The cliché of “defense wins championships” was proven to be true in the 2024 season.
Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs were absolutely stifled by the Philadelphia Eagles defense, particularly their front four, in a 40-22 Super Bowl LIX route by the NFC champions. Three of the players who helped make that possible headline the top 25 defensive free agents available when the new NFL’s new league year begins on March 12.
(To check out the top 25 offensive free agents, click here).
Here’s a preview of the 25 of the best defenders set to be up for grabs:
Honorable mentions: Raiders LB Robert Spillane, Colts DE Dayo Odeyingbo, Eagles DE Haason Reddick, Buccaneers LB Lavonte David, Cardinals DE Baron Browning, Raiders LB Malcolm Koonce, DE Chauncey Golston, Jets LB Jamien Sherwood, Vikings CB Stephon Gilmore, Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton, Seahawks LB Ernest Jones, Commanders LB Bobby Wagner
Azeez Ojulari has 22.0 career sacks in 46 games, which is great. However, his quarterback pressures and quarterback pressure rate totals tell a different story: Ojulari’s career quarterback pressures total of 108 is 66th among 68 players with at least 20 sacks since 2021, and his QB pressure rate of 10.8% ranks 51st in the among 68 players with at least 20 sacks since 2021. That’s not great.
He’ll turn 25 on June 16, so there’s a sliver of hope he could grow into more than just a pass rush specialist.
In the span of Justin Simmons’ nine-year career since 2016, no one in the NFL has more interceptions than his 32. Simmons added two more to that total in 2024 in his first season with the Falcons, and even though he is 31, he can help lift a contender’s defensive backfield in 2025.
Levi Onwuzurike has the build (6-foot-3, 290 pounds) and skill set to be a versatile, impact player along any team’s defensive line ahead of his 27th birthday, but he’s missed 25 games because of injuries through his first four NFL seasons. If he can improve his durability, he’s a value signing on the open market with the ability on the interior and on the edge.
Dre Greenlaw has been the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive X-factor. All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and the rest of their defensive talent function at a much higher level when Greenlaw is on the field, but San Francisco was only able to have him for 34 snaps in 2024 following his Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear. He’ll be 28 this year, so there’s still a chance for him to turn things around and get his career back.
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DeMarcus Lawrence may be turning 33 in 2025, but he showed he can still be a disruptor on the edge. He totaled three sacks, a forced fumble and four tackles for loss in four weeks of play before suffering a season-ending foot injury in a Thursday night game against the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium. If he can join a team that already has a clear-cut, No. 1 edge rusher, Lawrence can be a fine complement to that player as a starter on the opposite side of the defensive line.
Chargers corner Asante Samuel Jr. played just four games before going on IR with a shoulder injury in the first season of a new scheme under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. He’ll turn just 26 in the upcoming season, and he’s a solid cover corner. His tackling is an issue, but the hope would be that it will improve with age.
Paulson Adebo got off to a nice start in 2024 before a broken femur injury cut his season short after seven games. However, he was balling out: Adebo’s 44.1 passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage was the fourth best in the NFL among 96 players with at least 60 passes thrown their way. Teams will question his recovery timeline, but if he’s healthy, Adebo could really break out.
Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas is a ball magnet. His 14 interceptions since 2021 are tied for the seventh most in the NFL, and his 45 passes defended in the same span are tied for the ninth most in the league. Douglas didn’t record an interception in 2024, but that appears to be an anomaly in the grand scheme of his career. He turns 30 prior to the 2025 season kicking off (Aug. 29), but he would be a value addition to a contender.
Dallas’ Jourdan Lewis is one of the NFL’s most versatile defensive backs. He’s mainly a nickel, but he played outside corner well when injuries to All-Pro Cowboys corners Da’Ron Bland and Trevon Diggs pressed him into duty at that spot. His football IQ also makes him a strong blitzer and instinctual against the run. He turns 30 just before the 2025 season begins (Aug. 31), but Lewis would be a great addition to any squad’s secondary and locker room.
Bynum is much more than just the celebration dance coordinator in Minnesota. Bynum hauled in a career-high three interceptions while playing in Brian Flores’ heavy blitz scheme — the Vikings’ 41.9% blitz rate led the NFL — plus he’s one of the league’s better tackling safeties. He could be a fit in a lot of schemes.
There are only three safeties with five or more interceptions, five or more tackles for loss and 15 or more passes defended since 2023, according to Sports-Reference.com: Jessie Bates III, Kyle Hamilton and Tre’von Moehrig. He also totaled a career-high 104 tackles in 2024, and he’s incredibly durable, playing in 66 of a possible 68 games in four seasons despite leading the Raiders in defensive snaps (4,066) since being drafted in 2021. Moehrig, who turns 25 on June 16, could potentially level up while playing with more talented teammates.
Chase Young, the 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, produced a career-high 21 quarterback hits last season, tied for the 16th most in the NFL in 2024. Perhaps the once-promising second overall pick is turning a corner ahead of his 26th birthday on April 14.
