Ian Hartitz jumps over to the NFC today, playing GM and providing one free agency move for every team in the conference during the NFL offseason.

Free agency is right around the corner—let's talk some ball!

What follows is *one* free agency wish for every AFC team based on each squad's biggest needs (see my “team needs” series here) and my own biased viewpoint on life itself.

As always: It's a great day to be great.  

Arizona Cardinals

  • Key needs: EDGE, Guard, Wide Receiver
  • Effective cap space: $72.9 million (4th)
  • Free agency wish: Bring in Khalil Mack to help revitalize the pass rush

The team's plethora of free agent EDGE defenders leaves the Cardinals with a mere $6.2 million devoted to the position ahead of 2025—easily the lowest mark in the league.

Additionally, the performance from this group left quite a bit to be desired in 2024. This was a bottom-8 group in both pressure rate and average time to pressure last season.

Most of the team's key contributors from the secondary remain under contract, so sprucing up the line of scrimmage seems like the best path to improving the league's reigning 24th-ranked defense in EPA allowed per dropback.

Atlanta Falcons

  • Key needs: Center, EDGE, cornerback
  • Effective cap space: -$8.4 million (28th)
  • Free agency wish: Sign old man Zach Ertz … to replace a traded Kyle Pitts!

There have been trade murmurs surrounding the team's former No. 4 overall pick over the course of the last two offseasons. Now on Pitts' fifth-year option, the time to attempt to recoup any sort of assets is meow should the organization decide against offering the alleged unicorn a long-term deal.

Enter: Ertz, who is the sort of lower-priced veteran capable of:

  1. Providing a stable source of production for a young (in NFL years) QB
  2. Signing a relatively low-cost deal to help the franchise add some level of upgrade while continuing to suffer the consequences of the Kirk Cousins contract

To give Ertz some love: The 34-year-old veteran is fresh off posting his best numbers since 2021, as his 66-654-7 receiving line was good for TE10 status in PPR points per game. His season-ending 11-104-0 revenge game special against the Eagles was more evidence that old man Ertz still has some gas in the tank. The Falcons should be plenty familiar with him at this point after the ex-Eagle/Cardinal caught two TDs against them last December.

Carolina Panthers

  • Key needs: Pass rush, pass catcher, secondary
  • Effective cap space: $23.9 million (19th)
  • Free agency wish: Spruce up the complementary WR options

The Panthers join the Chargers, Giants, and Packers as the only four teams with under $20 million 2025 dollars devoted to their WR and TE rooms. Another high-end WR certainly wouldn't hurt, while some depth is needed at TE with Tommy Tremble, Ian Thomas, and Feleipe Franks all set to hit free agency.

Ultimately, Panthers WRs and TEs ranked dead last in average "Open Score" in 2024; it's imperative the offense finds ways to create easier throwing windows for Young in 2025 and beyond. Figuring out a way to gain more after the catch also might be a good idea: Panthers pass catchers as a whole ranked dead last in yards after the catch per reception (4.2 yards) last season—and the WRs in particular were ROUGH.

Big swings in the draft are needed (Tet McMillan come on down! – although Freedman has McMillan going to the Pats in his latest mock), but adding cheaper options with better potential YAC upside like Elijah Moore, Rondale Moore, or maybe even Kavontae Turpin (RFA) could help add a new dimension to this offense.

Chicago Bears

  • Key needs: Offensive line, interior defensive line, running back
  • Effective cap space: $69.9 million (5th)
  • Free agency wish: Sign Najee Harris to work as Ben Johnson's new David Montgomery

The NFL's only RB with 1,000-plus rush yards in each of the past four seasons, Harris has three-down ability (caught 74 passes as a rookie!) and has consistently worked as one of the league's best tackle breakers with the football in his hands.

Harris tackles avoided per carry among all RB with 150+ rushes:

  • 2021: 18.6% (No. 12)
  • 2022: 20.2% (No. 13)
  • 2023: 20.4% (No. 15)
  • 2024: 24% (No. 8)

I know, I know: Najee is widely perceived as a rather meh RB at this point, but wasn't that same sentiment true of Montgomery after his days in Chicago?

Just look at the numbers!

