One Hole on Each AFC Roster: Championship Contender Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills Have Questions to Answer
A look at one potential problem for each team in the AFC that could stop them from reaching their goals in 2024.
Needs are hard to pin down when you aren’t in someone else’s head. While you may think you need a promotion, others might think you need a shower. It’s the same in sports, as we try to read the minds of general managers in terms of what a team “needs.”
The draft is not the end of the player acquisition period, but it’s easy to panic right now because your favorite team has a hole on the roster. Salary cap space will free up on June 1, and teams will release more players after that time, so another wave of acquisitions will occur, though on a smaller scale than free agency.
I went through each AFC team and identified a hole that exists on their roster. Sometimes, this will be a position, but other teams need a theme more than a specific player. This may not be the biggest hole, but it is something that could hold the team back from contending and/or reaching their 2024 goals.
Baltimore Ravens
An offensive lineman
The Ravens lost three starters from their 2023 offensive line: Morgan Moses, John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler. They drafted Washington right tackle Roger Rosengarten at the end of the second round, and he will likely fill one slot, but the team might be one dependable player short right now.
Andrew Vorhees was a seventh-round pick in 2023 with the knowledge that he would need a redshirt season after tearing his ACL at the combine. He was seen as a potential starter before the injury and could factor in this year.
Ben Cleveland was a third rounder in 2021 and could fill one spot. Patrick Mekari has stuck around despite going undrafted in 2019. Another starting-level player would help protect against injury and increase the overall talent of possibly Baltimore’s weakest unit.
Buffalo Bills
A top wide receiver
Drafting Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round was a good move. The other two listed starters are Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel. This team is short on receiving if they want to contend.
Shakir will be entering his third year after setting career highs with 39 catches, 611 yards and two touchdowns last season. Samuel has been around 60 catches and 600 yards each of the last two seasons. They are both fine complementary players, but not guys to lead a receiving unit. Chase Claypool was signed after the draft, and while he has success in his past, it's been two years since he has made any real impact.
Expecting Coleman to be the top guy is a tough expectation for any rookie, especially a second rounder. Rookie receivers are making an impact faster than ever, but this is a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox are a pair of good tight ends who can help. Josh Allen is now paid like a superstar, and part of that is losing depth on the roster. The cap-strapped Bills might not be able to add a high-profile player, in which case they will be counting on big performances from young players and their franchise quarterback.
Cincinnati Bengals
A replacement for whomever they trade (potentially)
This is more speculative, but the Bengals also make it hard to find a real area of need. The defensive backfield could use help, but the team put a first-round pick, two second rounders and a third toward those positions since 2022, so they are likely counting on improvement from the roster.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins and pass rusher Trey Hendrickson have both publicly requested trades since the start of the offseason, though, and they would create massive holes if either were to leave the team.
The most likely outcome is both players staying on the roster for 2024 before tough decisions are made next offseason. If they get an offer too good to resist, though, Cincinnati doesn’t have much behind their stars.
They drafted WR Jermaine Burton in the third round, but it’s unfair to expect him to fill Higgins’ shoes. The defensive end opposite Hendrickson is Sam Hubbard, who has averaged about six sacks per season in his career, but the rest of the depth chart at D-end has combined for just 12.5 career sacks.
If Cincinnati moves one of these guys or loses them to injury, it will leave them scrambling to fill the position with high-level play.
Cleveland Browns
Running back?
This is dependent on the health of Nick Chubb, who suffered one of the gnarliest knee injuries you’ll ever see last season. If he returns to his usual self, this hole is filled. I really don’t see that being the case, though.
That injury just looked so bad. Looks can be deceiving, but Chubb will likely take time to work his way back even if he does make a full recovery. The rest of the group does have a chance to piece together a passable unit if everything goes right.
Jerome Ford filled in admirably last season, averaging 4 yards per carry on his way to over 1,100 total yards (813 on the ground). D'Onta Foreman is fine as a backup but does nothing in the passing game. Nyheim Hines is there to play the pass-catching role and maybe return some kicks.
Many thought the Browns would draft a running back as early as the second round, but they ignored the position, maybe a vote of confidence for Chubb. There is plenty of time to add a veteran back, but this is the possible weakest spot on a strong roster.
Denver Broncos
High-level talent
This is vague, but so is the collection of talent in Denver. Bo Nix at No. 12 was one of my least favorite picks of the entire draft and has nothing to do with Nix himself.
