Premium free agents available for the Tennessee Titans after the franchise tag deadline

The Tennessee Titans have plenty of money to spend in free agency, but none of that matters if there isn't anyone to spend it on. Ran Carthon has to be aggressive in his spending this offseason and he needs to come away from this free-agent period with at least six new starters.

Among those six new starters, the Tennessee Titans desperately need one of those to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Someone who is an impact player instead of just being someone to plug a hole on the roster.

Teams can no longer give the franchise tag to impending free agents, and unless players and their team come to a deal by midnight on Sunday, we now know the free agent class. Out of the hundreds of players set to hit the market, these are the guys at the top of the class divided by position.

Calvin Ridley WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Marquise Brown WR, Arizona Cardinals

Tyron Smith LT, Dallas Cowboys

Mike Onwenu OT/OG, New England Patriots
Robert Hunt OG, Miami Dolphins

Lloyd Cushenberry C, Denver Broncos
Conner Williams C, Miami Dolphins
Tyler Biadasz C, Dallas Cowboys
Andre James C, Las Vegas Raiders

Chris Jones DT, Kansas City Chiefs
Christian Wilkins DT, Miami Dolphins
Leonard Williams DT, New York Giants

Danielle Hunter EDGE, Minnesota Vikings

Kendall Fuller CB, Washington Commanders

Xavier McKinney S, New York Giants

Those are the players left that Tennessee Titans fans should be comfortable signing, even if they have to overpay for some of those players.

Can these be building blocks for the Tennessee Titans?

Some of those players are older, and should probably be viewed as elite bridge players like former Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith or Vikings EDGE Danielle Hunter. For the most part, though, this is a group full of players who deserve longer contracts that cover the prime of their careers.

Guys like Onwenu, Cushenberry, and any of the receivers, should be considered long-term starters (3+ years) and that is something that the Tennessee Titans need.

I can't stress enough how little fans should care about "overpaying" this offseason. Ignore the sticker shock and focus on how these contracts are structured. The Tennessee Titans are going to be able to spend a lot of money over the next three years without any real concern about getting close to the cap, so the emphasis of free agency this offseason should be put on bringing in starters and focus on finding your stars in the draft.

As it stands right now, realistically the Tennessee Titans are realistically going to need starters at LT, C, RT, WR(x2), DT, LB, CB(x2), and safety. Getting six new starters in free agency would put a real dent in that list, and you can probably pencil in two starters coming in from the draft.

That means that two players from last year's roster are going to need to step up and at least be bridge players before the Titans can replace them in 2025.