Written by Will Brinson at CBS Sports.com
The first day of the new-look NFL combine (the league rearranged the setup to an older format, which is maybe only something interesting to people on the ground here) was largely dominated by the new-look league year (the combine was pushed back a week, plopping the initial rumblings of free agency squarely in this timeframe), with franchise tags being a hot topic in Indy as a large group of coaches and general managers spoke to throngs of media members.
There wasn’t any prospect action, so for now we’ll focus our winners and losers — and it’s just a name, everyone is a winner, don’t be mad — largely on a group of people who are already in the league.
But there were very much a group of people who benefited from the action Wednesday, with franchise tags officially announced prior to Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline and a few surprises occurring.
Winners
Alshon Jeffery: The Bears wide receiver didn’t get tagged on Wednesday, which means he’s about to hit free agency. And it means he’s about to cash in. Jeffery has issues off the field (a PED suspension in 2016) and has been injured during the last two seasons. But he’s still a young, physical receiver with immense talent. He is going to get (over)paid by someone in free agency. Getting guaranteed money this year would be great, but hitting the market now is a major boon to his bank account.
Nick Perry: Perry might make even more money. There are many pass rushers available in this draft, but there isn’t a whole lot of availability for guys on the open market thanks to Chandler Jones, Jason Pierre-Paul and Melvin Ingram all getting the franchise tag ( full list here ). Perry is a 26-year-old pass rusher who started 12 games last season and recorded 11 sacks. His market is going to be enormous , and he is probably going to get north of $10 million a year.
Forrest Lamp: There is a very weird obsession with the length of certain body parts in the NFL, and for teams interested in drafting offensive linemen, arm length is a big deal. You can’t be holding off blockers with tiny little T-Rex arms. Lamp, a hot prospect at guard who is probably going to go in the first round, just made himself some real cash by somehow making his arms an inch longer between the Senior Bowl and the combine.
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