The NFL season isn't yet halfway over, but that doesn't mean it's too soon to look ahead toward the offseason. The truth of success in the NFL is that many of the best teams have an ability to manage the roster for both the present and future. It's a 365-day exercise to evaluate the players who provide the team the best chance to win now and going forward. But with many moving parts, teams have a tall order to keep their core players, or at least to prevent them from reaching unrestricted free agency.
And with that in mind, below is an early look at the top 10 unrestricted free agents-to-be during the 2016 NFL offseason:
1. Von Miller, outside linebacker, Denver Broncos
Think about the market and interest for Ndamukong Suh last offseason: The criteria was essentially any team with cap space and an affinity for good players. Miller is in the same boat. He turns 27 in late March and has a rare combination of length, explosion and in-line power, plus a roulette of pass rush moves that make him unblockable. A deal comparable to the one Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston signed (six years, $101 million, $52.5 guaranteed) seems like a reasonable estimation for Miller, if not more.