NFL Free Agency: Top players left, defense

With the first "round/wave" of free agency over with, I asked Terry Lambert to help me come up with a short list of the best talent available is on both sides of the ball. This is what we came up with on defense.

Lambert's list:

Analysis: "Ruston Webster and company have attacked the defensive side of the ball thus far in free agency.  Bringing back Derrick Morgan and adding Brian Orakpo shored up the two edge linebacker positions, but I don't think they're done quite yet, especially with Orakpo's decorated injury history.  The Perish Cox deal gives the Titans much needed depth in the secondary and will push Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Coty Sensabaugh."

Lomas's list:

1.Greg Hardy, EDGE

2. Brandon Spikes, ILB

3. James Harrison, EDGE

4. Vince Wilfork, NT

5. Dwight Freeney, EDGE

Analysis: Hardy has a terrible reputation off the field and the team that takes him will have to feel comfortable with that. Having said that, Aldon Smith, Ray Lewis, Brandon Marshall, and tons of other high caliber players have struggled with off the field issues as well. Some team is going to take Hardy who will be a top 8-12 pass edge player for the next three years if healthy, and if the Titans think that he has straightened up then maybe they look at him. Either way, he is clearly the most talented player left in free agency.

Brandon Spikes is a personal favorite of mine, and he has always been ranked as one of the top interior linebackers by PFF. With Wesley Woodyard and Zach Brown, the Titans will have backs that can cover on third down, they need someone who can cause havoc in between the tackles on running downs.

James Harrison, Dwight Freeney and Vince Wilfork all fall under the same category to me. All three of these players are still playing at a very high level, but given their age they could fall off at any time. Whichever team they join should think of them as a top-tier player that can play anywhere from 300-500 snaps per year at a high level.