ESPN has identified the New York Giants as fits for two of top 50 2026 NFL free agents. Matt Bowen says center Tyler Linderbaum and cornerback Nahshon Wright are players the Giants should go after.
Tyler Linderbaum, C, Baltimore Ravens
ESPN ranks Linderbaum as the No. 3 free agent expected to be available.
Bowen says:
Linderbaum can follow coach John Harbaugh to New York. Given his movement traits, he would fit the Giants’ zone and gap schemes, and his 97.2% pass block win rate with the Ravens tied for second among 31 qualifying centers last season. The Giants would be landing the top offensive lineman in free agency … but let’s keep an eye on the Raiders here, as well. They could also use Linderbaum’s tone-setting mentality on the interior.
Valentine’s View
Bowen follows the crowd in connecting Linderbaum to the Giants. Earlier this offseason, I predicted that the Giants would add Linderbaum after signing Harbaugh as head coach. Nick Falato had Linderbaum at the top of his list of free agent offensive linemen for the Giants to consider this offseason.
Harbaugh has said again and again since being hired by the Giants that building in the trenches is a must to compete with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. I can think of no better way for Harbaugh to show he is serious about doing just that than signing Linderbaum, a three-time Pro Bowler in four NFL seasons, to upgrade the interior of the Giants’ offensive line.
John Michael Schmitz is an adequate NFL center. Whatever quibbles you have with Linderbaum, he is a far superior run blocker ad marginally superior pass blocker in comparison to Schmitz.
The league’s current highest-paid center is Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs. with an average annual value of $18 million per year. It is right to question whether the Giants should be willing to make Linderbaum the league’s highest-paid center, as Falato did, if that is what signing him requires.
Perhaps this would be a challenge for new senior VP of football operations and strategy Dawn Aponte. The four-year, $68 million contract center Cam Jurgens signed with the Eagles, which pushes nearly $30 million in cap charges into void years might be an example of how the Giants could spread the cap cost of a Linderbaum mega-deal.
Nahshon Wright, CB, Chicago Bears
ESPN ranks Wright as the No. 37 free agent expected to be available.
Bowen says:
With a need to add more playmakers in the secondary, the Giants should target Wright, who had five interceptions and returned one for a touchdown last season with the Bears. Under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, Wright can use his long 6-foot-4 frame and good instincts in Cover 2 and press-man.
Valentine’s View
This one makes me squeamish. A five-year veteran entering his age 28 season, Wright is coming off a fantastic season that was clearly the best of his career.
Wright had five of his six career interceptions, 11 of his 16 career pass breakups, and the only two forced fumbles of his career in 2025. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. He posted a solid 86.8 passer rating against, though 6 of the 60 completions he allowed went for touchdowns.
Problem is, in his first four seasons Wright was not that kind of player. Not close.
Wright was a third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. In three seasons with Dallas, he started only three games. He was traded to the the Minnesota Vikings and spent the year on the practice squad, playing in one game. He signed a 2025 futures contract with the Vikings and was released before the 2025 NFL Draft even rolled around, landing with the Bears.
It is certainly fair to ask if Wright is just a one-year wonder. Wright’s projected market value, via Spotrac, is three years, $50 million, or roughly $16.7 million per year.
That is a tough contract to dole out when a player has had one successful season in five years.
