Paulson Adebo slots in at No. 28 on PFN’s 2025 free agency rankings

New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo ranked among the 30 best free agents for 2025 by PFN, and top-five at his position group:

The New Orleans Saints have a few priority free agents in the 2025 offseason, who are now going to be hitting the open market pending any re-signings prior to the Mar. 13 deadline.

One of the higher-priority free agents from that group for the Saints is cornerback Paulson Adebo. ProFootballNetwork recently released their top 100 free agents rankings for the 2025 offseason, and among them was Adebo, who came in at No. 28 on the list. Their reasoning for his ranking is as follows:

“When you factor in age, it is easy to make the case that Paulson Adebo could sign the biggest contract among cornerbacks in years and value this offseason. He is coming off a season in which he allowed just a 71.9 passer rating against and had three interceptions. The year before, he allowed a 62.7 passer rating and intercepted four passes on 100 targets.

However, he played just seven games in 2024 before breaking his femur and requiring surgery. That caps his upside a little and may make teams hesitant to sign him to a big deal. Additionally, Adebo had nine flags thrown against him in those seven games, with six of them being for defensive pass interference and the other three for defensive holding.

The numbers are certainly tantalizing in terms of Adebo’s upside, but there are also enough factors to create hesitation this offseason. We could see Adebo sign a short-term deal this offseason before hitting the open market again in a year or two when he will hopefully be fully healthy.”

Additionally, Adebo ranked out as the fourth-best cornerback in their rankings, behind Byron Murphy, D.J. Reed, and Carlton Davis. He will be one of the intriguing dominos to watch fall this offseason, as whether he returns to the Saints or not, he will be a quality piece on whatever team he signs with.

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Florida football center earns spot in ESPN’s top 100 after stellar season

Gators center Jake Slaughter was included in ESPN’s top 100 player rankings for the 2024-25 college football season.

In the competitive landscape of college football, certain players make a substantial impact that not only highlights their personal achievements but also elevates their team’s performance.

One such player for Florida football is their center, Jake Slaughter, who was ranked among ESPN’s top 100 players for the 2024-25 season at No. 92.

In his fourth season with the Gators, Slaughter started all 13 games at center and led the offensive line in snaps with 800. According to Pro Football Focus, Slaughter had a pass block grade of 83.9 and ranked fifth in the country among centers with an offense grade of 81.1 and ranked seventh with a run block grade of 79.0. He also led the Gators in PFF offense, pass block and run block grades.

The recognition by ESPN places Slaughter among the elite in college football, highlighting a player whose contributions go beyond mere statistics. His ability to anchor the offensive line and protect quarterback DJ Lagway creates opportunities for the offense to execute their plays more effectively.

ESPN sports writer Chris Low had this to say about the Florida football center.

What ESPN said about Slaughter

“Florida’s offensive line improved steadily toward the latter part of the 2024 season when the Gators won their past four games, and Slaughter’s play in the interior of that line was a big reason why. A redshirt junior, Slaughter announced that he would return for the 2025 season after allowing just one sack and one quarterback hit this past season, according to Pro Football Focus.”

ESPN’s top 10 college football players from the 2024-25 season

10. DE Kyle Kennard (South Carolina Gamecocks)

9. QB Dillon Gabriel (Oregon Ducks)

8. DE Abdul Carter (Penn State Nittany Lions)

7. OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas Longhorns)

6. TE Tyler Warren (Penn State Nittany Lions)

5. WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State Buckeyes)

4. RB Cam Skattebo (Arizona State Sun Devils)

3. QB Cam Ward (Miami Hurricanes)

2. RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State Broncos)

1. WR/CB Travis Hunter (Colorado Buffaloes)

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Only one Wisconsin Badger makes ESPN’s ranking of college football’s top 100 players for 2024

Should more Badgers make the list?

The 2024 Wisconsin Badgers could be much improved on both sides of the football after a disappointing 2023 season. The team, as a whole, might be strides better than last year’s group that went 7-6 against a light schedule.

But if that is the case, ESPN thinks it will happen without any of college football’s premier players. Oonly one Wisconsin Badger made its list of the top 100 players in the sport entering 2024: cornerback Ricardo Hallman.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers game-by-game picks entering 2024 from ESPN FPI matchup predictor

Hallman is No. 62 in the top 100. He is on the list thanks to a 34-tackle, 3 tackle-for-loss, 7-interception, 5-pass-deflection 2023 campaign. His rise to No. 62 overall comes after entering the 2023 season unranked entirely.

Here’s what the ESPN staff wrote about the Wisconsin star cornerback.

