List of Top NFL Free Agents for 2026 Shows Challenges, Upside for Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When NFL free agency opens for business this offseason, it will be filled with challenges for Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

And opportunities.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler published a list of the top 25 NFL free agents for 2026. Three Packers are on the list.

Linebacker Quay Walker is 14th overall and first among linebackers. It might have taken a while to get there in terms of consistency, but Walker is showing why the Packers drafted him in the first round in 2022.

“I think Quay is playing at an elite level right now,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said a couple weeks ago. “His communication, the way he's calling things out, the way he's studying the game, the way he's practicing, his leadership on our team, to me, is at a whole different level on the field and off the field.

“And then you see what he's able to do in the run game [and as a blitzer]. I think he's taken a step and I really do believe there's more room and I believe he's going to get better and better. I think there's more ways that we can use him to do that the more that he can absorb, and he's been able to do that. I love being around the guy right now and I give him a ton of credit. He's doing an awesome job.”

Walker is 13th in the NFL with 77 tackles. Of the 17 players with at least 75 tackles, Walker is tied for third with six tackles for losses, is first with six quarterback hits and is tied for third with four passes defensed.

Walker early in the season said there was a contract on the table for him. Whatever the dollars on that offer, he’s probably earned more.

“You know my main motto. I just want to stay neutral,” Walker said. “I'm just trying to continue to build. I feel like I'm playing good, but it can always be better. Run game, passing game, whatever the case may be, just trying to continue to stack weeks, man, day in and day out, because it's the NFL. I just got to continue to do so and build from there.”

Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) during the game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Left tackle Rasheed Walker is 16th overall and No. 1 at the position. He is a rarity. At a position in which 20 of the 32 starters were taken in the first round, Walker was taken in the seventh round in 2022. He replaced injured David Bakhtiari in Week 2 of the 2023 season, and while he’s not Bakhtiari-level great, he hasn’t caused a lot of headaches, either.

“Walker's pass block win rate of 94.3 percent ranks seventh among offensive tackles,” Bowen wrote. “His technique could still improve, and he lacks a strong anchor, but he has the footwork and mobility to match speed on the edges.”

Receiver Romeo Doubs is 20th overall and fourth at the position behind Pittsburgh’s George Pickens, Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans.

A fourth-round pick in 2022, Doubs has his shortcomings. He’s not fast, isn’t a big-play threat and hasn’t been a dominating player. But Doubs gets open, catches the ball and is a threat in the red zone. Among receivers in the draft class, he ranks sixth in receptions, sixth in yards and second in touchdowns.

The Packers faced some long-term challenges with the salary cap even before trading for Micah Parsons. Now, they’re already over the projected 2026 salary cap.

Compensatory Draft Picks

So, the Packers won’t be able to re-sign everyone, and that’s especially true for Quay Walker, Rasheed Walker and Doubs, who are expected to command strong contracts in free agency. Losing those players would create voids in the lineup. It also would create opportunities for Gutekunst in terms of being awarded compensatory picks and building a sustainable roster.

Here are position comparisons that hint at what the Packers could get in return if they let those players sign elsewhere.

Quay Walker: In 2024, linebacker Patrick Queen jumped from the Ravens to the Steelers on a three-year deal worth $13.67 million per season. Baltimore received a fourth-round pick in return.

Rasheed Walker: In 2025, left tackle Dan Moore went from the Steelers to the Titans on a four-year deal worth $20.5 million per season. That’s after Moore allowed a league-high 12 sacks. The Steelers are projected to get a third-round pick in return. Walker is a better player.

Romeo Doubs: Spotrac is projecting Doubs will sign a contract worth about $12.8 million per season. History suggests that would get the Packers an additional fifth-round pick.

The Packers have in-house replacements for all three players.

At linebacker, Ty’Ron Hopper, a third-round pick in 2024, is waiting in the wings. He had a promising training camp and preseason, and has made a couple impact plays in extremely limited snaps in the regular season.

“I would say he’s one of our most improved players I think from a year ago,” coach Matt LaFleur said during training camp. “I think he’s done an outstanding job. He’s done a much better job communicating. He’s the voice of the defense when he’s in there and so I think he’s done a really nice job. He’s still a young, developing player, but he got a lot of good work this preseason.”

At left tackle, 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan has been bad as an out-of-position right guard but had a good training camp and preseason at tackle.

At receiver, the Packers drafted Matthew Golden and Savion Williams this year and have given Christian Watson a one-year extension.

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Compensatory Draft Picks

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