Free Agent Suggestions for the Texans, Rams, Dolphins and Seahawks

Houston Texans: After the debacle that was the Texans secondary last year, it’s obvious that their primary need is for a top flight corner. The market is very thin at this position, as it is every year, even with the large free agent crop coming up. Top flight corners are just very rare. So like everyone else, I believe Houston’s primary target should be and is Nmandi Asomugha. Aside from Darrelle Revis, there is not a better shut down corner in the league. He literally can shut down half of the field and take the other teams best receiver out of the game. Houston has a few other needs they will look to address in free agency, but corner is the critical position they need to upgrade. Asomugha is that guy. They should do whatever it takes to sign him. Period.

St. Louis Rams: Talk about bad luck. Half of their receiving corp went down with injuries last year. Sam Bradford has all of the skills to be a great QB but he needs more playmakers to help him reach that upper echelon. Although the Rams certainly could use another RB to pair with Jackson, who is on the downside of his career, I think a top tier receiver is their most important need. The player that springs to mind is Santonio Holmes. He’s a true No.1 receiver who can excel in any system. He has exceptional hands and is a great route runner. He could be Bradford’s go to guy for years. Get him and Sam Bradford will be a very happy man.

Miami Dolphins: The missing link in the Miami Dolphins offense for years has been speed. They need both a speedy receiver to stretch the field for Brandon Marshall and Devone Bess, and they also need a speedy change of pace back to put pressure on the defense on third downs. They addressed one of these needs for speed by drafting the burner out of Abilene Christian, Edmund Gates in the 4th round to add to the receiving corp. As for a speedy third down threat out of the backfield, they’ve tried everything in the past few years. Last year for example, they’d hoped Kory Sheets would fill that void with his 4.30 speed, but he couldn’t get on the field because of injuries. There are a few names floating around that they will look at when free agency opens. Reggie Bush, Ahmad Bradshaw and Darren Sproles being the most accomplished of the lot. Depending on the new CBA rules, Bush might remain a Saint. As Sean Payton stated at the owners meetings on March 22nd, he views Reggie as a significant part of the offense and wants him to return provided the two sides can come to some kind of financial compromise. The Giant’s would love to keep Ahmad Bradshaw and according to NFL.com he would prefer to remain a Giant. So my pick here is Darren Sproles. Jesse Agler from Finsiders.com crunched some numbers of five free agent running backs, including DeAngelo Williams, Ahmad Bradshaw, Sproles, Bush, Ronnie and Ricky. Here are some numbers that I found interesting regarding Sproles vs. that group. He has the highest yards per carry at 5.3. Over a yard and a half better than Ricky and Ronnie managed last year. He also had the most receiving yards of the group at 520. But my favorite statistic is his yards per reception, 8.8. Those are great per reception stats for an RB and pretty decent for a wide receiver. Add that with the special teams bonus he will provide, and he fills two glaring needs for speed on the team. The Dolphins should sign this guy.

Seattle Seahawks: Whether Matthew Hasselbeck returns or not, QB is a huge need for them. I don’t think Charlie Whitehurst is going to be the answr. They need an accomplished veteran QB to hold down the fort until they can develop a player through the draft. According to SI’s Peter King they offered up a 1st round pick for Kevin Kolb, and he does fit their system, I’m just not sold on him as a franchise QB. My choice for them would be Donovan McNabb. He should come a lot cheaper for one thing. He also fits the system they run and could keep the seat warm for a player to be named later. I believe McNabb’s last two seasons were an abberation. And even though he is on the downswing of his great career, I feel there were just too many extenuating circumstances in the last couple of years that would affect a quarterback’s ability to get his job done. First of all, the Kolb/Vick situation in Phillly had to be a nightmare for him. How could it not effect his play? And then the fiasco with the Redskins last year. I think he’s got a couple decent years left in him if given the right situation. And if I was a Seahawks fan, I’d be looking towards next years NFL draft for my future franchise QB, not at an overpriced unknown like Kevin Kolb. So just sign McNabb to an incentive based deal if you can and see if he can keep you competitive for the next year or two until you’ve found your guy.