16 AFC teams, 16 offseason awards: Sizing up each front office's past few months with one superlative

May is graduation season, making it the perfect time to hand out superlatives to NFL teams. With organizations having signed every free agent they wanted and delighted to have the best players on their board somehow fall to them in each round of April's draft, there are 32 teams that feel great about where their rosters stand heading into training camps later this summer. It's very easy for them to be optimistic right now.

What stood out about how each franchise handled the offseason? How did teams fill the weak spots in their lineups? What was notable about the choices they did (or did not) make? And what does all that tell us about how they will do in 2025?

I'm handing out superlatives and breaking down what I found interesting about the offseason of every AFC team. I'll hit the NFC next week. Let's begin with the AFC East, where one of the league's best-run franchises appears to have learned from a rare misstep.

Jump to an AFC team:
BAL | BUF | CIN | CLE
DEN | HOU | IND | JAX
KC | LAC | LV | MIA
NE | NYJ | PIT | TEN

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills

The superlative: Most likely to stay the course

Three years ago, general manager Brandon Beane responded to a crushing playoff loss to the Chiefs by doing something out of character: going all-in. After years of using free agency to target solid veterans around his young core, he handed Von Miller a six-year, $120 million deal with three seasons almost entirely guaranteed. The hope was that signing the former All-Pro edge rusher would be enough to get the Bills over the hump, but Miller was limited by injuries and an off-field suspension and had only 14 sacks over three seasons. The move did not work out.

With the Bills cutting Miller this offseason after another heartbreaking defeat to Kansas City, all eyes were on what Beane would do next. Would he make another all-in move to land the difference-maker who could swing a close game against the Chiefs?

No. While the Bills spent plenty of money this offseason, it was used to lock up the best players from their 2021 and 2022 draft classes. Cornerback Christian Benford, linebacker Terrel Bernard, edge rusher Greg Rousseau and wide receiver Khalil Shakir all signed extensions, with their four contracts adding up to more than $61 million per year on average. Linebacker Matt Milano took a pay cut to return for another season after two injury-hit campaigns. To top it off, Josh Allen signed a new deal for six years and $330 million, with Beane convincing his star quarterback to leave millions of dollars per year on the table as a trade for the security of $250 million in practical guarantees.

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Instead, Buffalo has stuck with its strategy of targeting midroster players in free agency. It signed edge rusher Michael Hoecht from the Rams and imported AFC North veteran defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi for about $7 million each. Wide receiver Joshua Palmer joined from the Chargers on a three-year, $29 million pact. The Bills' biggest swing was on another former Charger in oft-injured edge rusher Joey Bosa; unlike with the Miller signing, though, they are on the hook for only one year and $12.6 million.

Should the Bills have taken a bigger swing? Beane probably played this correctly. It's tempting to look at the Eagles and their impressive 2024 free agent class as proof that he should have been more aggressive, but keep in mind that Howie Roseman's most successful signings last year were in the middle of the market. Running back Saquon Barkley's deal ranked 20th in average value, while linebacker Zack Baun's one-year deal was for just $3.5 million. The biggest move Roseman made was a three-year, $51.1 million contract for edge rusher Bryce Huff, a rare Philadelphia move that didn't work out.

After their Miller miss, the Bills look as though they're going to stay in their roster construction lane moving forward.

Miami Dolphins

The superlative: Least likely to find a solution for their most pressing problem

The Dolphins are facing an impasse with veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and they have nobody to blame but themselves. When they traded a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Rams for Ramsey in the spring of 2023, they signed Ramsey to a new deal with two years of guarantees. That money would have run out after the 2024 season, but Miami extended him with a three-year, $72 million contract just before Week 1 last year, essentially adding an additional $25 million in guarantees to his contract for the 2025 campaign.

Well, the Dolphins and Ramsey seem to want another team to be on the hook for those guarantees. In mid-April, long after teams had spent most of their offseason budget for new player additions, the two sides mutually decided they should split up. The deadline for that breakup won't come until Week 1, when Ramsey's $19 million option bonus comes due. Miami already paid him a $4 million bonus in March, so a new team would be on the hook for $21 million in 2025.

General manager Chris Grier hasn't been able to find a taker yet, and that's not surprising. The league has been extremely hesitant to pay 30-year-old defensive backs recently, which is why there wasn't more of a market for Ramsey's services when the Rams dealt him two years ago. He also suffered meniscus injuries in both 2016 and 2023, with each being repaired via trims.