The primary reason Mack is this low is because he turns 34 in a few days on Feb. 22. He did also take a tremendous step back in production. In 2023, Mack registered 17.0 sacks, the fourth most in the NFL, and 88 quarterback pressures, the sixth most in the NFL, while playing on 77% of the Chargers’ defensive snaps. In 2024, though, only 6.0 sacks and 49 pressures while playing on 57% of Los Angeles’ defensive snaps. For a contender, signing Mack could be the missing piece to push a pass rush over the top in 2025.
Nick Bolton has been the Chiefs’ leading tackler in three of his four NFL seasons, including 2024 with 106. If Kansas City opts not to allocate funds for a long-term deal to an off-ball linebacker, even one who is just 24 years old, Bolton could get a contract with an average per year around $12 million based off recent deals for Azeez Al-Shaair ($11.3 APY), Zaire Franklin ($10.4 APY) and Bobby Okereke ($10 million APY).
Hufanga looked like an emerging superstar after his 2022 first-team All-Pro campaign in his first year as a full-time starter. Injuries in both 2023 (torn ACL) and 2024 (concussion) have infringed upon his development, but if he can stay healthy, the team who signs him can get a great value for the 26-year-old.
Ward didn’t have his best season in 2024, but that was mostly because of off-field issues. He recently opened up about the PTSD he suffered through after the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Just a season ago, he was a 2023 second-team All-Pro. Ward can likely secure one more big, multi-year deal ahead of his 29th birthday on May 16.
Carlton Davis arrived in Detroit in 2024 to be the CB1 for one of the league’s youngest secondaries, and he held up his end of the bargain. His 62.7 passer rating against as the primary defender (62.7) was the 15th lowest in the league, minimum 70 pass attempts faced. Davis’ season ended on a low note with a broken jaw, but he earned a nice raise.
Safety Justin Reid, 27, had a solid year in 2024, ranking as PFF’s 12th-best graded safety in terms overall defensive grade (77.7) and 10th-best safety in terms of coverage grade (77.0). However, Reid could be on his way out with fourth-round rookie safety Jaden Hicks receiving more playtime as the season has continued. The two-time Super Bowl champion could be one of the higher-paid safeties in the NFL after receiving his next contract this offseason.
Dallas Cowboys interior defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa’s 60 quarterback pressures were the second most at the position in the entire NFL this season behind only Zach Allen’s 75. He’ll get a nice, long-term deal at the age of 26.
D.J. Reed is one of the best cornerbacks available in free agency this offseason. In 2024, Reed allowed the 14th-fewest pass yards per attempt (5.8) and the 16th-lowest passer rating against as the primary defender (63.0), minimum 70 pass attempts faced, despite the dysfunction that engulfed the Jets. He should ball out on a normal football team.
Prior to breaking a bone in his hand in 2024, Jevon Holland was one of the NFL’s best safeties. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 90.4 PFF defensive grade in 2023, the third best at the position in the entire league. With Holland turning 25 on March 3, he still has plenty of potential to offer as one of the best at his position when healthy.
Byron Murphy Jr. erupted in 2024, being named a Pro Bowler for the first time after recording career highs for interceptions (6), passes defensed (14) and tackles (81) — all while often working on an island given Minnesota’s propensity to blitz. The Vikings’ 41.9% blitz rate in 2024 was the highest in the entire league, and Murphy thrived despite limited help on back end. Fresh off turning 27 years old, Murphy will cash in this offseason.
A 2021 third-round pick, Milton Williams had a fantastic 2024 season, which has the 25-year-old set up for a major payday this offseason. Williams erupted for career highs in sacks (5.0) and quarterback pressures (40, per TruMedia) while ranking fourth in the NFL among interior defensive lineman in pass rush win rate (17.5%), per Pro Football Focus.
Williams capped his contract year with a perfect explanation point: two sacks of Mahomes in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory. A sizeable raise is coming soon.
No pending 2025 free agent may have set themselves up for a bigger boost in terms of their next contract than Zack Baun. He signed with Philadelphia on a one-year, $3.5 million contract and switched positions from an edge rusher/outside linebacker type to inside linebacker with the Eagles in 2025.
Baun tied for the sixth-most tackles in the NFL with 151, and his five forced fumbles tied for the second most in the league. Baun and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, also in 2024, became the only players since at least 2000 to have at least 150 tackles and five or more forced fumbles in an NFL season. He was also PFF’s highest-graded linebacker overall (90.2 defensive grade) and highest-graded linebacker in coverage (91.2 coverage grade). That’s why he earned the first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro accolades of his career while also being named an NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist. Baun’s interception of Mahomes inside the Kansas City 20 led to Philadelphia racing out to a 24-0 lead en route to their Super Bowl LIX victory. He capped the best regular season for an insider backer in 2024 with clutch play in the Super Bowl. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has never shelled out a lot of money for off-ball linebackers, but it’s safe to say Baun will have a robust market this offseason at the age of 28.
Josh Sweat led a strong Eagles defensive front with eight sacks this season, and that’s on a top of a 2022 campaign in which he registered 11.0 sacks when Philadelphia was also the champions of the NFC. Sweat led the Eagles’ ferocious pass rush efforts in their Super Bowl LIX victory with 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback pressures, both being the most of any player on the field on Super Bowl Sunday.
He’ll likely need more than the three-year, $41.1 million deal the Eagles signed Bryce Huff to in order to keep him around. Otherwise, Sweat will be on another team next season.
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