Hallman’s journey has been one to watch. After being a redshirt freshman who barely got any snaps during his first two seasons, Hallman made a leap last year. The Miami native secured a starting spot in the Badgers’ secondary and tallied a nation-leading seven interceptions on his way to All-America status. Going into his junior season, Hallman somehow remains one of the more underrated defenders — and players — in college football and should be primed for another big year.

The path that ESPN mentions includes joining the Badgers as a three-star recruit in the class of 2021. He was the program’s third-lowest-rated commit in the class (the lowest rated was Jake Chaney, the Badgers starting inside linebacker entering 2024). The class broke records, led by five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, four-star OT Riley Mahlman and four-star safety Hunter Wohler. Hallman has emerged as arguably its best player.

That path also includes playing in three games as a true freshman in 2021, nine (eight starts) as a redshirt freshman in 2022, then exploding onto the scene in 2023. Now entering 2024, he’s arguably one of the best cornerbacks in the sport. In ESPN’s eyes, at least, one of the most underrated.

Other Badgers who could have made the list include safety Hunter Wohler (120 tackles in 2023) and wide receiver Will Pauling (837 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns in 2023).

Either way, Wisconsin’s success in 2024 will come from a deep group of productive players, rather than from just one or two known stars.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon snubbed from NFL Top 100 list

Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon snubbed from NFL Top 100 list

The annual NFL Top 100 Players list has officially been completed. It was a solid showing for the Seattle Seahawks, who managed to land four (well, technically three and one former) of their players on the list. The Seahawks to make it were:

Ultimately, the 9-8 Seahawks did not have an outstanding year. Yes, they finished with another winning season… but were two missed fourth quarter Matt Prater field goals away from losing their final game of 2023 to the Arizona Cardinals. Yes, they were in playoff contention in the final week, but they were in that position because they dropped a winnable game to the Steelers the week before.

Still, despite all this, there should have been one more Seahawk on this list: star rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon. After some questioned his lofty draft positioning, the No. 5 overall pick proved he was worthy of his selection and gave the Seattle secondary a dearly needed boost.

The frustrating aspect of Witherspoon not making it is the fact Riq Woolen did. Now, I must clarify immediately: I am, under no circumstances, not suggesting Woolen shouldn’t have made it! He was well deserving.

What I am saying is if Woolen made it, then so should have Witherspoon. Woolen and Witherspoon had similar stats, but a clear edge was to the rookie. Witherpoon had 79 total tackles, Woolen had 53. Witherspoon defended 16 passes compared to Woolen’s 11. Woolen did have one more interception (2 to 1) than Witherspoon, but Witherspoon logged three sacks compared to none for Woolen.

Just looking at the raw numbers tells us Witherspoon had a stronger season. The eye test does as well, considering at one point Woolen was actually benched for his issues tackling.

There are 1,696 active players in the NFL right now. Cracking into the Top 100 is no easy feat. But Witherspoon did everything he could in his rookie season to prove he belonged among the league’s elite.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt cracks Top 10 of NFL Network Top 100 players

T.J. Watt got his props from the other players in the NFL in this year’s Top 100 list.

Every season, when the conversation of best defensive player in the NFL comes up, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is in the mix. Steelers fans believe Watt never gets the respect he deserves from the media and fans of other teams. However, when it comes to fellow NFL players, they understand just how good Watt is.

Watt checked in at No. 8 on the NFL Network’s Top 100 players. This is voted on by NFL players and it the highest Watt has been ranked. Last season, Watt was at No. 27 which was down from No. 21 in 2002. Seeing Watt in the Top 10 feels right for maybe the best all-around defender in the NFL.

In 2023, Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks. That’s the third time in four seasons Watt has led the league in sacks. No other player in NFL history has done that. Watt is also tied with Lawrence Taylor for the single-season sack record. He did that in 2021 when he won Defensive Player of the Year.

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Broncos CB Pat Surtain ranked No. 52 on NFL Top 100 list

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain is ranked No. 52 on the NFL Top 100 Players list ahead of the 2024 season. He was No. 49 last year.

Going into 2024, cornerback Pat Surtain is already the face of the Denver Broncos defense, and one of the best cover men in the game after being drafted ninth overall in the 2021 NFL draft.

This fact has just been confirmed by players across the NFL, as Surtain was named the 52nd-best player in the league prior to the start of the 2024 season. In 2023, Surtain came in at No. 49 on the player-based rankings.

Last fall, Surtain had a Pro Bowl-caliber season after having another Pro Bowl campaign in 2022. In 2023, Surtain started all 17 games, defending 12 passes and corralling one interception, which came against now-Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson.

