That was a hard-to-miss theme from the initial Patriots' 2026 free agent class, a group headlined by receiver Romeo Doubs, safety Kevin Byard III, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones, fullback Reggie Gilliam and tight end Julian Hill. Call it the Drake Maye Effect.

Kyler Murray and Devin Lloyd could both end up being bargains for their new teams. Here are grades for the 2026 NFL free agency signings so far.

New Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle took aim at the Carolina Panthers on social media after joining the Steel City brand of football.

Daniel Jones, Tyler Linderbaum, Devin Lloyd and Trey Hendrickson round out the top five.

Playing free agency matchmaker with the top remaining names

Charger general manager Joe Hortiz has especially focused on a controversial approach to the market, zeroing in on free agents who won’t hurt the NFL compensatory draft pick process . In fact, one could argue the biggest move of free agency so far for the Chargers was simply re-signing edge rusher Khalil Mack.