Ramsey helped the Dolphins' defense move toward the top of the league when he returned from that knee issue in 2023, but he wasn't quite as effective in 2024. Receivers had more success isolated one-on-one against him, most notably when Jets wideout Garrett Wilson repeatedly left Ramsey in his wake in a December game. New defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver used Ramsey more often as a blitzer, and while he was effective getting pressure on quarterbacks, Miami acquired him to be a shutdown cornerback.

Even if the Dolphins were willing to ship off Ramsey for only a seventh-round pick to save salary, there aren't going to be many teams that have $21 million in their budget to work with at this point of the offseason. There's also another cornerback at the same price point potentially lingering on the market in Jaire Alexander, whose trade rumors haven't yielded anything resembling a deal.

Ramsey is still a good player, but unless he's willing to give up a significant amount of guaranteed money or the Dolphins are willing to eat some of what he's due, it's hard to find a way this ends amicably for all involved. And given that this is the same cornerback who once showed up to training camp in an armored truck as he sought a new deal from the Jaguars, it would be surprising if he didn't make his frustrations public in the coming months.

New England Patriots

The superlative: Most likely to need name tags at training camp

Last offseason, the Patriots seemed to be hesitant about using free agency to address the holes on their roster. The biggest average annual salary they handed to players who hadn't been part of the organization in the past were the one-year, $4 million deals they gave wideout K.J. Osborn and left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, the latter of whom left the team after he was benched in the opener. While quarterback Drake Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez were impressive amid difficult circumstances, New England simply didn't have enough talent in 2024.

Well, no one can accuse the Pats of resting on their laurels this offseason. They could have up to 11 new starters in Week 1, most of whom were veteran free agent additions. General manager Eliot Wolf brought in six players who will each make at least $8 million per year in average salary, including two of the team's four largest average salaries: defensive tackle Milton Williams ($26 million) and wide receiver Stefon Diggs ($21.17 million). Spending on free agents isn't proof of a successful strategy, but New England needed the talent influx.

While there has understandably been a focus on the additions of Diggs and rookies Will Campbell (OT), TreVeyon Henderson (RB) and Kyle Williams (WR) to help out Maye, I'm more intrigued by what the Patriots did on defense. While the offense was borderline unwatchable at times last season, the defensive collapse might have cost coach Jerod Mayo his job. A defense that ranked first in the league in expected points added (EPA) per play during the second half of 2023 (without Gonzalez or edge Matthew Judon in the lineup) fell to 30th. The Patriots couldn't get pressure on quarterbacks and made too many coverage mistakes.

Unlike on offense, the Pats focused their defensive efforts on adding players who could make an immediate difference. In addition to paying a premium to sign Williams, Wolf signed veterans such as cornerback Carlton Davis III, edge rusher Harold Landry III and linebacker Robert Spillane, who will start immediately in the hopes of quickly turning around the defense.

Here's where new coach Mike Vrabel must make a difference. His Tennessee teams had a habit of getting more out of veterans than their prior employers did. While quarterback Ryan Tannehill was the most notable example, that list included defensive linemen Denico Autry and Mario Edwards Jr., and even cornerback Logan Ryan, one of the rare defenders who left Bill Belichick and the Patriots and improved. If Vrabel can get his veterans to play at a high level and the defense rights itself quickly, the Patriots will have a foundation to build off this season.

New York Jets

The superlative: Most likely to go on a late-summer spending spree

The peak of the Joe Douglas era came during the 2022 draft. With extra picks from the Jamal Adams and Sam Darnold trades, the then-general manager put together easily his best draft. A new young core got the Jets excited enough to trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers the following spring, and well, you know the rest.

Now, new GM Darren Mougey is the one who will foot the bill for Douglas' standouts. The 2022 class became eligible for extensions this offseason, and while the franchise was focusing on rebuilding its post-Rodgers offense in March and April, the time has come to make decisions regarding the four players who were going to be the building blocks of the next great "Gang Green" team. None of them has taken a clean path to Year 4.

Sauce Gardner was the immediate superstar and a legitimate candidate as the league's best cornerback as a rookie. But like many Jets defenders, he didn't look like his usual self after coach Robert Saleh was fired last October. Tackling has been a consistent problem, and his passer rating allowed has jumped from 62.7 as a rookie to 86.9 in 2024. Gardner is a very good player, but the Jets might not be quite as excited to make him the highest-paid corner in the league as they once expected to be.