Denver’s defense looks very different than it did in 2023, with the departure of several key players, such as Josey Jewell (Carolina), Justin Simmons (cap casualty) and Jonathan Harris (Miami).

Although Surtain is the cornerstone of the Denver defense, Simmons came in at No. 57, even as one of the top remaining free agents on the market to date.

The biggest challenge for this version of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit will be finding an adequate cover corner to play opposite Surtain against opponent’s No. 2 receivers in 2024.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick drops to No. 79 on NFL Top 100

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s career has been a rollercoaster since joining the Steelers.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s career has been a rollercoaster since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers. It seems that every season, Fitzpatrick has an All-Pro season only to follow it up with a down year. After checking in at No. 18 on the 2023 NFL Network Top 100 players list, Fitzpatrick took a big tumble on this year’s version.

On a list voted on by fellow NFL players, Fitzpatrick checked in at No. 79. Keep in mind, Fitzpatrick wasn’t even ranked on the 2022 list before shooting all the way up to No. 18 the following year.

For Fitzpatrick, his ranking is directly related to how the Steelers utilize him on defense.

In years when Fitzpatrick is allowed to play off the ball and make plays in the passing game, he’s able to really showcase his skills and have a real impact on the defense. In other seasons, when you see his production dip, he’s relegated to being a run-stuffer who puts up lots of tackles and nothing else.

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Pat Surtain named NFL’s best cornerback by coaches, execs and scouts

NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked Broncos star Pat Surtain as the best cornerback in league going into the 2024 season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently surveyed NFL executives, coaches and scouts to rank the top players at each position in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season.

More than half of the league personnel surveyed listed Denver Broncos star Pat Surtain as the No. 1 cornerback in the NFL, which ended up being his overall rank.

“Complete corner that can play in any coverage and has size, instincts, ball skills and will tackle,” an unnamed personnel director told ESPN. “I like the corners that can do it all.”

Surtain had a down year in 2023 by his standards, but he’s still considered the best cornerback in the game.

“He did not have the best year,” one NFL coordinator told ESPN. “But he’s still the best pure talent, he moves the best, and you can do the most with him as far as coverage, so if I’m starting a team, I’m probably picking him.”

Elsewhere in the ESPN rankings, guard Quinn Meinerz, left tackle Garett Bolles and wide receiver Courtland Sutton got honorable mentions at their respective positions. Free agent safety Justin Simmons and ex-Denver center Lloyd Cushenberry were also named honorable mentions.

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Only one Bronco made Pete Prisco’s list of top 100 NFL players

Pete Brisco of CBS Sports ranked Broncos CB Pat Surtain No. 25 on his list of the top 100 players in the NFL.

Pete Brisco of CBS Sports recently released his list of the Top 100 players in the NFL and only one Denver Broncos player made the cut. 

The only Bronco to make the cut is star cornerback Pat Surtain, ranked No. 25. Denver guard Quinn Meinerz got an honorable mention, too.

“Playing on a bad team, he has established himself as one of the best corners in the game — if not the best,” Brisco wrote for CBS Sports. “His play tailed off some after a special 2022 season, but he still is in the mix to be considered the best in the league.”

PS2 also made the list last year, ranked No. 19. The fourth-year cornerback has totaled 187 tackles, 36 pass breakups and seven interceptions through his first 50 games in the NFL. 

A two-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro, Surtain has quickly established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. There are plenty more accolades in store for PS2 going forward.

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3 Steelers make CBS Sports Top 100 players of 2024

T.J. Watt cracks the Top 5 of Peter Prisco’s Top 100 players.

One of the most outspoken NFL pundits is CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco. He’s never been shy about going against the grain when it comes to his Top 100 players list he does every year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got three players on this year’s list starting off with outside linebacker T.J. Watt who checks in at No. 5. This is up from No. 11 last year. Here’s what Prisco said about his ranking of Watt:

He led the NFL in sacks with 19 last season and remains a true game-wrecker. He bounced back from an injury-shortened 2022 to show he remains one of the game’s best edge players.

Next on the list is wide receiver George Pickens at No. 68. This is Pickens debut on this list and rightfully so. Even with abysmal quarterback play in 2023, Pickens led the NFL in yards per catch and finished with 1,140 yards. With better quarterback play, the sky is the limit for Pickens.

Finally, the Steelers got safety Minkah Fitzpatrick at No. 71. This is way down from No. 41 last season. Fitzpatrick got caught up in a bad scheme last system where he was playing out of position for much of the year.

Edge defender Alex Highsmith, linebacker Patrick Queen and defensive tackle Cam Heyward all missed the cut for the Top 100 but were all listed as honorable mentions.

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