The 2017 draft is loaded with edge rushers. The 2017 free-agent class could be chock full of outstanding interior defenders.
Just how exciting the D-line group looks when free agency begins on March 9 (after the “legal tampering window” opens on March 7) will depend in large part on how many of the big-name defensive tackles actually make it to the market. Carolina is expected to use the franchise tag on Kawann Short, but Johnathan Hankins (Giants), Brandon Williams (Ravens), Bennie Logan (Eagles) and Dontari Poe (Chiefs) are among the others who may be allowed to walk.
Many of the possibilities off the edge technically qualify as linebackers—we’ll get to them in a separate post.