Money burned through NFL front offices this offseason, with billions spent on extensions and free agents.
Most of the big-money signings — including extensions given to edge-rushers Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt — are easy to justify even with the exorbitant price tags attached.
However, others appear to offer exceptional value relative to their costs. Below are signings from five defensive positions (tackle, edge, linebacker, cornerback and safety) this offseason that already look good and have a decent chance of becoming more attractive in the coming years.
Here’s our list of the five best offensive value signings.
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa
Contract: Four years, $80 million ($52M guaranteed)
Odighizuwa started all 17 games for the Cowboys last season for the third consecutive season. He had a career-best year, ending 2024 with 47 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble, and ranked No. 12 among defensive tackles in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate rankings, his second consecutive season ranking in the top 20 in the metric. In 2023, he finished fourth.
Odighizuwa’s extension pays the 2021 third-round pick $20M annually (AAV), which ranks No. 12 among interior defensive linemen. While the Cowboys have botched negotiations with outside linebacker Micah Parsons, who requested a trade earlier this month, Odighizuwa’s extension serves as the crown jewel of their offseason. And with uncertainty surrounding the two-time first-team All-Pro edge, Odighizuwa could be even more important to the Cowboys defense this season.
Kansas City Chiefs edge-rusher George Karlaftis
Contract: Four years, $93M ($62M guaranteed)
The edge market exploded this offseason, with Crosby, Garrett and Watt all at one point signing record-breaking contracts, the latter two becoming the first $40M per year defensive players.
Sliding further down the scale was Karlaftis, whose rookie extension places him 11th among edge-defenders. Last season, Karlaftis, the No. 30 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, ranked fifth among edge-rushers in total pressures, per Pro Football Focus data, finishing the regular season and playoffs with 76.
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner
Contract: Three years, $63M ($56.7M guaranteed)
The 49ers have benefited from a league-wide devaluation of linebackers, extending four-time All-Pro Warner to a contract that will pay him $21M annually through 2027. He’s the highest-paid linebacker on a per-year basis and well worth it based on his production. Warner ranks fourth in tackles since entering the league in 2018 and is the only active player currently on an NFL roster with at least 10 career sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles apiece.
New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo
Contract: Three years, $54M ($38.5M guaranteed)
Adebo’s signing largely flew under the radar this March. But during an offseason when corners Ahmad Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr. and Jaycee Horn signed extensions with an average $82.1 million guaranteed, the Giants got excellent value.
From 2023-24, Adebo tied for sixth among defensive backs in passes defended (28). Since entering the league as a 2021 third-round pick, he’s one of 11 corners with at least 10 interceptions, a category New York finished 31st in last season with five.
Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre
Contract: Three years, $39M ($29.156M guaranteed)
The 2022 second-rounder was fitting nicely into his role as a nickel corner last year before suffering a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 12. He hasn’t reached the heights of his great rookie season (when he had five interceptions and 147 total tackles) in the years since, but at $13M per year (tied for the 12th-highest among safeties), that’s a reasonable price to pay for a player who might just be coming into his own.