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Wide receiver Garrett Wilson has already caught passes from eight different quarterbacks during his first three seasons, a list that includes journeymen Trevor Siemian, Tim Boyle and Chris Streveler. He has made them collectively look better than they are, making impossible catches on poorly thrown passes, most memorably when he tipped a Zach Wilson pass to himself for a touchdown against the Bills in 2023. The inconsistent quarterback play has left him in the 1,100-yard range over his first three seasons. Though there were teams looking into a potential trade for him last fall, one of Mougey's top priorities should be inking Wilson to a new deal, which probably will cost more than $30 million per season.

Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson looked as if he were on the verge of breaking out in 2023, when a 7.5-sack, 16-knockdown season earned him a Pro Bowl nod, only for an Achilles injury to end his 2024 campaign after two weeks. Fellow former first-rounder Will McDonald IV broke out in Johnson's absence. With Haason Reddick's infamous Jets tenure ending after one season, Johnson should step back into the starting lineup, but it would make sense for both sides to wait and see how Johnson recovers from his injury before figuring out a new deal.

The situation of running back Breece Hall, who looked like an instant-impact runner as a rookie before tearing his ACL, is the most tenuous. He marked his return to the Jets with an 83-yard run in that aforementioned 2023 win over the Bills, but he has been more of a boom-or-bust back since the injury. His 33.8% success rate over the past two seasons ranks second to last in the league among backs with 200 or more carries in that span, ahead of only Javonte Williams. He has also fumbled a league-high eight times over the past two seasons, including six in 2024.

Though the three 2022 first-round picks are all under contract through 2026 after having their fifth-year options picked up, Hall is in the final year of his deal. The Jets didn't make any major additions to their running back room, meaning he will be in competition with Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis for carries next to new quarterback Justin Fields. An improved offensive line and Fields' presence might help create bigger holes for Hall, but does this regime still see Hall as a cornerstone?

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens

The superlative: Most likely to sign a post-June 1 free agent

Every team pays lip service to the value of compensatory picks, but few teams actually invest as much in the process as the Ravens. With a steady stream of talented draftees coming through the organization, general manager Eric DeCosta has been comfortable letting players leave in free agency while using the draft and the post-June 1 market to supplement his roster. After June 1, free agent additions no longer impact the compensatory pick formula, allowing DeCosta & Co. to lock in their selections for the next draft.

With the Ravens currently projected to add two fifth-round picks and a seventh-round selection in the 2026 draft, it's no surprise they've been relatively quiet in free agency. The only player they've signed who affects the compensatory formula is wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who received a one-year pact for $5 million. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, quarterback Cooper Rush and offensive tackle Joe Noteboom either don't make enough to hit the compensatory pick cutoff and/or were released by their previous team, which keeps them from canceling out picks.

So, whom will the Ravens target? Though they added much-needed help for their offensive line in the draft, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them look for some veteran interior help, with former Cardinals guard Will Hernandez the best remaining option. They have also been happy to take on reclamation projects in the past, and there's an obvious one available: former offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who wore out his welcome with the Browns after being a top-10 pick in 2020.

Front seven depth should also be a priority. Inside linebacker was a problem for Baltimore last season, as Trenton Simpson was eventually benched for long-time special teams player Chris Board. Kyzir White is still available on the open market; getting a linebacker with his experience and playmaking ability would represent good value for the Ravens.

Cincinnati Bengals

The superlative: Most likely to hope their biggest problem just forgets about being mad

There are a few ways to deal with a pressing issue. Some try to cut the problem into smaller pieces and solve the components one at a time. Others ask for help from friends and family. And then there are people who simply decide to sleep it off and wait it out. Whatever's wrong will resolve itself.

The Bengals appear to be adopting that last strategy with their most pressing issue. Though the organization signed wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term extensions in March, they've yet to address the requests of star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who was my pick as 2024 Defensive Player of the Year. He wants a new contract or a trade to another team that will give him one, and Cincinnati doesn't appear to be inclined to do either.

Good communication is one way to resolve a crisis. The Bengals don't appear to have received that memo. Last week, coach Zac Taylor reached out to Hendrickson via text. Instead of asking whether his star pass rusher has gone on any fun vacations or streamed any good shows recently, Taylor reminded Hendrickson that mandatory minicamp was upcoming and missing those practices would result in fines. Hendrickson responded by telling reporters he had no intention of playing under his current deal in 2025. ESPN colleague Jeremy Fowler has reported that Hendrickson is willing to sit out regular-season games if there's no resolution.

It was going to be hard for the Bengals to replace Hendrickson in March, but that possibility has become downright impossible following free agency and the draft. He created an unprecedented 26 sacks for himself and his teammates a year ago, per ESPN's metrics, 11.5 more than any other player. The data for this metric dates to 2017, and no other player had topped 20 sacks created in a season.