The Broncos didn’t make a first-round pick in 2022 or 2023 and had no second rounder this year, a reality presented by the acquisitions of Russell Wilson and Sean Payton. Denver has one of the worst rosters in the league and reached for the sixth-best quarterback in the draft when they could have added a top-10 talent.
If he starts, Nix is going to be surrounded by subpar talent and will likely struggle to adapt. Rather than needing to fill one position, Denver is missing the level of players that could help Nix and/or make the team competitive.
Houston Texans
A starting cornerback
This might not be a real hole, as the team signed former third overall pick Jeff Okudah in the offseason and drafted Georgia’s Kamari Lassiter in the second round. Okudah has never lived up to his draft status, though, and rookie cornerbacks are notorious for struggling as they adapt to the league.
For a team that took a huge leap last season to a division title, they have a pretty major question on the outside. While there is plenty of depth on the roster, snagging one more starting-level defensive back would solidify a legit top-line defense.
Indianapolis Colts
A third cornerback
Indianapolis is another team that has built a really solid roster across most positions, making this a tough call. They were often projected to take a cornerback in the first round, but they chose pass rusher Laiatu Latu as the first defensive player off the board.
Latu has upside through the roof, but the Colts are still short in the defensive backfield and could stand to add another solid corner. They re-signed Kenny Moore II, and last year’s second-round pick, JuJu Brents, is slotted into one starting role.
Listed behind them, though, are Dallis Flowers, a former undrafted free agent, and Jaylon Johnson, a seventh-round pick in 2023. The Colts were a game away from winning the division last season and now hope to have their second-year quarterback at full strength. Suring up the back of the defense could help keep a shallow position afloat.
Jacksonville Jaguars
A real difference maker at wide receiver
This may have already been taken care of with the drafting of Brian Thomas Jr., who the Jags took in the first round out of LSU. Thomas is seen as a potential WR1 in the future. Again, though, counting on a rookie to step right in and lead the group is a risky proposition for a team that wants to contend.
Christian Kirk has combined for almost 1,900 receiving yards in his two years with Jacksonville and currently holds the WR1 spot. He’s a great piece to have, but I don’t like him as my top option.
The signing of Gabe Davis brought in a capable WR2/WR3 type, but I didn’t like the signing from a value standpoint; there are tons of guys like Davis. If Thomas can immediately be the top receiver while letting the other two work as complementary options, this offense will be dangerous.
If he takes time to adapt, though, this feels like an underwhelming unit of good players pieced together. A trade for someone like Brandon Aiyuk or Higgins would change the trajectory of this Jacksonville offense.
Kansas City Chiefs
A veteran left tackle
Donovan Smith still isn’t signed, and Kansas City didn’t make any moves outside the draft to solidify the starting offensive line. Wanya Morris was a third-round pick last year, and the team reportedly liked his performance when he filled in; Morris is currently listed as the starting left tackle.
They drafted Kingsley Suamataia at the end of the second round, and while there was a lot of positive talk around him pre-draft, it’s difficult for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to trust the most important spot on the O-line to a second-round rookie.
Bringing back Smith or signing someone like David Bakhtiari would provide insurance in case the young guys struggle. Things will probably work out for KC no matter what they do, but putting extra resources toward left tackle seems like a prudent move.
Las Vegas Raiders
Right tackle
It was a slight surprise when the Raiders took Georgia tight end Brock Bowers 13th overall; Michael Mayer was selected early in the second round last year. Both guys can play together, but I was hoping they would target a high-level tackle early in the draft.
Second- and third-round picks Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze will help solidify the middle and add depth, but the current starter listed at right tackle is Thayer Munford Jr., a seventh-round pick in 2022.
While they aren’t on the level of the top teams, Vegas could make a surprise run at a Wild Card spot if the defense holds up and Gardner Minshew can handle QB. The best way to support their quarterback is finding a better player to protect his right side.
Los Angeles Chargers
Safety
In a light rebuild, the Chargers filled a few of their biggest holes early in the draft. They likely won’t be a playoff team in 2024, but LA is better positioned than many teams that enter any kind of “rebuild.”
One place they could use more talent, though, is at the back of the defense. Derwin James fills one spot, but he has been more average than good, racking up unnecessary roughness penalties along the way.
