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NFL Offseason 2022: Three underrated free agents

By Lou Scataglia

INGLEWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 21: Cooper Kupp #10 of the Los Angeles Rams pushes off Sidney Jones #23 of the Seattle Seahawks after a complete pass during the game at SoFi Stadium on December 19, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 21: Cooper Kupp #10 of the Los Angeles Rams pushes off Sidney Jones #23 of the Seattle Seahawks after a complete pass during the game at SoFi Stadium on December 19, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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NFL offseason
2022 NFL offseason: Josey Jewell #47 of the Denver Broncos breaks up a pass to Theo Riddick #35 of the Las Vegas Raiders in the second quarter at Empower Field At Mile High on January 03, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

LB Josey Jewell one of the most underrated NFL free agents

Josey Jewell was very quietly one of the best linebackers in the NFL during the last few weeks of the 2020 season and into the 2021 season.

Jewell, a 2018 4th round draft pick out of Iowa, spent his rookie deal with the Denver Broncos, and didn’t crack the starting lineup until the 2020 season, where he started all 16 games.  He had 113 total tackles and 4 passes defended during this season and really began to pick it up during the back half of the season.

He then got off to an insane start in 2021, which is evidenced by his uber-high PFF grade before tearing his pectoral on a special teams play, ending his season.

Josey Jewell should be healthy for the 2022 season, and he’ll most likely have to take a team-friendly, one-year deal to see if he can return to his 2020 and 2021 form.  He just turned 27, so he’s still relatively young, and if Denver does not show much interest in retaining his services, Jewell will latch on with a team in the back end of the free agency period, and probably crack their starting lineup.

As someone who watched every Broncos game, I can say that the defense did suffer without Jewell’s presence on the field.

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