  • Najee 2021-2024: 3.9 yards per carry, 2.9 yards after contact per carry, 20.7% missed tackles forced per rush, 5.8% explosive run rate
  • Montgomery 2019-2022: 3.9 yards per carry, 2.7 yards after contact per rush, 15.1% missed tackles forced per rush, 5% explosive run rate

Note that the Bears' offensive line actually vastly out-produced the Steelers when looking at rank in yards before contact per carry (15th vs. 29th).

Absolutely essential signing? Probably not, but the Bears have plenty of spending money, Harris has never missed a game, and he could work as the early-down bell-cow to more of a pass-down complement like D'Andre Swift or a rookie back to be named later.

Dallas Cowboys

  • Key needs: Offensive line, running back, defensive line
  • Effective cap space: -$1.7 million (26th)
  • Free agency wish: Find a way to restock the offensive line

The lack of cap space won't make this easy, but the retirement of Zack Martin makes this more necessary than ever. The Cowboys ranked 31st in yards before contact per carry and 25th in average time to pressure. That was good for PFF's 25th-ranked offensive line, which looked awfully mortal throughout 2024.

It'd make sense if 2024 first- and third-round picks Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe improve in 2025 and beyond; just realize the days of the Cowboys' big uglies operating as one of the league's best units are firmly in the rear-view mirror.

Detroit Lions

  • Key needs: Cornerback, defensive line, WR3
  • Effective cap space: $49.2 million (10th)
  • Free agency wish: Trade for Myles Garrett

Getting budding superstar Aidan Hutchinson back from injury will be huge here, but Marcus Davenport is hitting free agency, and numerous depth pieces in the interior could also be finding new homes soon. Add it all together, and the Lions presently have the 10th fewest 2025 dollars allotted to their interior and EDGE defenders.

Good news: The team's ability to cause disruption in opposing backfields was nothing short of elite in 2024. This is evidenced through "Havoc rate" which is the percentage of plays in which a defense recorded a pressure, tackle for a loss, interception, forced fumble, or pass breakup:

Top-five Havoc rates in 2024:

  • Broncos (40.3%)
  • Lions (40%)
  • Browns (40%)
  • Eagles (39.6%)
  • Vikings (39%)

Now imagine if a certain disgruntled star pass rusher from the No. 3 team on the above list found his way to Detroit…

Green Bay Packers

  • Key needs: Wide receiver, linebacker, interior offensive line
  • Effective cap space: $46.1 million (11th)
  • Free agency wish: Sign Stefon Diggs to work as the de facto No. 1 WR

Diggs should be ready to return to the field during the early portions of the 2025 season. Here's to hoping his torn ACL won't drastically hinder him moving forward, as the longtime stud WR was still quite great at creating separation with the Texans last season.

Diggs' ESPN "Open Score" rating by year:

  • 2024: 83 (No. 7 among qualified WRs)
  • 2023: 69 (No. 19)
  • 2022: 83 (No. 6)
  • 2021: 93 (No. 3)
  • 2020: 84 (No. 5)

32 next November, it's certainly possible Diggs' best football is in the rear-view mirror; just realize he still looked plenty capable of working as a quality No. 2 option at worst during the first two months of last season.

As Packers RB Josh Jacobs stated in early February, "I think we need a guy that's proven to be a No. 1 WR already." 

Kudos to the Packers for managing to hit on some talented young receivers in recent drafts, but at some point a real investment might be needed here. After all, the Packers have the fifth-fewest 2025 dollars devoted to the position at the moment, and with all due respect to their various baller second-round receivers over the years, the last skill-position player they took with a first-round pick was WR Javon Walker all the way back in … 2002.

Los Angeles Rams

  • Key needs: Wide receiver, offensive tackle, front-seven
  • Effective cap space: $41.7 million (14th)
  • Free agency wish: Bring in Keenan Allen to replace Cooper Kupp

The 2024 season didn't start out so hot for Allen (perhaps due in part to a lingering preseason heel injury), but he actually put together a rather great stretch later on: Only five WRs scored more PPR points than Allen in Weeks 12-16. Arbitrary timeline, absolutely, but it was still good to see flashes from the soon-to-be 33-year-old veteran.

