The NFL’s free agency period officially kicks off on Wednesday, March 11, and the roster of available free agents is rich with names from multiple positions.
On Friday, March 6, Dan Graziano of ESPN named his top NFL free agents and projected landing spots for each.
“Some of these projections will look silly a week from now. Others could look absolutely brilliant,” he states in the feature. “But this is a snapshot of how the people around the NFL I’m talking to are sizing things up with a few days to go, knowing of course that a lot can change over the course of one frantic weekend.”
The Arizona Cardinals need work. They only won three games last season, and they’re looking to rebound as much as possible during the 2026-27 run. Graziano sees the team snagging cornerback quarterback Malik Willis in a $44 million with $32 million guaranteed deal.
Graziano makes the case that the move would offer a $1 million-per-year improvement over the contract Justin Fields signed with the New York Jets last year.
“That deal paid Fields $20 million guaranteed in 2025 and guarantees $10 million of his $20 million salary in 2026,” he notes. “Willis doesn’t have nearly as much NFL game experience as Fields did this time last year, but he has better vibes around him than Fields did after his Pittsburgh benching and could have multiple teams interested.”
Willis has started in six games in his NFL career, including one last season, and has thrown six touchdown passes to zero interceptions in the past two years, according to NFL research.
In The Athletic’s 2026 free agency countdown, they say of Willis, “Willis displayed poise, elite arm talent, velocity and accuracy from various arm slots and platforms and off-script playmaking as a thrower and runner. He has upper-echelon athleticism for the position and exceptional contact balance, both as a runner and within the pocket.”
The Cardinals could use someone with “elite arm talent” and at a discount, too, so don’t be surprised if you see this deal go down.
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