The free agent safety market was loaded with talent at the start of the league year, and while most of those players have found new NFL homes, Julian Blackmon appears to have gone overlooked. It’s hard to understand why this happened, as the 2020 third-round pick has been one of the more consistent players since entering the league. The Utah product immediately earned a starting job as a rookie and maintained that role into 2021 before tearing his Achilles.
This type of injury can be a kiss of death to some players, but Blackmon returned better than ever. From 2022 to 2023, the free agent established himself as one of the game’s better deep safeties, as Julian Blackmon possesses the range and instincts to play over the top and slow down the deep passing game.
Julian Blackmon is no Earl Thomas or Ed Reed, but the free agent should have found a new home by now. Perhaps the league has simply overlooked the importance of football’s equivalent of a center fielder, or perhaps the former third-round pick is just waiting for the right job to open up.
Julian Blackmon Looking Like Free Agent Steal
It’s important to Julian Blackmon is a good player, but the free agent is far from perfect. His 68.3 PFF grade made him the 38th-best safety out of 95 eligible players, but that’s largely due to his coverage abilities. The safety missed seven tackles last year, finishing the season with a below-average 59.2 grade against the run.
If teams are looking for a box safety, Julian Blackmon is not the free agent they should be targeting. However, in today’s pass-happy NFL, you need a player who can discourage deep shots. Blackmon excels in this role and these four teams should be willing to sign him.
Possible Team Fits
Buffalo Bills
Back in the day, the Buffalo Bills had the best safety duo in football. Now, Jordan Poyer is in Miami and Micah Hyde is unlikely to return. While Taylor Rapp is a fine option, this team still needs a free agent like Julian Blackmon to take away the deep part of the field. When you share a division with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, you need to have somebody capable of preventing those two from getting over the top of the defense.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos released Justin Simmons and are in the midst of a rebuild. Julian Blackmon is no Justin Simmons, but the free agent can help mitigate the impact of his departure. The Chiefs finally have a reliable deep threat again, and that’s terrible news for the Broncos. Marquise Brown is no Tyreek Hill, but he’s considerably better than Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Denver will need a reliable deep safety if they want to prevent every Chiefs game from looking like last year’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints somehow have $16.69 million in cap space, and they need to use that money on a safety. The team released Marcus Maye to save cap space, and they have yet to replace him with an adequate starter. With Kirk Cousins in Atlanta and Mike Evans and Baker Mayfield returning to the Buccaneers, somebody will need to take away the deep part of the field, and Julian Blackmon is the best free agent option available.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have two reliable safeties in Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams, but they’ll need to do something to replace Geno Stone. Baltimore uses three safeties more than any other team in the league, and if he doesn’t cost too much, the team could go after Julian Blackmon as a free agent. Stone recorded seven interceptions last year, and the Ravens need a similar ballhawk if they want to finally make it to the Super Bowl.
Main Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski – USA Today Sports
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