One month ago, Matt Bowen of ESPN rolled out his Top 50 free agents available this offseason.
That ranking has doubled now, with the unofficial start of free agency about 100 hours away. The negotiation window opens at 11 a.m. (CT) Monday, and the official parade of sought-after players actually signing with teams begins at 3 p.m. (CT) Wednesday. Accordingly, let's dive into Bowen's updated list.
(Note: Bowen shared that he will periodically rearrange his Top 100 leading up to the negotiating period.)
Bowen's Top 10 is headlined by three guys who do their work in the trenches: Cincinnati edge Trey Hendrickson, Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum and Philadelphia edge Jaelan Phillips. For the sake of divisional competition, we'll point out Green Bay has two near the top in tackle Rasheed Walker (No. 5) and linebacker Quay Walker (10). Additionally, Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis is ranked 14th.
Four other quarterbacks in Bowen's Top 100 — players the Vikings may or may not pursue to round out their 2026 QB room and compete with J.J. McCarthy — are Arizona's Kyler Murray (17), who is expected to be released by the Cardinals when the New League Year begins March 11, Pittsburgh's Aaron Rodgers (48), Atlanta's Kirk Cousins (52), who made the Pro Bowl under Head Coach Kevin O'Connell after their first season together and is another passer anticipated to be cut, and Washington's Marcus Mariota (77).
O'Connell and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski, who is leading the club through the NFL Draft (after Minnesota parted with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah), have stated their desires to probe all quarterback options.
Regarding impending free agents on Minnesota's roster, Bowen only included one: wide receiver Jalen Nailor at No. 58. Although Nailor has yet to produce 500 yards receiving in a season, there's good reason to believe playing behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison has set him up to play his best football in the future. Nailor has caught 10 touchdowns since 2024 — and more importantly, played in all 34 games.
Bowen wrote the following about the 2022 sixth-rounder who recently celebrated his 27th birthday:
What he brings: Nailor is more than willing to work the middle of the field, and he has the foot quickness to separate on out-breaking routes. With the ability to line up inside or outside, he has proved himself as a solid No. 3 option. He averaged 15.3 yards per catch and scored four touchdowns in 2025.
Bowen also included two Vikings defensive tackles — Jonathan Allen (85) and Javon Hargrave (99), although both are still currently under contract after signing multiyear deals with Minnesota last spring. Allen, 31 years old, and Hargrave, 33, were responsible for 3.5 sacks apiece last season.
A few other interesting names in Bowen's Top 100 are Seahawks RB and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III (No. 15), Seattle edge and former Minnesota Gophers standout Boye Mafe (26), Lions LB Alex Anzalone (47), current Texans and former Vikings OL Ed Ingram (56), and Patriots S Jaylinn Hawkins (88); the latter was a college teammate of former Viking Camryn Bynum. Bowen explained Hawkins can "play both safety spots, which gives coordinators more flexibility in disguising coverages and rotations."
Explore Bowen's entire ranking of 100 soon-to-be-pursued free agents here.
Scouting Combine takeaways
This time last week, the vast majority of top NFL prospects were beginning to touch turf at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Minnesota, like the rest of the league, had decision-makers on hand to watch.
Amongst other things, scouts, coaches and execs witnessed seven of the eight position groups — defensive linemen, linebackers, defensive backs, offensive linemen, tight ends, running backs and wide receivers — post the fastest average 40-yard dash times in the history of the event. Although some recordings were perhaps skewed by slower players opting out of participating in certain drills, the sheer speed of those who competed was tantalizing — and bodes well for clubs wanting to get faster overall.
What else was gleaned during the week-long event in Indy? The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, who extensively has covered college football's "Freak" athletes for two decades, wrote he "can't recall a class where so many players not only lived up to their lofty college testing numbers but blew them away."
In addition to jotting down 11 takeaways (below), Feldman revisited some of the most unbelievable combine performances courtesy Arkansas RB Mike Washington, Jr., who amazed with a 4.33-second 40 at 223 pounds; Oklahoma DT Gracen Halton, who ran sub-4.85 and reached for a 36.5-inch vertical jump; Ohio State LB Sonny Styles, who might've launched himself into Top 5 draft pick consideration; and WR Ted Hurst from "small school" Georgia State, who keeps doing everything right and will see his stock rise.
That's the tip of the iceberg.
Here's a rundown of some of the intel gathered by Feldman, and the significant observations he made:
- Miami's Rueben Bain, Jr., could prove to be "a DE version of Aaron Donald"
- Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Texas Tech's David Bailey are two other edges with Top-10 talent
- Texas Tech DL Lee Hunter was touted by coaches and scouts as one of their favorite interviews
- Missouri edge Zion Young seems to have more favor with NFL coaching circles than in the media
- USC WR Makai Lemon lacks ideal size and elite speed but has extremely rare change-of-direction
- Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love is "as good in pass protection as any back in this class"
- Arizona State T Max Iheanachor and Georgia T Monroe Freeling are flying under the radar
- Oregon's Dillon Thieneman has already been compared to Cooper DeJean by some DB coaches
- Arizona's Treydan Stukes has athletic traits and character makeup that will benefit his draft stock
- It will be fascinating to find out how NFL teams view ultra-athletic Arkansas QB Taylen Green
- Another USC WR, Ja'Kobi Lane, is an intriguing prospect due to his size/speed and catching skills
You can read Feldman's full article, which goes in-depth on those near-dozen topics, here.
