Free agency is starting in two weeks, and it’s looking like there will be a lot of veteran pass catchers who’ll be available. Not just pending free agents like Mike Williams, Chris Godwin and Allen Robinson, but a host of veterans who’ll be released or traded because for salary cap reasons.
Most recently, reports indicate the Cowboys will be releasing Amari Cooper. He’s a good player, but he has a base salary of $20 million for 2022, and he’s not worth that. And in Buffalo, the Bills are making Cole Beasley available. They’ve got plenty of other capable pass catchers, including Isaiah McKenzie (who’s younger and cheaper and did a good job filling in for Beasley late last year).
If Dallas releases Cooper, it will make it more likely that the team will re-sign Michael Gallup. That looks do-able. Gallup wasn’t much of a factor last year, making it less likely some other team will make a big push to sign him.
Below see the list of the top 40 wide receivers over the last three years. That’s using per-game numbers, and considering only players who’ve started at least half the time. By my estimate, 13 of these 40 likely will be available, and I’ve got those guys in bold. (Cooper, Beasley, Jarvis Landry and Sterling Shepard aren’t free agents at this time, but published reports indicate they’ll be released or traded.)
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME (last 3 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | Run | TD | PPR |
| Davante Adams | 42 | 7.6 | 93.4 | .0 | .82 | 21.9 |
| Cooper Kupp | 48 | 6.9 | 85.0 | 1.1 | .61 | 19.2 |
| Tyreek Hill | 43 | 5.9 | 78.4 | 5.6 | .77 | 18.9 |
| Justin Jefferson | 33 | 5.9 | 91.4 | .5 | .54 | 18.3 |
| Chris Godwin | 40 | 6.2 | 81.9 | .7 | .56 | 17.8 |
| Stefon Diggs | 48 | 6.1 | 81.0 | 1.3 | .50 | 17.3 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 41 | 6.4 | 76.7 | .5 | .54 | 17.3 |
| Calvin Ridley | 33 | 5.6 | 76.4 | 1.1 | .57 | 16.7 |
| Keenan Allen | 46 | 6.7 | 72.4 | .3 | .44 | 16.7 |
| Mike Evans | 45 | 4.7 | 71.1 | .2 | .79 | 16.5 |
| Deebo Samuel | 38 | 4.4 | 68.4 | 14.5 | .56 | 16.0 |
| Robert Woods | 40 | 5.6 | 65.7 | 7.9 | .41 | 15.4 |
| Tyler Lockett | 48 | 5.3 | 68.5 | .1 | .54 | 15.4 |
| A.J. Brown | 42 | 4.4 | 71.3 | 1.6 | .62 | 15.4 |
| Adam Thielen | 38 | 4.5 | 54.4 | .6 | .82 | 15.0 |
| Julio Jones | 34 | 5.3 | 76.4 | -.1 | .29 | 14.7 |
| Diontae Johnson | 45 | 5.6 | 60.5 | 2.4 | .47 | 14.7 |
| Amari Cooper | 47 | 5.1 | 67.4 | .4 | .45 | 14.6 |
| DJ Moore | 47 | 5.2 | 75.0 | 2.3 | .26 | 14.5 |
| DK Metcalf | 49 | 4.4 | 64.7 | .3 | .60 | 14.5 |
| Tee Higgins | 29 | 4.9 | 68.9 | 1.0 | .43 | 14.4 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 32 | 4.8 | 63.7 | 4.9 | .42 | 14.1 |
| Allen Robinson | 44 | 5.4 | 63.8 | .0 | .33 | 13.7 |
| Terry McLaurin | 46 | 4.8 | 67.2 | .9 | .35 | 13.7 |
| DJ Chark | 31 | 4.3 | 60.3 | .6 | .49 | 13.3 |
| Sterling Shepard | 29 | 5.5 | 55.1 | 3.9 | .30 | 13.2 |
| Marvin Jones | 46 | 4.6 | 56.3 | .0 | .48 | 13.1 |
| Jarvis Landry | 43 | 4.8 | 60.1 | 1.4 | .34 | 13.0 |
| Brandin Cooks | 45 | 4.7 | 61.6 | 1.6 | .31 | 12.9 |
| DeVante Parker | 40 | 4.4 | 62.8 | .0 | .38 | 12.9 |
| Tyler Boyd | 47 | 5.0 | 57.8 | 2.0 | .30 | 12.8 |
| Chase Claypool | 31 | 3.9 | 55.9 | 3.6 | .42 | 12.4 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 29 | 4.0 | 54.3 | 3.2 | .43 | 12.3 |
| Michael Gallup | 39 | 4.1 | 61.4 | .0 | .33 | 12.2 |
| Mike Williams | 46 | 3.8 | 63.1 | .1 | .36 | 12.2 |
| Jamison Crowder | 39 | 4.8 | 50.3 | .5 | .38 | 12.2 |
| Curtis Samuel | 32 | 4.2 | 46.8 | 10.3 | .38 | 12.2 |
| Cole Beasley | 46 | 5.0 | 53.0 | .0 | .28 | 12.0 |
| Christian Kirk | 44 | 4.4 | 52.5 | 2.4 | .33 | 11.8 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 33 | 4.7 | 45.8 | .3 | .40 | 11.7 |
—Ian Allan