Conveniently, Allen already revealed there are only three teams he'd be willing to sign with:

  • Da Bears
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams

The Rams' decision to move on from Kupp would seemingly allow Allen to slide right into the starting slot role. It'd certainly be understandable if the organization isn't simply looking to exchange one 30-something veteran for another; just realize Allen could fetch a more affordable dollar figure, and most advanced measures point to the former Chargers star as the superior pass-catcher at this point in time.

Minnesota Vikings

  • Key needs: Running back, offensive line, cornerback
  • Effective cap space: $61 million (7th)
  • Free agency wish: Re-sign Aaron Jones

Jones racked up career-high marks in touches (306) and rushing yards (1,138) in 2024 and generally looked like his usual baller self:

  • Jones' 51 receptions marked the third time in four years that he cleared the 50 catch threshold. His per-reception (8) and per-target (6.6) rates were the second-best marks of his career.
  • The ex-Packer ranked inside the position's top-20 players in yards per carry (4.5, 15th), yards after contact per carry (3, 20th), and tackles avoided per rush (18%, 17th) among 31 players with 150-plus rushes. Hardly ground-breaking numbers, but not horrendous.

Yes, Jones turns 31 next December. Also yes, his 1,755 career touches are less than Christian McCaffrey (1,871) and within shouting distance of guys like James Conner (1,642), Austin Ekeler (1,542), and David Montgomery (1,526).

Are the best seasons of Jones' career probably in the rear-view mirror? Sure, but that makes a return to Minnesota inside Kevin O'Connell's ever well-schemed rushing attack likely the best move for the veteran, and probably a not-so-expensive move for the RB-needy Vikings as well.

New Orleans Saints

  • Key needs: Quarterback, EDGE, cornerback
  • Effective cap space: -$52.6 million (32nd)
  • Free agency wish: Get Derek Carr to waive his no-trade clause, then trade him to literally anyone that will take him

This is more so due to the potential reality that the Saints are done with Mr. Derek Carr than a massive indictment on the soon to be 34-year-old veteran. Kudos to Carr for actually working as the QB8 in adjusted EPA when accounting for things like drops and offensive line performance last season.

Still, Carr is on the record stating he will not take a pay cut to remain with the Saints, which might be a deal-breaker considering New Orleans would be forced to swallow $21.5 million in dead money with a post-June 1 cut. A trade would easily give the Saints the most cap relief; QB-needy teams that miss out on the top-two or three QBs in the draft could look Carr's way–I think a reunion with the Raiders would hilariously make some sense!

Ultimately, it's unlikely the Saints are looking to hitch their future to Carr; ripping the bandaid off and attempting to find a real long-term solution at the position sooner rather than later is probably best for all parties involved.

New York Giants

  • Key needs: Quarterback, interior offensive line, secondary
  • Effective cap space: $38.8 million (15th)
  • Free agency wish: Give D.J. Reed, Byron Murphy, and/or Carlton Davis a lot of money

The Giants have the league's fifth-most 2025 dollars tied up in their defensive line … but the second-fewest dollars devoted to their cornerback and safety rooms. Part of that is because long-time No. 1 CB Adoree' Jackson and starting S Jason Pinnock are hitting free agency, but either way, this pass defense could use some sprucing up.

New York has used three top-70 picks on defensive backs over the past two drafts; continuing to pour resources into the group in some way, shape, or form is advised in order to fill this rather gaping hole.

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Key needs: EDGE, WR3, offensive line
  • Effective cap space: $19.8 million (20th)
  • Free agency wish: Bring back a newly motivated Haason Reddick

Brandon Graham turns 37 in April, and Josh Sweat doesn't feel like a lock to be retained after the team fielded trade calls for his services back in May. The interior of the defensive line remains a mega strength thanks to Bulldogs Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, but some extra juice on the edge would be nice.

Consider: Eagles interior defensive linemen racked up the third-most total pressures in 2024, but their EDGE rushers "only" ranked 12th.

2024 third-rounder Jalyx Hunt and 2023 first-rounder Nolan Smith are available to pick up the slack; just realize the Eagles know better than anyone that no NFL defense can ever have enough quality pass rushers. Assuming the Jets have tired of the Reddick experience, why not get the band back together and bring back the same man who racked up 27 sacks and a pair of Pro Bowl seasons back in 2022 and 2023?

