2024 NFL free agency: Four biggest surprises so far

The first phase of free agency is winding down, and we are starting to get a look at the bigger picture – and what some of the big-picture developments mean.

Running backs are … back? (Kinda. But not as much as you might think.)

Wide receivers: wait and see. It's complicated.

But what will never go out of style is the NFL draft and its importance to the team-building process, and that element made itself abundantly clear through the opening days of free agency. That wasn't a surprise in and of itself. But the degree to which it matters can't be understated.

And it's not as if the early free agency movement didn't offer plenty of eye-opening moments. Here are four of the biggest surprises so far and what it all means.

Much has been made of the seemingly robust running back market in the early days of free agency, with Derrick Henry (Ravens), Josh Jacobs (Packers) and Saquon Barkley (Eagles) signing notable deals with contenders, followed closely behind by the signings of D’Andre Swift (Bears) and Tony Pollard (Titans).

Even Aaron Jones, dumped by Green Bay with Jacobs on board, found quick work with the Vikings. And Joe Mixon saved some money by being traded instead of released and landed with an up-and-coming Texans team.

A strong start for an undervalued position? Well, maybe not as much as you might think.

Jacobs' $12 million average per year stands out, but that deal only places him sixth in that category among running backs, and his guaranteed money ($12.5 million) is lower than a dozen other backs, according to Over The Cap. Swift received $14 million guaranteed from the Bears, but that's less than what both 2023 first-round backs, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, received on their rookie deals a year ago.

Barkley's deal