With the 2025 NFL season coming to a close and 2026 NFL free agency right around the corner, ESPN and Pro Football Focus (PFF) both ranked the top players who are slated to become free agents this offseason.
ESPN ranked the top 50 pending free agents, and former Clemson running back Travis Etienne landed at No. 18 on the list.
The 2025 campaign marked the final year of his rookie contract, with Etienne playing on his fifth-year option after being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
In 2025, Etienne surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the third time in his four active seasons after missing his entire 2021 rookie campaign due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury he suffered in that preseason. He ran for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns on 260 carries in 2025, helping the Jaguars to a 13-5 record and their first AFC South title since 2022. He also caught 36 passes for 292 yards and six scores, giving him a career-high 13 total touchdowns.
“Etienne looked more explosive in 2025, slashing through creases of daylight as a runner,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote. “His 26 rushes of 10 or more yards were tied for the 12th most in the NFL, and he’s more than capable as a receiver out of the backfield (36 catches in 2025). He had 116 total yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville’s wild-card loss to Buffalo.”
Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Etienne came in at No. 15 in PFF’s ranking of the top 250 players set to hit free agency.
“Etienne bounced back from a disappointing 2024 season and looked closer to his best this year,” PFF wrote. “His 46 missed tackles forced tied for 14th among all running backs, and he remained effective in creating explosive plays, with his 28 rushes of 10 or more yards tying for 10th at the position.”
Former Clemson defensive lineman DJ Reader checked in five spots behind Etienne as the No. 20 free agent, according to PFF.
The 31-year-old veteran defensive tackle has spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions after signing a two-year, $27.25 million deal with the team prior to the 2024 campaign.
During his first year in Detroit in 2024, Reader started all 15 games he played in, tallying 23 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, eight quarterback hits and one pass defended.
In 2025, the 6-foot-3, 330-pounder started all 17 games for the Lions, recording 28 total tackles and four quarterback hits.
After being drafted by the Houston Texans in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, Reader spent the first four seasons of his NFL career (2016-19) in Houston before playing four years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2020-23.
“Reader is now 31 years old and has not quite matched his peak form from his time in Cincinnati since arriving in Detroit, but he remains an above-average starter at the NFL level,” PFF wrote. “His 68.4 PFF grade ranked 36th among interior defensive linemen this season, and he has never recorded a PFF pass-rush or run-defense grade below 60.0 in any season of his career.”
As for other former Tigers in the NFL, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is ranked No. 113 in PFF’s free agent rankings, while offensive guard John Simpson is No. 130, and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is No. 168.
Hopkins, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, spent the 2025 season with the Baltimore Ravens after signing a one-year deal with the team last March. In 17 games with Baltimore, the 33-year-old hauled in 22 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
Simpson signed a two-year deal with the New York Jets ahead of the 2024 season. The now 28-year-old joined the Jets after playing for the Ravens in 2023, when he started all 17 regular season games and each of their two postseason games. Drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft, Simpson spent the first three years of his NFL career (2020-22) in Las Vegas.
This past July, the Raiders released Wilkins, just one year after he agreed to a massive four-year, $110 million deal with the Raiders prior to the 2024 season, including $84.75 million guaranteed. A 2019 first-round pick (13th overall), the 30-year-old Wilkins spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins.
Cornerback Derion Kendrick, who spent three seasons at Clemson before playing his final college season at Georgia, is also listed in PFF’s free agent rankings at No. 230. He has had stints with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
The 2026 league year and free agency officially begin at 4 p.m. on March 11. Teams can start negotiating when the league’s legal tampering period window begins at noon on March 9.