San Francisco 49ers

  • Key needs: Offensive line, cornerback, defensive tackle
  • Effective cap space: $45.7 million (12th)
  • Free agency wish: Fix this interior defensive line

Javon Hargrave is a free agent and played just three games last season before partially tearing his right triceps. Depth piece Kevin Givens is also hitting free agency, while the likes of Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott didn't exactly thrive during their respective debut seasons in San Francisco.

This defense will always have a shot at locking down opposing offenses whenever Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are healthy enough to suit up, and the return of Robert Saleh should be an upgrade over Nick Sorensen and Brandon Staley.

That said: Clearly this group struggled to slow down opposing rushing attacks in 2024.

Worst defenses in EPA allowed per rush in 2024:

  • 49ers (+0.008)
  • Saints (+0.014)
  • Cowboys (+0.084)
  • Panthers (+0.097)

Overall, Javon Kinlaw back in 2020 is the last defensive tackle the 49ers have drafted with even a top-200 pick! Let's fix that, please.

Seattle Seahawks

  • Key needs: Offensive line, pass catcher, linebacker
  • Effective cap space: -$9.8 million (29th)
  • Free agency wish: Spend boatloads of cash on the o-line

This group was horrendous last season…

  • PFF's reigning 31st-ranked unit
  • 30th in rush yards before contact per carry
  • 29th in pressure rate allowed

… and that makes sense because the front office has largely ignored them for the better part of the last decade:

  • 29th in 2025 dollars devoted to the O-line
  • Seattle has used *one* top-50 pick on the offensive line over the last eight drafts combined

Starting C Connor Williams retiring during the middle of last season sums up all you need to know about this group. LT Charles Cross deserves credit for earning PFF's 10th-best grade among 87 qualified players at the position, but otherwise? Let's add some actual resources to this group for once and see what happens.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Key needs: EDGE, pass catcher, linebacker
  • Effective cap space: $5.3 million (23rd)
  • Free agency wish: Re-sign Chris Godwin

Godwin was nothing short of excellent in 2024 before unfortunately dislocating his ankle in Week 7.

Godwin among 84 WRs with 50-plus targets:

  • Yards per route run: 2.36 (No. 10)
  • Targets per route run: 24.6% (No. 19)
  • Passer rating when targeted: 127.5 (No. 6)
  • PFF receiving grade: 85.7 (No. 10)
  • PPF points per game: 19.7 (No. 2)

The long-time Bucs WR turns 29 in February. Godwin's timetable for recovery is unclear, although Todd Bowles' assertion that he had a chance to be back for a late playoff run is intriguing. Dr. Deepak Chona believes Godwin will likely be playing in Week 1 of 2025, although WR ankle data favors a moderate dip that recovers midseason.

Still, last season proved that Godwin is still plenty capable of racking up production from the friendly confines of the slot when given the opportunity. Things were certainly going incredible to start the year: Ja'Marr Chase (138.1) was the only WR with more PPR points than Godwin (137.8) in Weeks 1-7 last year.

This takes us to the offseason: Per Greg Auman, Godwin's current contract was due to void, but the two sides agreed to move the void date to the final day of the league year (March 12). This seemingly buys them time to work out a new deal and keep some 2025 cap savings. Here's to hoping! 

Washington Commanders

  • Key needs: Pass catcher, secondary, linebacker
  • Effective cap space: $75.5 million (3rd)
  • Free agency wish: Sign Amari Cooper and form a lethal Ohio State duo on the outside

2024 was not a good year for Mr. Cooper. Career-low counting numbers across the board went hand-in-hand with brutal efficiency marks: ESPN ranked Cooper 106th among 116 qualified WRs, while PFF receiving grades ranked him 60th.

That said: We're only one season removed from Cooper going for 1,250 yards with a combination of Deshaun Watson and Joe Flacco under center. 31 in June, Cooper isn't exactly a spring chicken these days, but perhaps more leniency should be given to a hand/wrist injury to seemingly impacted the long-time route-running maven throughout the second half of 2024.

Forming an Ohio State-friendly one-two punch with Terry McLaurin would be a 1.) Fun time, and 2.) Cheap-ish way to add more pass-catching talent for Jayden Daniels.