Plankton
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This could be viewed as justification for selecting Jalen Ramsey at #4, if available.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/06/nfl-george-iloka-cincinnati-bengals-safety-position-free-agency
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/06/nfl-george-iloka-cincinnati-bengals-safety-position-free-agency
Defenses don’t have a great solution for covering versatile tight ends. Cornerbacks are much too small, linebackers much too slow. So why have safeties like George Iloka faced a soft market in free agency? And what’s it mean for the 2016 draft?
When free agency kicked off a few weeks ago, George Iloka’s phone didn’t ring as much as the 25-year-old safety had expected. After finding a soft market, he wound up re-upping with the Bengals, who offered a five-year deal worth $30 million, of which only $5 million is guaranteed.
In terms of talent and impact, Iloka ranks somewhere in the 8-15 range for NFL safeties (his annual salary of $6 million is 14th at the position). But it wouldn’t have been outrageous for him to expect top-five money, because that’s how growing markets are supposed to work. Elsewhere in the NFL, free-agent megadeals were signed at defensive end (Olivier Vernon), nickel defensive tackle (Malik Jackson) and cornerback (Janoris Jenkins).
Vernon isn’t the NFL’s best defensive end, but the Giants guaranteed $55.2 million of his $85 million deal. Jackson isn’t the best defensive tackle, but the Jaguars guaranteed him $42 million. Jenkins is hardly one of the league’s top two corners, but the Giants guaranteed him $29 million—second most in history for a corner behind only Darrelle Revis. With an inflated cap, NFL salaries are soaring. But it hasn’t been quite the same for safeties.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/06/nfl-george-iloka-cincinnati-bengals-safety-position-free-agency
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/06/nfl-george-iloka-cincinnati-bengals-safety-position-free-agency
Defenses don’t have a great solution for covering versatile tight ends. Cornerbacks are much too small, linebackers much too slow. So why have safeties like George Iloka faced a soft market in free agency? And what’s it mean for the 2016 draft?
When free agency kicked off a few weeks ago, George Iloka’s phone didn’t ring as much as the 25-year-old safety had expected. After finding a soft market, he wound up re-upping with the Bengals, who offered a five-year deal worth $30 million, of which only $5 million is guaranteed.
In terms of talent and impact, Iloka ranks somewhere in the 8-15 range for NFL safeties (his annual salary of $6 million is 14th at the position). But it wouldn’t have been outrageous for him to expect top-five money, because that’s how growing markets are supposed to work. Elsewhere in the NFL, free-agent megadeals were signed at defensive end (Olivier Vernon), nickel defensive tackle (Malik Jackson) and cornerback (Janoris Jenkins).
Vernon isn’t the NFL’s best defensive end, but the Giants guaranteed $55.2 million of his $85 million deal. Jackson isn’t the best defensive tackle, but the Jaguars guaranteed him $42 million. Jenkins is hardly one of the league’s top two corners, but the Giants guaranteed him $29 million—second most in history for a corner behind only Darrelle Revis. With an inflated cap, NFL salaries are soaring. But it hasn’t been quite the same for safeties.
