The Touchdown Wire Free Agency Podcast with Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield

Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield break down free agency so far, and go over Mark’s post-free agency mock draft.

NFL free agency is underway in the 2021 league year, transactions are going fast and furious, and yet, there are still a ton of talented players left on the open market. It’s time for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield to break it all down! Among the topics discussed:

Mark’s new post-free agency mock draft, which we dropped in the middle of free agency;

The 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo problem;

The best and worst free agency signings so far; and…

The best free agents still left on the open market.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get rolling!

Listen to the podcast on BlogTalkRadio:

And watch it on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkNmS5mwU2A

 

Grading the 2021 NFL free agency signings, Part 2

The NFL free agency grades continue, as Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield post marks for every transaction.

Once Mark Schofield and Doug Farrar graded the first wave of free-agency signings and re-signings in the legal tampering phase of the process, it became time to roll that over into a second list. So, here’s Part 1 of the grading epic…

Grading the 2021 NFL free agency signings

…and Part 2, in the interest of the best reader experience possible, starts here. Stay tuned to Touchdown Wire through the start of the 2021 league year, which begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 17.

Ravens get an ‘A’ grade for Kevin Zeitler signing

The Baltimore Ravens checked a lot of boxes with the signing of free-agent guard Kevin Zeitler, earning a top grade for his fit and cost.

The Baltimore Ravens are signing their first free agent of the offseason, agreeing to terms with guard Kevin Zeitler on a three-year deal. It’s a deal that makes a ton of sense, earning an “A” grade from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

The Ravens’ offensive line struggled last season. While some of that can be attributed to left tackle Ronnie Stanley suffering a season-ending ankle injury, Baltimore didn’t address right guard after Marshal Yanda retired and it showed. The Ravens started three different players at right guard and though some were better than others, it was an obvious weakness that they needed to address this offseason.

In Zeitler, Baltimore gets an experienced, high-quality starter. Zeitler has been widely considered to be among the top guards throughout his nine-year career, earning no less than a 65.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Perhaps even more importantly, Zeitler has been consistently available, missing just one game over the last six years.

As Farrar notes, Zeitler is the perfect schematic fit. The Ravens employ a gap-blocking scheme that saw at least one guard pull in the run game on a league-leading 245 snaps last season. The Giants ran a similar scheme in 2020, giving Zeitler some valuable experience that should allow him to get up to speed quickly in Baltimore. Zeitler was also rock-solid in pass protection, allowing just two sacks and 28 total pressures on 630 pass-blocking snaps last season.

As if the deal isn’t already great, the Ravens managed to get Zeitler at a relative steal of a price. The $7.3 million average cap hit doesn’t come close to being a top deal among guards, ranking 15th at the start of free agency, according to Over The Cap. Depending on how the deal is structured, Baltimore could see Zeitler count very little against their 2021 salary cap, allowing the Ravens to continue to be buyers in the coming weeks. Even better, Zeitler won’t count against the compensatory pick formula since he was cut by the New York Giants earlier this offseason.

Zeitler’s signing really is the perfect blend of everything for the Ravens. He’s a high-quality starter at an affordable price, which should go a long way to solidifying Baltimore’s offensive line.

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