Since Hendrickson initially expressed his displeasure about his deal in March, the price of a potential extension has only gone up. Myles Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension to stay with the Browns, raising the top of the edge rusher market from $34 million per season to $40 million per year. Micah Parsons is expected to up that figure further when he signs his extension with the Cowboys. The best time for the Bengals to get a Hendrickson deal done was March. The next-best time would be now.

Cleveland Browns

The superlative: Most likely to pepper the wall and hope something sticks

Browns fans were saying, "Anybody but Deshaun Watson." The Browns responded with, "Everyone but Deshaun Watson." With the quarterback out indefinitely after tearing his Achilles in October and again in January, Cleveland entered this offseason knowing it needed to find a meaningful replacement for Watson in 2025 and beyond.

I'm not sure about the beyond part, but the Browns certainly have options this season. General manager Andrew Berry added a pair of veterans by trading Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Eagles for Kenny Pickett and bringing back 2023 franchise hero Joe Flacco. With rumors linking them to Shedeur Sanders on draft night, the Browns eventually landed their man ... in Round 5, two rounds after they had selected another signal-caller in Dillon Gabriel. Who needs one replacement when you can have four?

What makes this even more complicated is that the quarterbacks aren't stylistically similar. Flacco thrived two years ago as an under-center, play-action threat in coach Kevin Stefanski's offense, providing it with a high-risk, high-reward downfield passer. Pickett has worked out of shotgun and has won games by mostly avoiding big mistakes. Gabriel worked out of a spread offense at Oregon and was more of a distributor who threw accurate underneath passes without scaring teams as a downfield thrower. Sanders was in an RPO-heavy offense and played hero ball far too often when asked to drop back behind a dismal offensive line.

It's difficult to find a throughline among these options and project what the Browns' offense will look like schematically. Stefanski somewhat abandoned the Shanahan-style offense he ran with the Vikings and during his time with Baker Mayfield in Cleveland to lean into the shotgun spread, empty attacks Watson ran in Houston, but that switch didn't work. The offense perked up in 2023 when Flacco took over and Stefanski leaned back into his play-action roots. If Flacco is the starter, it would make sense for the Browns to dip back into that well.

Instead, the question might be how long any of these guys keeps the job. Nothing about the cash spent or the draft capital used suggests the Browns are committed to any of these quarterbacks in 2026. They cycled through five starters because of injuries and poor play in 2023 and managed to make the playoffs, but that's not a sustainable way to be competitive. They might have a situation in which their backups are tantalizing enough to get on the field without being good enough to stay there.

The other way to think about things might be more reasonable for this version of the Browns: build a team in which the quarterback means as little as possible. The best versions of Stefanski's Cleveland offenses had a great running game with Nick Chubb and a strong offensive line. But with Chubb sidelined and limited the past two seasons by a serious knee injury, and the line battling injuries and inconsistent play, the designed run game ranked 19th in EPA per play over that span.

Adding Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson in April's draft should give the Browns the most athletic runners they've had since pre-injury Chubb. The Browns might want to build their offense by emphasizing the best possible version of their run game, then starting the quarterback who works best off that architecture.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The superlative: Most likely to wait until the last possible second to buy a critical gift

Though the Browns have too many quarterbacks, the Steelers don't have enough. With Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Kyle Allen all leaving in the offseason, Pittsburgh's response hasn't inspired confidence. It brought back veteran Mason Rudolph, whose play filling in for Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to bring in Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett. Behind him is Skylar Thompson, who has four career starts through his age-27 season, and rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard. It's the sort of quarterback room that makes you think Mike Tomlin upped the difficulty level on his no-losing-seasons streak as a challenge.

Aaron Rodgers has been a different sort of challenge over the past three seasons, but it has seemed for months as if he were the man waiting to fill Pittsburgh's starting job. As potential suitors joined other teams and starting opportunities have disappeared elsewhere, the two sides seem to become the only possible fit for each other. We're left with a game of musical chairs in which there's one chair remaining and one person cycling around that chair, insisting he would sit down if someone would only give him $10 million.

This isn't a perfect fit. Coordinator Arthur Smith's offenses have been at their best when they've had both a play-action element and a viable threat in the quarterback run game, and that's not what Rodgers was during his time with the Jets. On the other hand, the 41-year-old can still throw the back-shoulders and slants to new leading wideout DK Metcalf that the Steelers will want, and Rodgers' ability to protect the football by avoiding interceptions plays into Tomlin's philosophy for winning games.