The other options leave this unit shallow and without much upside. Alohi Gilman was a 2020 sixth-round pick, though he did have two interceptions last season. AJ Finley is a second-year undrafted free agent, and 2022 third rounder JT Woods hasn’t had an interception or broken up a pass in 13 career games.
This is an issue that could lead to a lot of long receptions. The Chargers are short in the defensive backfield and could use any kind of veteran presence.
Miami Dolphins
Defensive line talent
This isn’t about edge rushers; though Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are both coming off major leg injuries, the team drafted Chop Robinson in the first round and will hope for their big names to return to full speed during the season.
Instead, I’m looking at the group who will attempt to replace Christian Wilkins in their 3-4 defense. Wilkins had a breakout 2023, racking up twice as many sacks (nine) as any other year of his career. While he may not stay at that level, he will be missed in the middle of Miami’s defense.
The current listed starters at nose tackle and the two D-end spots are Benito Jones, Jonathan Harris, and Zach Sieler. Harris has one sack in his career and Jones 2.5. Sieler racked up 10 sacks last season, but he had combined for just 10 sacks over six previous seasons, so it’s hard to count on that production to repeat.
It’s going to be nearly impossible to find a player to replace Wilkins at this point, but getting more juice up front could help the defense stay formidable while the veteran pass rushers and Robinson all work their way to 100%.
New England Patriots
Left tackle
Chukwuma Okorafor, the presumed starter on the left side, has started 59 games at right tackle in his pro career. He’s now expected to make the switch to the blindside to protect a rookie quarterback.
While the Pats have brought in enough talent to make for a competent offense, they don’t have a real star anywhere on that side of the ball. They will have to play consistent football to have a chance to win games in 2024.
Bringing in a veteran with experience at left tackle, like Smith and Bakhtiari mentioned in the Chiefs’ section, would create a battle for the starting spot and bring capable depth. While New England isn’t likely to compete for anything this season, they can help Drake Maye (and Jacoby Brissett) by putting more resources toward the left side.
New York Jets
Healthy offensive linemen
A look up and down New York’s roster paints a picture of success based on the names. If everyone stays healthy and plays to their level, this team will have a chance in the playoffs.
I’m having a lot of trouble with one phrase, though: “If everyone stays healthy.” Tyron Smith was an All-Pro left tackle for much of his time with Dallas, but injuries have ravaged most of his last four seasons. Alijah Vera-Tucker, a first-round pick in 2021, has played just 12 games over the last two years.
With right tackle Morgan Moses getting to his mid-30s, there is a lot here that could go wrong quickly. The team drafted Olumuyiwa Fashanu in the first round, a player many think is a franchise left tackle, and he will help.
There’s not much else for high-level talent outside the starting lineup, though, and a few injuries could turn this from a solid line to a hindrance for Aaron Rodgers. Adding another offensive lineman, particularly someone versatile that can play multiple positions, would make this group more dependable.
Pittsburgh Steelers
An impact wide receiver
Pittsburgh focused on the offensive line early in the draft, taking a possible weakness and likely turning it into a strength. That is welcome news for the new quarterback duo of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, who will battle for the starting job in camp.
While they did draft Michigan’s Roman Wilson in the third round, the Steelers traded away WR1 Diontae Johnson this offseason, leaving a hole that still needs attention. George Pickens can hold down the top spot, but Wilson and Van Jefferson are the only other receivers on the roster with any real upside.
Jefferson had 802 yards and six touchdowns in 2021, but he has otherwise combined for 798 yards and four touchdowns in four other seasons. Counting on this group would not be setting up the two QBs for success.
Bringing in a top receiver on the trade block, like Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel from San Francisco, would be against Pittsburgh’s usual strategy, but it would set up this team as a possible division champion, something that feels above their level right now.
Tennessee Titans
Tight end
Despite losing a lot of talent over the last few offseasons, Tennessee has done a good job of creating a capable roster, even if depth is lacking. Their ceiling will depend on Will Levis and how well he develops as a quarterback.
Assumed new left tackle JC Latham will be making the switch to the blindside after manning the right side in college, which could cause growing pains, but at least the team put a major resource toward the position. The receiving core, led by DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, has become something of a strength, especially after the team recently signed Tyler Boyd.
Chigoziem Okonkwo will be entering his third season, and while he received fantasy buzz last preseason, he finished with just 528 yards on 54 receptions and scored one touchdown. On a team that has retooled with hopes on staying competitive, a more consistent underneath option might be the biggest thing missing in Levis’ arsenal.
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