heap (Baltimore). 

Defense: Linebackers Brian Urlacher (Chicago) and Lawrence Timmons (Pittsburgh).

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention: Some other key free agents in 2012 to be aware of:

On Offense: Earnest Graham, Ryan Grant, Willis McGahee, LaDainian Tomlinson, Derrick Mason, Roscoe Parrish, Visanthe Shiancoe, Jermichael Finley, Ryan Diem, Jeff Backus, Ben Grubbs, Joe Staley and Bobbie Williams.

On Defense: Aaron Smith, Cory Redding, Johny Jolly, Israel Idonije, Kameron Wimbley, Channing Crowder, Keith Brooking, Na'il Diggs, Jarrett Bush, Randall Gay, Leon Hall, Cary Harris, Michael Huff, Adam Jones, Jim Leonhard, Bryant McFadden, Aaron Ross, Bob Sanders and Nate Vasher.

Special Teams: Jay Feely, Rian Lindell, Joe Nedney, Neil Rackers, Josh Scobee and Mike Scifres.