When Rodgers met with the Steelers for six hours in March, it felt as if a union was inevitable. Instead, as we head into late May, the two sides still haven't found common ground on a deal. (There's no reason for the Steelers to wait until after June 1 for compensatory pick reasons, as Rodgers was cut by the Jets.) Unless the Steelers are waiting for the Falcons to eat some of Kirk Cousins' money or believe Howard is the next Tom Brady, their only move left to make is to sign Rodgers.

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans

The superlative: Most likely to apologize with a flurry of gifts

The Texans might have gotten C.J. Stroud a card, I suppose, but after getting their star quarterback battered throughout the season before eventually getting him injured in last season's divisional round loss to the Chiefs, an apology wasn't going to be enough. They simply couldn't protect Stroud. Though quarterbacks have a meaningful influence on their own pressure and sack rates, Stroud was pressured within 2.5 seconds on more than 18% of his dropbacks in 2024. The only starters who were pressured within 2.5 seconds more often were Drake Maye, Kirk Cousins and Geno Smith.

Something had to change. General manager Nick Caserio leaned closer toward everything needing to change. The Texans cut veteran guard Shaq Mason, then traded franchise tackle Laremy Tunsil -- who led the league in penalties -- to the Commanders for draft picks. Kenyon Green, the team's 2022 first-round pick, was sent to the Eagles in a deal for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. They also seemed to signal that Tytus Howard's shift from right tackle to left guard -- which was made out of necessity in 2023 and 2024 -- would be permanent.

In return, the Texans added distressed options in bulk. They traded for benched Vikings guard Ed Ingram and signed Laken Tomlinson, who started at guard for Seattle last season. They also added oft-injured former Patriots tackle Trent Brown as depth and followed that up with their biggest move, spending $12 million to replace Tunsil with Cam Robinson, who spent 2024 with the Jaguars and Vikings. Robinson was benched by the Jags before being traded to Minnesota, where he struggled with speed off the edge.

Ultimately, it will be the young players who make and break the Texans. They've selected an offensive lineman in the second round of three consecutive drafts, with Juice Scruggs (2023) expected to start on the interior, Blake Fisher (2024) taking over at right tackle and Aireontae Ersery being drafted in April to eventually replace Robinson at left tackle. Jarrett Patterson, a sixth-round pick who started during the first half of 2023 and the second half of 2024, will have a chance to lock down the starting job at the pivot.

That's nine plausible starters for five spots. The Texans fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser after the disappointing season, replacing Slowik with former Rams passing game coordinator Nick Caley and promoting assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich to take over for his former boss. Popovich might be one of the most important personnel coaches in the league this season; Houston needs him to identify the right five starters up front and quickly develop their chemistry. The Texans can't afford to have Stroud go through another 2024 in what probably will be his final season on a rookie deal before he receives a massive extension in 2026.

Indianapolis Colts

The superlative: Most likely to focus on tackling drills in training camp

It's not a huge stretch to suggest that subpar tackling might have cost the Colts a postseason spot in 2024. According to Pro Football Reference, the Colts whiffed on 157 tackle attempts last season, 23 more than any other team. They faced the fourth-most defensive snaps, which explains some of that chasm, but the tape backs up those numbers. I'm not sure any team had a worse 60 minutes of tackling than the Colts did against the Giants in Week 17, when they allowed 45 points to Drew Lock & Co. and were officially knocked out of the playoff race.

Nobody should be surprised, then, that general manager Chris Ballard's offseason moves aimed to address those tackling woes. At safety, Indianapolis is swapping out Julian Blackmon, who has whiffed on 12% or more of his tackle attempts in four of his five NFL seasons, for former Vikings safety Cam Bynum, whose career missed tackle rate is 7.1%.

At corner, Samuel Womack III (12.2% missed tackle rate) will be replaced by Charvarius Ward, who has the lowest missed tackle rate of any player since entering the league in 2018, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Linebacker E.J. Speed, whose missed tackle rates over the past two seasons were both north of 10%, wasn't re-signed. Jaylon Carlies, who started six games a year ago and should be in line for the full-time job in 2025, missed only 5.3% of his tackles as a rookie.

Will better tackling make the Colts a great defense? No. But this was a team that ranked 30th in third-down conversion rate (44.4%) a year ago, in part because Colts defenders couldn't make tackles short of the sticks. Better tackling will get them off the field.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The superlative: Most likely to get their guys

The Jaguars were not going to settle for the store brand this offseason. It started with their coach opening, when they fell in love with Liam Coen. When Coen turned them down, they fired general manager Trent Baalke to essentially placate the Buccaneers offensive coordinator and get him to move to Jacksonville. (That move came only weeks after ownership insisted a complete overhaul of the coaching staff and front office in the same offseason would be "suicidal.")

Coen and new GM James Gladstone proceeded to make a series of aggressive moves to add talent to their roster, paying a premium versus expectations to do so. Slot corner Jourdan Lewis was signed to a three-year, $30 million pact. Former Bucs center Robert Hainsey, who was moved out of the starting lineup in 2024 after the arrival of Graham Barton, followed Coen to Jacksonville for three years and $21 million. Eric Murray, a core special-teamer and occasional starting safety in Houston, inked a three-year, $19.5 million deal.

Then there's wide receiver Dyami Brown, who had only 784 receiving yards over four years before a big postseason with the Commanders. The Jags signed him to a one-year, $10 million deal to be their deep threat despite the presence of Gabe Davis, who was signed by the prior regime and was owed $11 million in guarantees for 2025. They then released Davis despite those guarantees.

Was there really a competitive market for these players at these prices? Lewis signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal to stay with the Cowboys last offseason, and cornerbacks turning 30 rarely get significant raises in free agency. Murray is 31 and plays a position where even former Pro Bowlers such Justin Simmons struggled to find deals last offseason because of age.

Hainsey wasn't even a starter in 2024; were there teams lining up to pay him $7 million per season? Is Brown really such an essential upgrade on Davis to justify another $10 million for a player with a limited track record of production? And even if he does live up to expectations, couldn't the Jaguars have found a way to add a second, unguaranteed year to the deal to keep him around?

These aren't huge mistakes, but cumulatively, they add up and represent a meaningful opportunity cost. The typical contracts for these archetypes of players -- veteran slot cornerback, third safety, third/fourth wide receiver, and borderline starting center -- are closer to $16.5 million per season. The Jags are paying them $33.5 million per year. That's an extra $17 million they could have given to players who are harder to find or replicate in free agency, plus four roster spots handed over to veterans who might not be appreciably better than options they could have drafted and developed under their new coaching staff on rookie deals.

The biggest decision Jacksonville made came on draft night. The Jags moved up from No. 5 to No. 2, sending their second-round pick and a 2026 first-rounder to the Browns to select Colorado star Travis Hunter. The organization has suggested Hunter will focus on wide receiver to begin his career, although his predraft comments made it clear he intends to play cornerback on some meaningful level as a pro.

While all of these moves are for players the Jaguars clearly valued far more than other teams, Hunter is very different in one obvious way: There's nobody else in the league like him. If he excels on both sides of the football, he'll offer the team more surplus value than any other non-quarterback in the league and justify the haul Gladstone sent to Cleveland on draft night.

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Tennessee Titans

The superlative: Most likely to keep their quarterback upright more often

While sacks aren't as bad as turnovers, taking even one on a drive dramatically caps an offense's ability to score. When teams went an entire possession without being sacked in 2024, they scored touchdowns 26.4% of the time and averaged 2.3 points per drive. If they took at least one sack, they scored touchdowns only 8.3% of the time and averaged 1.1 points per possession.

The gap was even larger for the Titans, who scored only two touchdowns on 45 possessions in which they gave up a sack, a 4.4% clip. Unfortunately for Brian Callahan's team, starter Will Levis had a habit of taking sacks. His 12% sack rate was the worst in the league for a quarterback who started at least 10 games. Adjusting for era, it was the 12th-worst sack rate for any passer who started at least 10 games in any season since 1950.

Considering that Mason Rudolph had a 4.6% sack rate behind the same offensive line, the majority of the pressure issues have to be pinned on Levis. Enter No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, who was much better at avoiding takedowns at Miami. Last season, he had an above-average 4.3% sack rate. His sack rate when pressured was 14.5%, also better than the national average.

In addition to upgrading at quarterback, Tennessee also made a major investment in its offensive line by signing former Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr., a move that will shift 2024 first-rounder JC Latham to his natural position of right tackle. The Titans also added former Bengals and Lions veteran Kevin Zeitler at guard. Getting replacement-level players out of the lineup and swapping in competent players while avoiding those negative plays should help keep them out of the hopeless situations on offense they faced too often last season.

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos

The superlative: Most likely to have "Joker" puns in headlines written about them

There is a lot of optimism in the comparisons surrounding the new additions to Denver's offense. Sean Payton says rookie third-round wide receiver Pat Bryant reminds him of Michael Thomas. Second-round running back RJ Harvey is studying film with Payton and wants to be better than Alvin Kamara and Darren Sproles as a rookie. If the Broncos end up recreating anything close to those former Saints stars, second-year quarterback Bo Nix will be spoiled with receiving options.

