2020 NFL free agency: Target prices for players on Giants’ radar

Former sports agent and current CBS Sports salary cap analyst Joel Corry has set what he calls “target prices” for many of the top defensive free agents set to hit the market next week. Let’s look at those prices for players the Giants could or should be interested in, along with my thoughts on whether the Giants should be in or out at that price.

We will start with the Giants own free agent of interest.

Leonard Williams

Corry’s target:

• Contract package: $43.5 million for three years ($14.5 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $30 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $30 million

Corry says Williams has “significant leverage” over the Giants and that he might actually be able to command a one-year “prove it” deal in the range of $17 million, based on that being the average annual value of the four-year, $17 million deal Grady Jarrett got from the Atlanta Falcons last offseason.

Valentine’s View: I simply cannot fathom giving Williams that kind of money. Those are easy “walk away” numbers for me.

Jadaveon Clowney

Corry’s target:

• Contract package: $138 million for six years ($23 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $85 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $55 million
• First three years: $75 million

Corry says “Clowney could be the litmus test for just how much the ability to be a disruptive force on a defensive line is valued when a lot of sacks aren’t generated.”

Valentine’s View: I have said this before, but this is an easy “walk away” for me.

Yannick Ngakoue

Corry’s target:

• Contract package: $88 million for four years ($22 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $48 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $48 million

Valentine’s View: It would take a tag-and-trade, but at that price tag I would be all in on trying to make it happen. He will just be 25 in the 2020 season, and this contract should cover his prime seasons.

Byron Jones

Corry’s target:

• Contract package: $85 million for five years ($17 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $52.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $40 million
• First three years: $55 million

Valentine’s View: Corry points out that while this would reset the cornerback market that salaries at that position have not risen much in recent seasons. At a price point under $20 million per year I’m all in on making a run at the best cornerback available.