ESPN’s Adam Schefter breaks down the top 5 free agents in this year’s class.

1. Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers
Should Carolina not tag Peppers — and it would cost the Panthers $21.4 million to do so — he might become the highest-profile free agent since Reggie White. Peppers, 30, would like to play in a 3-4 defense and rush the quarterback as often as possible. Every team in the league could use another pass-rusher. The question will be which ones are willing to spend the millions it will take to land him.

2. Karlos Dansby, LB, Arizona Cardinals
Just like the Panthers might deem Peppers too pricey to franchise, the Cardinals could do the same with Dansby, making him another desirable defensive free agent. It would cost Arizona just less than $11 million to keep the 28-year-old Dansby, and he would love to test the free-agent market and become one of the highest-paid defensive players in football history.

4. Chester Taylor, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Although Taylor turns 31 in September, he has low mileage, having backed up Jamal Lewis in Baltimore and Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. Should the Vikings tag Taylor, he would make $8.15 million next season — about twice as much as Peterson. So Taylor figures to be free, and he figures to be the top running back available for plenty of teams that need one.

Texans’ cornerback Dunta Robinson was No. 3 on Schefter’s list, while Casey Hampton and Ryan Clark of the Steelers were list at No. 5.

It’s interesting that Taylor is getting a lot of attention this offseason despite his age. Running backs over 30 usually get the silent treatment during the offseason, but Taylor figures to be a hot commodity when the free agency period opens in a couple weeks. A team like the Chargers seems like a good fit for him.

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There’s no doubt that Julius Peppers will cash in on this year’s free agent market and in what should be a quieter-than-usual offseason, the defensive end would certainly be a huge catch.

But the question that all interested parties will inevitably be faced with is: Is Peppers even worth the price tag?

Peppers can be explosive at the point of attack and uses his speed to get off the edge to create havoc in an opponent’s backfield. He has great size and speed and can use a variety of techniques to disengage blockers and pressure the pocket. He’s also a better run defender than people give him credit for and simply put, he’s an athletic freak.

That’s the good, but here’s the bad. He has been known to take plays off, he’s highly inconsistent, and he can be unmotivated at times. He also just turned 30 and is the same player that virtually took an entire season off in 2007 when he finished with just 2.5 sacks (by far a career low) in 14 games.

Consider these stats from RevengeoftheBirds.com:

Age 32 is a bit of a brick wall for defensive ends. Twenty-nine defensive ends are in the top 50 for career sacks. Those ends averaged 10 sacks at age 30, 9.8 sacks at age 31, but only 7.3 sacks at age 32. Only eight of those 29 reached double digit sacks at 32 and four were Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Michael Strahan and Chris Doleman-four of the top five leaders in career sacks. They totaled 54.5 sacks at age 32. The remaining 24 totaled 150 sacks and averaged just 6.3 at age 32.

Peppers is the best free agent on the market and given the position he plays, he might wind up becoming the highest paid defensive player in the league this offseason. But let’s assume that he’s the norm and not the exception when it comes to defensive ends. Is he worth the hefty price tag? Is it worth it for some team to fork over millions of dollars when he might only be productive for the next two years? Sure, he may average 10 sacks over the next two years, but what happens after that?

I realize all of this is hypothetical, but given Peppers’ history of inconsistent play, age, and price tag, he might not be worth a long-term investment in the end. In fact, he probably won’t be.

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Julius Peppers is ruling out a long-term deal with the Panthers, making it more and more likely that he won’t return to Carolina next season.

With that in mind, here are four possible landing spots for the defensive end next season.

Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are loaded with depth at the defensive end position, headlined by Trent Cole and rounded out by Juqua Parker, Darren Howard, Victor Abiamiri, Chris Clemons and Jason Babin. But they still lack that playmaker opposite Cole that could really wreak some havoc in defensive coordinator Sean McDermott’s aggressive scheme. Unless a sleeper prospect falls to them in the middle rounds, it’s unlikely that the Eagles will be able to address their defensive end need via the draft. That’s where Peppers comes in. If Philly decides to be aggressive this offseason, they may try to acquire Peppers whether the Panthers decide to franchise tag him or not. (They may be in line to acquire more draft picks if/when they trade Kevin Kolb, Donovan McNabb or Michael Vick.) Paired with Cole, the Eagles would have one of the best pass-rushing tandems in the league.

Atlanta Falcons
Jamaal Anderson hasn’t turned out to be the pass-rushing force opposite John Abraham that the Falcons envisioned he would be when they selected the former Razorback with the eighth overall pick in 2007. Worse yet, after racking up 16.5 sacks in 2008, Abraham (the team’s best pass rusher) only produced 5.5 QB take downs last season and will turn 32 in early May. Some feel as though Abraham has lost a step, but he would flourish playing opposite Peppers on the same defensive line. Pep would also make the vastly underrated Jonathan Babineaux and 2009 first round pick Peria Jerry even more dangerous on the inside, but the question now becomes whether or not the Falcons will be active in free agency. GM Thomas Dimitroff didn’t make any significant splashes last offseason, instead opting to build his roster via the draft. But if Dimitroff decides to be aggressive, then Peppers makes a lot of sense for a team like Atlanta, which is clearly on the rise but needs to plug some of its defensive holes.

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One of the biggest rumors that made its rounds during the NFL offseason last year was the Patriots potentially acquiring defensive end Julius Peppers from the Panthers. Now that he’s an unrestricted free agent, those same Peppers-to-New England rumors are starting to pop up again.

It’s highly unlikely that the Panthers will pay the absurd $20.1 million in order to place the franchise tag on Peppers and keep him in Carolina for 2010. And if they don’t, Peppers is free to sign with any team of his choosing – including the Patriots.

But as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes, New England was burned in March of 2007 when they signed free agent Adalius Thomas to a hefty five-year, $35 million contract, which also included $20 million in guaranteed money. At the time, Thomas was coming off an 11-sack, 83-tackle season in Baltimore and he was supposed to team up with Richard Seymour to give New England a fierce pass rush.

But in three seasons with the Patriots, Thomas has just 14.5 sacks and even managed to get into Bill Belichick’s doghouse last year by showing up late to a team meeting. Considering that Peppers is 30 and would break the bank as the biggest free agent name available this year, New England might be gun shy to acquire another Thomas in the making.

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