One player Nix lacked last season was what Payton refers to as the "Joker," a receiver who represents a mismatch against linebacker and safeties in coverage. In New Orleans, that role was filled by a variety of players, including running backs such as Sproles and Kamara and tight ends such as Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey. Those are very different players physically and schematically, but they were all able to catch and make plays with the ball in their hands.

If Payton's instincts are correct, Evan Engram, who signed a two-year, $23 million deal after being released by the Jaguars this spring, will be their Joker. The Broncos ranked 31st in percentage of receptions and receiving yards to their tight ends last season, so there was a clear need for a pass-catching threat at the position. Nix also ranked 26th in Total QBR on throws between the numbers, where Engram would be expected to operate.

Is Engram a natural fit for that role? Athletically, he has always seemed like a player who could threaten teams downfield on seam and post routes, but he mostly served as a dump-off option and safety valve for Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. His average air yards per target over the past three seasons was 5.4, which ranked 104th among all receivers over that span. Catching short passes is fine if a player is explosive after the catch, but while Engram racked up plenty of yards after the catch, those were equally a product of being far away from defenders than making them miss.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Engram's 1,211 yards after the catch were 88 more than an average receiver would have generated on the same catches, or 0.4 YAC over expected per reception. That figure ranks 53rd out of 77 receivers with 200 or more targets over the past three seasons.

The comparisons to Graham and Shockey also seem to be missing a critical component. Shockey was a physical force as a blocker, something Engram lacks. Graham was a nightmare to cover in the red zone; during his five seasons with the Saints, the former basketball player caught 40 touchdowns in the red zone, the second most of any player over that span. Engram has only 20 red zone touchdowns in eight seasons. Graham had 95 targets over those five years in New Orleans to Engram's 65 in his career, but commanding red zone targets is also a skill, too.

On the other hand, Engram hasn't worked with an offensive architect of Payton's caliber before, either. His quarterbacks haven't been clearly better than Nix was in 2024, with Lawrence and late-career Eli Manning his most frequent partners. In a Denver market where one Joker already dominates the headlines, the Broncos are hoping their version also posts gaudy numbers in 2025.

Kansas City Chiefs

The superlative: Most likely to slide their pass protection to the left

For the second time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs lost a Super Bowl in which their offensive line was overwhelmed by the opposing pass rush. General manager Brett Veach responded to that first defeat by rebuilding the line with future standouts. He traded draft picks to acquire left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., signed top Patriots guard Joe Thuney and drafted future stars in center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith in 2021. Those four became the core of a great line that helped Kansas City make it to the past three Super Bowls.

It's no surprise Veach reinvested in the offensive line this offseason, but the Chiefs' moves are a little more controversial this time around. After franchise-tagging Smith, he traded Thuney to the Bears, getting a fourth-round pick for a player who was a first-team All-Pro in 2024, albeit a 32-year-old who is a year away from free agency. Thuney was overmatched in the Super Bowl at left tackle, but he's still an excellent, reliable guard.

The additions are hardly sure things, especially for 2025. At left tackle, the Chiefs signed 49ers lineman Jaylon Moore -- who mostly served as Trent Williams' backup and has only 12 career starts -- to a deal guaranteeing $21.2 million. There's nothing wrong with sitting behind a future Hall of Famer, but that's a lot of money for an inexperienced, unproven tackle, especially one who is expected to be protecting Mahomes' blindside in Week 1. Andy Reid has earned some benefit of the doubt with offensive line evaluation, but defenses were able to overload Moore's plate at times last season. I would expect them to test Moore's ability to deal with duals and unexpected rushers early in 2025.

The long-term answer might be rookie first-round pick Josh Simmons, but he is recovering from a torn patellar tendon. Simmons should be back at some point in 2025, but it might be more realistic for him to step in as a full-time starter in 2026. With no more guarantees in Jawaan Taylor's deal after the upcoming season, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Chiefs cut their right tackle and play either Moore or Simmons on the right side in 2026.

Then there's the guy taking over for Thuney. Kingsley Suamataia won the left tackle job last season as a rookie second-round pick but was benched by Reid after Trey Hendrickson dominated him in Week 2. He played only 87 snaps after that, 31 of which came in the meaningless Week 18 loss to the Broncos. Even though Wanya Morris was overmatched at left tackle, Reid wasn't interested in sticking his original starter back in the lineup, giving both D.J. Humphries and Thuney opportunities once he benched Morris.

