Some high-profile NFL free agents aren’t living up to expectations

They have the household names, the gaudy statistics, the puffed-up expectations.

Now, this class of NFL free agents and trade acquisitions is just waiting for its productivity to catch up to the hype.

From Sam Bradford in Philadelphia, to Ndamukong Suh in Miami, to Brandon Browner in New Orleans, to Jimmy Graham in Seattle, players who were supposed to be game changers have shown more fizzle than sizzle at this point, a quarter of the way through the regular season.

There have been glimpses of greatness, such as Indianapolis receiver Andre Johnson scoring two touchdowns Thursday night against Houston, his former team, or Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets picking off two passes.

But there have been far more downs than ups in this fall’s collection of reshuffled stars. In San Francisco, for instance, running back Reggie Bush has barely played because of a calf injury; receiver Torrey Smith had one big game but was an afterthought in the other three, and decorated defensive tackle Darnell Dockett didn’t even make it out of training camp before he was cut.

Browner has been a bust so far at cornerback for the Saints, even though he picked up Super Bowl rings the last two years with Seattle and New England. ProFootballFocus ranks the penalty-prone Browner as the league’s worst cover corner. Center Max Unger, who went to New Orleans via a trade with Seattle, has been more solid than spectacular. Running back C.J. Spiller has been uneven in his production and hampered by a knee injury, but he made a huge play Sunday night against Dallas, turning a short reception into an 80-yard touchdown to end the game in overtime.

The most ballyhooed free agent might be the most disappointing so far. Suh, the former Detroit star who signed a six-year deal worth $114 million, is emblematic of the struggles of the 1-3 Dolphins, who have fired their coach and defensive coordinator, and are ranked 30th in defense.

The Dolphins are ranked last in the league with one sack this season — Denver, by comparison, has a league-best 18 — and that was not by Suh, but by Jordan Phillips.

“I’ve gone through this before,” Suh said recently. “Teams don’t want us to get sacks. We’ve got to go out there and will ourselves to get sacks.”

That seems pretty obvious. But before the season, it also seemed obvious that lots of these big-dollar players would positively affect their new teams. Precious few have.

Kansas City’s Jeremy Maclin is seventh in the league with 398 yards receiving, and is more of a big-play threat at the position than the Chiefs have had in years.

Guard Richie Incognito, who was at the center of last season’s bullying scandal in Miami, has been the best player on an otherwise shaky Buffalo offensive line. Also, he’s among the most popular players in the Bills locker room.

Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy, slowed by a hamstring injury, has been disappointing so far. But the Bills have gotten good productivity out of new additions to the passing game, receiver Percy Harvin and tight end Charles Clay.

At 1-3, Philadelphia is in the NFC East cellar and has all sorts of problems. So far, Bradford has not shown he’s the answer at quarterback, and neither running back DeMarco Murray — last season’s rushing champion while with Dallas — nor Ryan Mathews has gotten on track.

For those keeping score at home, it’s Hopes 1, Reality 0.

Flash in the pan

Many people would count the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. among the best receivers in the league.

Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie is not one of those people.

In an interview with ESPN this week, Cromartie called Beckham a “one-year wonder” and ranked the NFL’s best three receivers as Dallas’ Dez Bryant, Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown, and Detroit’s Calvin Johnson.

Of Beckham, Cromartie said: “He’s very young. Has he had production in 16 games? Yes, I give him the utmost [credit] for that. ... But you have to do it week-in and week-out and depend on that person.”

The Jets and Giants play Dec. 6.

Pack mentality

A month after he rejoined the Green Bay Packers, receiver James Jones said this week that he always figured he would continue to be an NFL contributor at this point in his career.

“I never doubted that I could play the game,” said Jones, who was signed by the Packers — where he began his career — after Jordy Nelson went down with a season-ending knee injury this summer.

Jones was productive with Oakland last season, but he didn’t fit into the plans of new Raiders Coach Jack Del Rio. Then, the New York Giants cut the 31-year-old Jones in camp this summer.

“It’s just the hand you’re dealt sometimes,” Jones said of his turbulent ride leading up to his Green Bay return. “New coaches come in and they get rid of certain guys. You don’t know why. I don’t ask no questions, I just go about my business.”

So far, the business is going just fine. Jones has four touchdowns, tying him for second place in the league behind the five of Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, and is on pace for his first 1,000-yard receiving season.

Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesFarmer