Packers Discussion: Is there a player left you want in free agency?

Pre-draft free agency seems to be pretty close to wrapped up, as the market has nearly halted to a complete stop. The typical chronic borrowers (Eagles, Saints, Browns, Dolphins, etc.) didn’t really borrow from the future this year, and more teams than expected decided to punt on compensatory free agents to protect their incoming 2027 draft choices, including the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks — who currently rank sixth in cap space but haven’t signed a single qualifying compensatory free agent.

Because of these factors, prices for 2026 free agents mostly fell in line with 2025 free agents (if they didn’t regress), a massive surprise for those in the industry who saw the “line go up” every year since the pandemic seasons because of teams borrowing heavily to go on top of roughly $25 million per year cap increases. Because of the lack of price increases, a lot of free agents hit the market this year and asked for prices they ultimately weren’t able to receive (cough, Rasheed Walker, cough). Some of those players are even still out there, if you want to flip through the top-200 free agents.

Adding a compensatory free agent north of about $3 million-ish (per year) would cost the Green Bay Packers at least a sixth-round pick, which isn’t the end of the world. To me, though, if you’re going to pay the price tag and give up a four-year, cost-controlled contract along the way, the player you add has to be a starter.

At this point, with the cornerback board blown away, I think it would have to be a defensive lineman, depending on whether the team believes Javon Hargrave should be a 3-4 defensive end or 3-4 nose tackle for them moving forward. Hargrave has been a three-technique defensive tackle (which would be a 3-4 defensive end in this scheme) for his entire NFL career, other than 2025, including when he previously played for Jonathan Gannon in Philadelphia. If that trend continues, then the Packers should be more in the nose tackle market than the three-technique market.

Here are the remaining players who led their teams in nose tackle snaps, including their nose tackle-specific grades via Pro Football Focus, and are still free agents for the 2026 season:

DJ Reader, Lions: 369 snaps, 62.3 grade
Eddie Goldman, Commanders: 258 snaps, 53.7 grade
Jordan Phillips, Dolphins: 233 snaps, 64.6 grade

Shelby Harris (211 snaps, 62.4 grade) also played just two fewer nose tackle snaps for the Browns last year than Mason Graham, who led the team at the position, if you want to count him. DaQuan Jones of the Bills was Buffalo’s best player (176 snaps, 71.8 grade) on the deep interior line, but it was Deone Walker (347 snaps, 57.4 grade) who started at the position, mostly because Jones has been primarily a three-technique for the majority of his NFL career.

Personally, if the Packers are going to burn a draft pick, I’d like them to address the defensive line again. These guys would be at the top of my list, considering the Packers’ roster situation. What do you guys think?