Three former first-round picks who deserve one final NFL opportunity

Maybe Joey Bosa is finished. Maybe Haason Reddick’s best days disappeared during that ridiculous Jets holdout. And maybe Mekhi Becton will never become the blocker teams imagined when he entered the league.

That’s all possible.

It’s also possible NFL teams are being a little too quick to toss three former first-round picks onto the scrap heap. Nobody here deserves a multiyear contract. Nobody should be promised a starting job, either. But a cheap one-year deal? That’s hardly reckless.

Joey Bosa still knows how to wreck a play

Bosa’s body has betrayed him often enough that teams have every right to be nervous. The Chargers drafted him third overall in 2016, watched him become one of the league’s nastiest edge-rushers and then spent years wondering whether he would be available.

He held up fairly well for Buffalo last season.

Bosa played at least 14 games for the second year in a row, producing five sacks, five forced fumbles and 42 pressures. Those aren’t numbers from somebody hanging on solely because of his last name.

The mistake would be treating him like a defensive centerpiece. He isn’t that player now. Use him for 20 or 25 snaps, turn him loose on passing downs and hope the reduced workload keeps him upright.

There’s also the retirement question. If Bosa wants to continue playing, a contender should have room for that version of him.

Someone should take another shot on Mekhi Becton

Becton is 27. That alone separates him from most recognizable players sitting unsigned in September.

The Jets chose him 11th overall in 2020 because human beings his size aren’t supposed to move like he did. Then came injuries, conditioning concerns and years of uneven football. His move to guard in Philadelphia briefly changed the conversation before a disappointing season with the Chargers sent his value crashing again.

Fine. Make him a backup.

Becton has played guard and tackle. He’s 6-foot-7 and weighs more than 360 pounds. He may never become a dependable starter, but plenty of teams employ reserve linemen with half his physical ability.

There’s no need to romanticize this one. Give him a minimum contract, make him compete and cut him if the same problems return. The potential payoff beats cycling through another anonymous lineman who has already established his ceiling.

Haason Reddick has one role left to try

Reddick’s case is simpler: Stop asking him to be a complete edge defender.

Arizona struggled to find a place for the 13th overall pick in 2017. Once Reddick became a full-time pass rusher, he answered with four consecutive double-digit sack seasons from 2020 through 2023.

His Jets holdout wrecked that run. Tampa Bay didn’t fix it. Reddick managed only 2.5 sacks last season and looked nothing like the player who once made offensive tackles miserable.

So don’t pay for that player.

Sign him to chase quarterbacks in obvious passing situations. If he has nothing left, the experiment ends quickly. If even part of his old burst returns, somebody just found a useful specialist for almost nothing.

Bosa, Becton and Reddick have flaws that cannot be hidden anymore. They also possess traits that aren’t sitting in abundance on practice squads.

One final NFL opportunity isn’t charity. It’s a low-cost bet.