Now, Suamataia is expected to move to left guard. While again acknowledging Reid's Hall of Fame credentials, the Chiefs will be replacing arguably their best lineman with a player who was benched last season and is now moving to a position he didn't play in college. Suamataia played guard in that Broncos loss, but if everything goes as planned, Kansas City's starting left guard and left tackle will have only a combined 14 NFL starts. It's always fair to assume Mahomes and the Chiefs will find a way to overcome a weak spot on their roster, as they did for most of last season, but the loss to the Eagles served as a reminder of how things can go wrong.

Las Vegas Raiders

The superlative: Most likely to improve

The quickest and most fruitful way for NFL teams to win more games is to upgrade at quarterback and head coach. The biggest surprises of the 2023 and 2024 seasons rode those paths to success; the 2023 Texans added quarterback C.J. Stroud and coach DeMeco Ryans, while the 2024 Commanders went with QB Jayden Daniels and coach Dan Quinn.

Like those teams, the 2024 Raiders were fielding replacement-level options in key roles. And just like the organizations they're hoping to emulate, the 2025 Raiders hope a new coach and quarterback will propel them forward. Vegas has swapped out fired coach Antonio Pierce for Pete Carroll and the QB duo of Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew for Geno Smith, reuniting the key figures from a 2022 Seahawks team that also made an unexpected trip to the postseason.

Beyond the personnel improvements, though, there were already reasons to believe in a Raiders improvement. They were tied for the league's second-worst turnover margin at minus-16, a figure that usually regresses back toward the mean (and improves a team's record as a result). They recovered only 24.2% of the fumbles that hit the ground last season (eight of 33), the worst recovery rate for any team since 2011. Vegas also had only four players start all 17 games, with key contributors such as defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and cornerback Nate Hobbs missing meaningful time because of injuries.

Is there enough to make a playoff push? That might be a bridge too far. Vegas lost multiple defensive starters in free agency, including Hobbs, safety Tre'von Moehrig and linebacker Robert Spillane. I've written about how the draft mistakes of the Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels eras have left the Raiders without the core talent base other teams have to build around. New general manager John Spytek approached free agency in a generally thoughtful manner, as the Raiders didn't make many significant investments and looked to shore up the roster as opposed to taking the big swings they've made in the past.

Then again, there weren't many people suggesting the 2023 Texans or 2024 Commanders were playoff teams, either, and they both won postseason games. The 2024 Raiders were one of the most unlucky teams in recent memory, and they're much better at two of football's most important spots heading into the season. To whatever extent there's a formula to identify teams we would count on improving in a given year, the Raiders fit.

Los Angeles Chargers

The superlative: Most likely to try to run over and through their opponents

Jim Harbaugh isn't exactly known for finessing the competition. His teams want to exert their will on opponents, but while the Chargers made major strides forward in advancing to the playoffs last season, they weren't as physical as the coach might have liked. The Chargers ranked 15th in EPA per play on designed rushes last season, and while they were 10th defending those carries, they lost defensive linemen Morgan Fox and Poona Ford in free agency and released veteran edge rusher Joey Bosa.

It's no surprise, then, that the recipe for Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz in free agency was clear: bigger is better. They were focused on adding players who have the size to physically overwhelm the guy across from them -- both on and off the line of scrimmage. That includes 363-pound guard Mekhi Becton, who was the sixth-largest player in the league last season by listed weight, and new defensive line additions Da'Shawn Hand and Naquan Jones, both of whom weigh more than 300 pounds. Their third-round pick was 340-pound nose tackle Jamaree Caldwell, who will rotate in behind 304-pound veteran Teair Tart.

Even away from the line, though, the Chargers brought in guys who were bigger than the typical player at their positions. One year after cutting him for cap reasons, they brought back 6-foot-4 wideout Mike Williams. Hortiz let cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton hit free agency and brought in 6-foot-3 corner Benjamin St-Juste from the Commanders. The only regular starter at corner in 2024 who was bigger than St. Juste was Seattle's Riq Woolen.

The new running back rotation is also one of the biggest in the league. At 6-foot-1 and 242 pounds, Najee Harris was the second-largest back in the league who racked up at least 100 carries last season, which might be one of the reasons he has yet to miss a single game as a pro. The Chargers used their first-round pick on 221-pound Omarion Hampton, the second-heaviest back picked in the first five rounds (only Steelers third-rounder Kaleb Johnson weighed more).

Last year's L.A. team was a blend of the players Harbaugh inherited and the ones he wants to build around. It's clear now he has a distinct vision for what he wants the Chargers to look like in future seasons.