Worst flaw for every AFC team: Is Aaron Rodgers dragging down Jets?

Heading into the offseason, no team is perfect. Most will aim to address their flaws — some glaring, some not — in free agency (March 13) and in the NFL Draft (April 25-27 in Detroit). As identified by Yardbarker writers, here are the worst flaws for each AFC team:

AFC East 

BUFFALO BILLS | Crunch-time decision-making | Although there's little debate about whether Sean McDermott is a top-10 head coach in the NFL, his poor decision-making in critical situations in Buffalo's divisional-round loss to the Chiefs prevented his team from another shot at the Super Bowl. Besides questionably dialing up a fourth-quarter fake punt for safety Damar Hamlin, McDermott made calls on defense that led Kansas City to run just five third-down plays, an unacceptable showing even with a Buffalo unit wracked by injuries. 

MIAMI DOLPHINS | QB Tua Tagovailoa’s limitations | Miami's wild-card round loss to Kansas City highlighted Tagovailoa's limited arm strength and inability to extend plays, glaring weaknesses in his skill set that significantly impacted the game's outcome. The cons of signing the league's leading passer to a near-top-dollar contract extension this offseason far outweigh the pros, especially considering his extensive injury history. He could ultimately undermine Miami's Super Bowl aspirations.

NEW YORK JETS | Pandering to QB Aaron Rodgers | Rodgers carved out a Hall of Fame career in Green Bay, but the Jets have treated him as if he built his legacy in New York, which has cost the team greatly. New York made several regrettable signings last offseason to appeal to Rodgers, whose endorsement of Jets brass convinced the team to stick with HC Robert Saleh, a decision that might derail another season. 

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Passing attack | The Patriots had arguably the worst quarterback play in the NFL last season, but their lack of weapons contributed to the problem, as the team's leading receiver, DeMario Douglas, ranked 78th among players in receiving yards (561). Fortunately for New England, it can make a substantial upgrade to its passing game in the draft by selecting a quarterback or Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in the first round.  — Colum Dell

AFC West 

DENVER BRONCOS | The offense’s ineptitude | Head coach Sean Payton failed to reignite the hapless unit in his first season in Denver. The Broncos finished 20th in the league in points (21 PPG) and 26th in yards (298.4). Clearly, they must target better playmakers in the draft.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | It’s all on QB Patrick Mahomes | The three-time Super Bowl champion is the best QB in the league, but the Chiefs must get him better weapons. Per Pro Football Reference, K.C. had the most drops in the league (44) and allowed the fourth-most pressures (164).

 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | No clear answer at QB | The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Dianna Russini reported the Raiders are expected to release Jimmy Garoppolo in March. Rookie Aidan O’Connell posted a below-average 40.5 QBR in 11 games, so they must add a better QB in the draft or free agency.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | Lack of cap space | Spotrac estimates the Chargers are $44.02M over the cap, meaning they might have to move on from star LB Khalil Mack and star WR Keenan Allen. This isn’t ideal for new HC Jim Harbaugh, who’s trying to turn L.A. around after it went 5-12 in 2023. — Clark Dalton

AFC North

BALTIMORE RAVENS | Cap space | The Ravens have 23 unrestricted free agents and just $13.65M in cap space heading into 2024, per Pro Football Focus. QB Lamar Jackson is locked up for the foreseeable future, but as a result, Baltimore will likely lose some of its key players, such as LB Patrick Queen, DT Justin Madubuike and guard Kevin Zeitler.

CINCINNATI BENGALS | Tight end | The Bengals signed Irv Smith Jr. last offseason with the hope he could fill the void left by Hayden Hurst, who signed with Carolina. But that was not the case as he and the rest of Cincinnati’s tight ends combined for just 686 yards and four touchdowns in 2023.

CLEVELAND BROWNS | Wide receiver | Outside of Amari Cooper, the Browns didn’t have a receiver eclipse 650 yards receiving in 2023. Cleveland traded a second-round pick for Elijah Moore, a former second-round pick who failed to meet expectations in 2023 (59 catches, 640 yards, two TD catches).

PITTSBURGH STEELERS | Quarterback | In a division with Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Joe Burrow (Bengals) and Deshaun Watson (Browns) at QB, the Steelers must find a new leader for their offense in 2024. Kenny Pickett has thrown for 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 25 games, Mason Rudolph is expected to look for a fresh start elsewhere and Mitchell Trubisky was released last week. — Aaron Becker

AFC South 

HOUSTON TEXANS | Traditionally nonexistent run game | Since Arian Foster’s last healthy season in 2014, the Texans have had just two 1,000-yard rushers over the past nine seasons — Carlos Hyde (2019) and Lamar Miller (2016). With quarterback C.J. Stroud proving to be the real deal, the team must get him a legitimate bell-cow back to hand the ball off to 20 times per game.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | Cheap front office | For as garish as the Colts owner Jim Irsay is, he doesn’t typically make huge splashes in free agency. Aside from the one-year, $20M contract Indy signed QB Philip Rivers to in 2020, the team has been rather particular with its spending in recent years, but per Spotrac, the Colts have the fifth-most cap space in the NFL ($66.3M) and this year is the perfect time to buck this trend. 

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | Player development | Since 2000, the Jags have produced just 24 Pro Bowl players, which may seem like a lot, but it actually breaks down to one a season. Over that span, Jacksonville didn’t have a Pro Bowler in eight of those seasons and the team only made the playoffs four times — a trend that must change for the team to compete with Texans and Colts teams on the rise.

TENNESSEE TITANS | Inexperienced leadership | Tennessee's rebuild is being spearheaded by a second-year general manager (Ran Carthon) and a first-year head coach (Brian Callahan). While both may ultimately turn out to be great at their jobs, getting a complete roster teardown and rebuilding right is a lot to gamble on such inexperience.— Michael Gallagher