The first question to ask about any free agent.

[BoomerFan]

Some FAs aren't worth what they're going to be paid. OTOH, some don't fit a scheme or at least the chemistry on a team. Then too, sometimes a change of venue seems to make a player more serious or re-commit themselves. Sometimes.

It really does seem like whether you go through FA or the draft, most players aren't going to be real contributor's in their first year though. So plan accordingly.

Maybe you have enough offensive weapons that losing Marvin Jones is OK while a draftee takes a year or two finding their stride (then again, there have been some pretty impressive rookie Wide Receivers in the recent few years). Safety might be another spot where we could lose a player though losing both Iloka and Nelson would worry me, even if draft a Safety high. We've already got our guys at OT to replace Andre Smith. Cornerback as well -- though losing both Hall and Jones would make us thin at the position. As for our front 7, there is nobody who we could lose this year who I would really hurt you (which isn't to say Vince and Emmanuel won't get re-signed as long as the price is right).