“I’m sure it will be a journey, a rough and rocky one. But I’m looking forward to it. I’ve had five good years and I’m looking forward to what’s coming my way.”

Would he consider taking the proverbial hometown discount?

“We’ll see, man, we have a long time coming. We’ve got a long process going throughout,” he answered. “I’m sure [agent] Pat [Dye], Nick [Caserio] and Bill [Belichick] will be in touch whenever that time comes. I’m going to soak up this Super Bowl LI. I haven’t had enough of that yet.”

Hightower, who on ESPN’s NFL Live program on Wednesday didn’t seem averse to receiving the franchise tag, laughed when Schefter set up the following scenario for him to see if it was accurate:

“In the NFL, you don’t get many chances to become a free agent. You’re 26 years old. They exercised the fifth-year option [in 2016] because that was their right. Now you get to exercise free agency and see what’s out there. So in a perfect world, yes, you would love to be back in New England and if it works out, that would be great. But it is your duty and obligation to go out there, explore the market, see what’s out there, and if some team shows you much more love, respect and appreciation than New England does, as disappointing as it would be, then it would be time to move on.”

Hightower’s thoughts on that?

“I’m not going to agree with you 100 percent,” Hightower responded, “but I think you’re about there. I think you did a lot better job than I did.”

Tyler Lockett was only at 30.4 percent. Lockett played through multiple injuries in his second season. As a rookie, he led Seahawks receivers by catching 77.3 percent of his third-down targets, and 68.2 percent of his targets resulted in first downs.

Meanwhile, Jermaine Kearse’s third-down numbers were among the worst in the league this season. Among 144 qualifying players, Kearse had the worst catch rate (26.3 percent) in the NFL on third down. Wilson targeted Kearse less (on 12.3 percent of his routes) on third down than the other players, and the pair struggled to connect all season long. It’s worth noting that in the previous four years, Kearse caught 56.3 percent of his third-down targets and converted 45.8 percent of his targets into first downs. The Seahawks have to hope he can bounce back in 2017.

Seattle has several areas to hone in on to improve its third-down efficiency next season. The offensive line has to be better — both in protection and on short-yardage runs. A healthier Wilson will make a difference. And the coaches have to make sure they have the right personnel on the field.

When the Seahawks return to practice in a couple months, Pete Carroll and the coaches will emphasize third-down improvement as much as ever.

Garrett Grayson: Age 25, scheduled to be exclusive rights free agent in 2019. 2017 salary and bonuses: $540,000. 2017 salary-cap number: $540,000.

Analysis

For the third year in a row, the Saints will take a long, hard look at all of the top QB prospects in this year’s draft — as they should.

As I said, they don’t have to force it. And I’m in the camp that believes Brees can still be a top-10 NFL quarterback for at least three more seasons if healthy, so the Saints shouldn’t rush to shove him out the door — especially if they can use valuable assets like a first-round draft pick on someone who can help them make a playoff push while Brees is still thriving.

In fact, I would be comfortable signing Brees to another two-year extension through 2020 at his current rate of $24.25 million per year.

However, I also realize that the perfect QB might only come around once a decade, if that. So New Orleans has definitely reached the window in Brees’ career where it should be on the lookout.

Ideally, the Saints would find their version of Dak Prescott in Round 4. But that’s like saying they should just go out and buy the winning Powerball ticket. The Saints took a shot when they drafted Grayson in Round 3 in 2015, but he hasn’t panned out yet — though he is determined to try to salvage his career this offseason.

I don’t know if Watson, Trubisky or Kizer will be enough to sway the Saints into using the No. 11 pick on a QB. All of them seem to come with disclaimers, and none is universally rated as a surefire top-10 pick among draft analysts. But quarterbacks always seem to scream up the charts and wind up going higher than initially projected by the time the draft rolls around. So the Saints might not even have a shot at Watson or Trubisky unless they trade up.

It seems even more unlikely that the Saints would get in on the Jimmy Garoppolo trade sweepstakes (if the New England Patriots are willing to trade him at all). Perhaps Tampa Bay Buccaneers free agent Mike Glennon could be considered, since Sean Payton has talked in the past about how much the Saints liked Glennon coming out in the draft.

At this point in Brees’ career, nothing can be ruled out.

Previous rankings:

No. 12 Specialists

No. 11 Wide receivers

No. 10 Tight ends

The big-hitting Brice, a highly touted undrafted rookie, gained valuable experience, mostly in the dime when Burnett moved up closer to the line of scrimmage in what was essentially an inside linebacker position — something new for Burnett in 2016.

Position outlook: The Packers will either pick up the fifth-year option on Clinton-Dix’s rookie contract or work out a long-term extension. Despite some occasional lapses in coverage, he is defensive coordinator Dom Capers’ best playmaking safety since Nick Collins.

If there’s someone Capers and McCarthy can build around on defense, it’s Clinton-Dix. He is arguably general manager Ted Thompson’s best first-round pick since Clay Matthews in 2009 or Aaron Rodgers in 2005.

Burnett signed a four-year, $24.75 million extension in 2013, and while he’s been solid, it’s worth questioning whether he’s worth an average salary ($6,187,500) that still ranks 13th among all NFL safeties more than three years later.

The big decision will be Hyde. He’s likely seeking a deal in excess of $4 million per season. The Packers will have to figure out whether they value his versatility and dependability enough to make that kind of an investment. If they don’t, surely another team will.

The potential of Brice and Evans, who played more on special teams than on defense, could be a reason the Packers pass on Hyde if that’s the price tag.

The Packers have plenty of work to do on defense, but not necessarily at this position; pass-rushers and cornerbacks are a much bigger priority on this side of the ball.

Level of need (low, medium or high): Low.

By the numbers

2,335: Combined snaps out of a possible 2,472 played this past season by Clinton-Dix (1,236) and Burnett (1,099), including playoffs.