Best NBA Bets Today – Thursday, March 6, 2025
FTN Staff
Writing a quarterback free agency article was hard. Wide receiver, though? Not so much. While there is a healthy list of quality free-agent wide receivers, a few non-free-agent names are also likely on the move. It’s not a bad year for teams looking for WR help, especially if those teams already have their No. 1 spot set in stone.
Tee Higgins Thoughts
Is Tee Higgins technically a free agent? No, he has officially been slapped with the franchise tag. However, there is a lot to unpack here. Joe Burrow got his well-deserved contract, but this complicates things. Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase and defensive cornerstone Trey Hendrickson will all be free agents in 2026. I am not a cap expert, but I have doubts they can keep the whole gang together on the contracts they will command. Burrow has been highly vocal about keeping Higgins, and ultimately, I believe it will happen. No tag-and-trade is happening; Higgins will be a Bengal in 2025 and likely beyond. My money is on Hendrickson playing his final year in a Bengals uniform if someone has to be the odd man out.
Check out the other entries in our ideal fits series: QB | RB | TE (to come!)
Ideal Landing Spots in Free Agency: Wide Receiver
Davante Adams
Age: 32
Recent news confirms that Davante Adams is hitting free agency, and, folks, he is without question the best wide receiver on the market. Make no mistake about it: He still has it. After commanding 141 targets last season and going toe-to-toe with budding star Garrett Wilson, he is the top prize at WR for needy teams. If watching the tape isn’t your thing, you may point to his subpar 60.3% catch rate as evidence of his falling off. However, his 92.4% catchable catch rate tells a different story — Aaron Rodgers was the problem. Hot take here: Adams doesn’t follow Rodgers and lands in the spot with a much better situation at QB.
Ideal Landing Spot: Los Angeles Chargers
Chris Godwin
Age: 29
Godwin was on pace for a top-five season, with a likely monster contract to follow. However, his season was cut short in the most unfortunate of ways with that nasty ankle injury. Given his injury history, it’s understandable why many teams hesitate to sign Godwin to a longer, more lucrative contract. Considering his success, the injury, and the fact that Godwin has been in Tampa for eight years, an extension to stay in place makes the most sense and is ideal.
Ideal Landing Spot: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stefon Diggs
Age: 31
Like Godwin, Diggs is dealing with a significant injury, making free agency a much less enjoyable endeavor for players searching for the bag. There isn’t as much leverage coming off an ACL tear, and he is now entering his age-31 season. While his days of being an elite wide receiver are over, if all is well with the knee, he can still be a solid contributor, at worst. After all, 100/1,000/6 was well within reach last season, and many would consider that a great season for a player. A return to the DMV area would make sense, giving Jayden Daniels another reliable weapon alongside Terry McLaurin. Yes, the Commanders just added Deebo Samuel Sr., but he is looking increasingly washed, and he and Diggs fulfill different roles anyway.
Ideal Landing Spot: Washington Commanders
Amari Cooper
Age: 30
With the Browns calling it quits midway through the 2024 season, Cooper got out and into a spot where he would have a real shot to contribute to the playoff-hungry Buffalo Bills. However, things didn’t go as well as expected, and he enters free agency after a disappointing playoff run where he found himself on the wrong side of the rotation. It’s not exactly the momentum you want as you look for your next contract. Cooper isn’t washed — he is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons before last year’s slide but may not find as much of an open market as he expects.
Ideal Landing Spot: New England Patriots
Christian Kirk
Age: 28
The Jaguars made a puzzling decision to sign Christian Kirk to a four-year, $72 million deal in 2022, shocking many football fans. After an explosive first year in Jacksonville (84 receptions, 1,108 yards and a WR12 finish), injuries and regression caught up with Kirk. So it was no surprise to see him get cut this week. Fun fact: Josh Allen and Christian Kirk are boys, and the Bills have a hole to fill with Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins hitting free agency. Is 2025 the year he rebounds?
Ideal Landing Spot: Buffalo Bills
Marquise Brown
Age: 27
Brown’s 2024 season was derailed by injury, but a small late-season sample suggests he still has plenty left in the tank. What do great WRs do? They command targets. In his five active games, including the playoffs, Brown saw a 54% snap share, rotational and nothing wrong with that considering the injury. But he averaged 5.5 targets during that time. Shoot, he saw a game with a 27% snap share and eight targets. It makes sense to get back with Patrick Mahomes and try it again. However, the Raiders have cap space and might make a play; he fills a need and could command a bigger payday.
Ideal Landing Spot: Kansas City Chiefs/Las Vegas Raiders
DeAndre Hopkins
Age: 32
Now begins a bit of a tier drop of remaining wide receivers who present a little more risk than the above. Without question, Hopkins’ play dropped off in 2024. But we can’t forget he suffered a knee injury, was out for most of training camp, and switched teams midseason. Much like Stefon Diggs, his better days are behind him, but wide receiver-needy teams who miss out on the above will likely be ready to give him a one-year/$12-14 million deal. Seeing him paired with Puka Nacua and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, where there isn’t as much pressure on him to be an alpha with still very good quarterback play, makes a ton of sense.
Ideal Landing Spot: Los Angeles Rams
Tyler Lockett
Age: 32
Another veteran finds himself in the free-agent streets looking for a new team. It’s tough to say if Lockett’s 2024 decline was due to his play or the emergence of the highly touted Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The play declined some, but playing an ancillary role in an offense is well within his capabilities in 2025. I know, the obvious choice here is a reunion with Pete Carroll with the Raiders, but where is the fun in that? A replacement for the cooked Brandin Cooks in Dallas makes sense. However, my quarterback free agent article highlighted that Russell Wilson could be a New York Giant. With Darius Slayton hitting free agency, it makes too much sense for that reunion to happen.
Ideal Landing Spot: Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants
Keenan Allen
Age: 32
To continue our chat on washed alphas who still have something in the tank, we pivot to Keenan Allen. He finished the season with a respectable 70/744/7 line in a less-than-ideal situation on a poorly run Bears offense. After that disaster, it makes sense that he tries to find an upgrade in what could be his final season. I got Stefon Diggs moving on from the Texans; there could be a hole in the slot, as the Texans are pretty set with field stretcher Nico Collins.
Ideal Landing Spot: Houston Texans
Honorable Mentions
These players are not yet free agents, but signs point to them potentially playing somewhere else in 2025.
DK Metcalf
Age: 27
It looks like the Seahawks are in the middle of a complete teardown, and DK Metcalf wants to get out. If I had to bet, I’d say he stays put; however, let’s imagine Metcalf gets traded to the Green Bay Packers. It’s abundantly clear this team is without an alpha. They have committed to Jordan Love as the future QB and need to get him some help. The Packers running back Josh Jacobs has publicly stated they need a legit No. 1 wide receiver. Metcalf would easily provide that as the Packers try to keep pushing in arguably the toughest division in football. A Day 2 pick should get it done. The other team that could make this move is the Los Angeles Chargers; they also have the need and the cap space to get him a very nice contract.
Ideal Landing Spot: Green Bay Packers/Los Angeles Chargers
Cooper Kupp
Age: 31
Unlike Metcalf and Seattle, I’d bet Kupp won’t be on the Rams in 2025. If you are catching the theme here for the back half of this article, it’s washed alphas who can still contribute, which perfectly suits Kupp at this point in his career. Stafford is undoubtedly a wide receiver kingmaker, but Kupp coming in as the No. 2 for a team that desperately needs one is the most likely scenario here. The Steelers need to make a move, and Kupp would greatly complement George Pickens. A fourth-rounder would get it done.
Ideal Landing Spot: Pittsburgh Steelers
