5 NFL Free Agents Who Will Be Grossly Overpaid This Offseason

NFL free agency is always a good barometer to show which front offices are more impulsive and willing to fork over bunches of cash than their other, more subdued counterparts. Typically, the hyper-reactionary, "pay him what he wants" style of building a roster is employed by some of the poorer teams in the league. One of those teams could take a look at one of these five fool's gold free agents and decide to give them a blank check, inadvertently ending up with egg on their face.

5. Leonard Williams, DL

Williams will be a fine addition to any defensive line, as he can stuff the run and line up basically anywhere in a 4-3 scheme. He is NOT a tremendous pass rusher, but the always-tempting need to add more sacks to your front seven could force a team to pay above market value for the former Pro Bowler. Williams was objectively bad in 2019, but some defense-needy team is going to sink a lot of money into trying to rehabilitate him. His contributions don't normally show up in the stat sheet, which, for better or worse, is generally the be-all, end-all in judging a player.

4. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S

Clinton-Dix might have a funny name and some tremendous hitting power, but there is a reason the Packers' pass defense improved as soon as he left, while Chicago's got slightly worse this season. Clinton-Dix's stats hide a player who is losing speed and was never the best pre-snap diagnoser. If that's who you want to give a huge contract to, all I can say is good luck.

3. Hunter Henry, TE

Henry is expected to be among the top two tight ends this free agent season, meaning he will get a huge deal by virtue of a minimal number of quality options existing on the market. Teams should think twice before sinking a lot of money into him, as he has missed 23 games in four seasons due to injury, including the entire 2018 regular season, while never exceeding 652 yards receiving in any given year. He's got TE1 talent, but he has yet to put it all together.

2. Bud Dupree, EDGE

A year ago, you couldn't find one person in the state of Pennsylvania with one nice thing to say about Dupree. After 11.5 sacks last year, Dupree has himself set up for a lucrative deal this offseason. Be wary, NFL teams. Dupree was nothing more than a speed rusher who was unsuccessful at making any sort of impact defending the running game before this year. He's a good speed rusher, but that's it. Don't pay him like a top-flight pass rusher.

1. Byron Jones, DB

Jones is a combine marvel who has made a Pro Bowl on his rookie contract, but he appears to be on his way out of Dallas due to Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper's contract statuses. Jones has just two interceptions in five seasons, showing a lack of ball skills. Jones can be a valuable chess piece in the right situation, but NFL GMs would be foolish to consider him a premier safety in this league who's worth a record-setting deal.