Each NFL AFC Teams biggest need looking into the Draft

With Free Agency winding down teams around the league are starting to look into the draft, with some teams having a surplus of picks and other teams having a shortage of picks we will look into each AFC teams biggest needs and predictions into what position they might actually draft. 

AFC East

  • Buffalo Bills

Biggest Need:RB

Draft Prediction:RB

  • New England Patriots

Biggest Need:WR

Draft Prediction:CB

  • Miami Dolphins

Biggest Need:OL

Draft Prediction:OL

  • New York Jets

Biggest Need:S

Draft Prediction:S

AFC West

  • Kansas City Chiefs

Biggest Need:WR

Draft Prediction: WR

  • Los Angeles Chargers

Biggest Need:DL

Draft Prediction:DL

  • Denver Broncos

Biggest Need:MLB

Draft Prediction:OL

  • Las Vegas Raiders

Biggest Need:CB

Draft Prediction:CB

AFC North

  • Cleveland Browns

Biggest Need:C

Draft Prediction:WR

  • Baltimore Ravens

Biggest Need:DL

Draft Prediction:DL

  • Pittsburgh Steelers

Biggest Need:S

Draft Prediction:QB 

  • Cincinnati Bengals

Biggest Need:OL

Draft Prediction:MLB

AFC South

  • Indianapolis Colts

Biggest Need:WR

Draft Prediction:WR

  • Tennessee Titans

Biggest Need:OL

Draft Prediction:OL

  • Houston Texans

Biggest Need:DL

Draft Prediction:DL

  • Jacksonville Jaguars 

Biggest Need:DL

Draft Prediction:DL

Ranking each NFL NFC team in order

Each team will be ranked in order of ceiling and floor for this upcoming season.

#1- Los Angeles Rams

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender 

Floor: Divisional Round

#2- Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender

Floor: Divisional Round

#3- Minnesota Vikings 

Ceiling: NFC Championship Game

Floor: Playoffs one and done

#4- San Francisco 49ers

Ceiling: NFC Championship Game

Floor: Playoffs one and done

#5- Green Bay Packers

Ceiling: Divisional Round

Floor: Playoffs one and done

#6- Arizona Cardinals

Ceiling: Divisional Round

Floor: Playoffs one and done

#7- Philadelphia Eagles

Ceiling: Playoffs one and done

Floor: Miss the Playoffs

#8- Dallas Cowboys

Ceiling: Divisional Round

Floor: Miss the Playoffs

#9- New Orleans Saints

Ceiling: 9-8 Record

Floor: 6-11 Record

#10- Washington Commanders

Ceiling: Playoffs one and done

Floor: 6-11 Record

#11- New York Giants

Ceiling: 8-9 Record 

Floor: Top 3 draft pick

#12- Carolina Panthers

Ceiling: 7-10 Record 

Floor: Top 5 Draft Pick

#13- Chicago Bears

Ceiling: 7-10 Record 

Floor: Top 5 Draft Pick

#14- Detroit Lions

Ceiling: 6-11 Record 

Floor: #1 Draft Pick 

#15- Atlanta Falcons

Ceiling: 5-12 Record 

Floor: Top 3 Draft Pick

#16- Seattle Seahawks

Ceiling: 4-13 Record

Floor: #1 Draft Pick

Ranking each NFL AFC team in order

Each team will be ranked in order of ceiling and floor for this upcoming season.

#1- Buffalo Bills

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender 

Floor: playoffs with a win

#2- Cincinnati Bengals

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender

Floor: playoffs with a win 

#3- Kansas City Chiefs

Ceiling: AFC Championship Game

Floor: playoffs one and done 

#4- Denver Broncos 

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender 

Floor: playoffs with a win

#5- Baltimore Ravens

Ceiling: AFC Championship Game

Floor: playoffs one and done 

#6- Los Angeles Chargers

Ceiling: SuperBowl Contender 

Floor: playoffs one and done 

#7- Indianapolis Colts

Ceiling: playoffs with a win

Floor: Playoffs 

#8- Tennessee Titans

Ceiling: playoffs with a win 

Floor: 2nd place in division 

#9- Las Vegas Raiders

Ceiling: Playoffs with a win 

Floor: 9-8 record

#10- Miami Dolphins 

Ceiling: playoffs one and done 

Floor: 8-9 record 

#11- Pittsburgh Steelers

Ceiling: playoffs one and done 

Floor: 9-8 record 

#12- Cleveland Browns

Ceiling: AFC Championship Game

Floor: 6-11 record

#13-  New England Patriots

Ceiling: Playoffs one and done

Floor: 6-11 record

#14- Jacksonville Jaguars 

Ceiling: .500

Floor: 5-12 record 

#15- New York Jets

Ceiling: .500

Floor: top 3 draft pick

#16- Houston Texans

Ceiling: .500

Floor: #1 draft pick

NFL early riser predictions

This list is made as of 3/25 barring any huge moves, I predict teams will land in this order per division and make the playoffs.

AFC EAST

1.Buffalo Bills -#1 seed bye 

2.Miami Dolphins

3.New England Patriots 

4.New York Jets

AFC SOUTH

1.Indianapolis Colts -#2 seed

2.Tennessee Titans 

3.Jacksonville Jaguars 

4.Houston Texans

AFC NORTH

1.Cincinnati Bengals -#3 seed

2.Baltimore Ravens -#5 seed

3.Pittsburgh Steelers

4.Cleveland Browns 

AFC WEST 

1.Kansas City Chiefs -#4 seed

2.Los Angeles Chargers -#6 seed

3.Denver Broncos -#7 seed

4.Las Vegas Raiders 

NFC EAST

1.Philadelphia Eagles -#5 seed

2.Dallas Cowboys -#6 seed 

3.Washington Commanders

4.New York Giants

NFC SOUTH

1.Tampa Bay Buccaneers -#2 seed

2.New Orleans Saints

3.Carolina Panthers

4.Atlanta Falcons

NFC NORTH

1.Minnesota Vikings -#3 seed

2.Green Bay Packers -#4 seed

3.Chicago Bears

4.Detroit Lions

NFC WEST

1.Los Angeles Rams -#1 seed bye

2.San Francisco 49ers -#7 seed

3.Arizona Cardinals

4.Seattle Seahawks

Looking back at the Tyreek Hill trade.

After yesterday’s crazy trade with Tyreek Hill and the Kansas City Chiefs does this now make the Chiefs the worst team in the AFC West?! Looking at the now loaded AFC West it’s fair to say the Chiefs have the worst roster in that division, with the Chargers making huge moves with signing J.C Jackson, trading for Khalil Mack and Justin Herbert expected to make another jump in his 3rd season the chargers are now the betting favorites in that the West barring a unexpected move from one of those four teams, the Raiders have also made big moves trading for Davante Adams, signing Chandler Jones, and the Denver Broncos trading for Russell Wilson.

       After reports came out today that the Chiefs and Hill’s relationship was rocky, it wasn’t looking so good once the star wideout was looking for a hefty new contract. With the Jets and Dolphins both close on a deal to send Hill to his new team the Dolphins managed to pull the deal through adding extra compensation including a 2022 1st rounder, 2nd rounder, fourth rounder, and 2023 4th and 6th round picks the Chiefs are looking to down the road as the rest of the AFC West is selling for the now. 

With Hill now a Dolphin he looks to stay atop of the wide receivers now being paired with second year star Jaylen Waddle and Miami’s other offensive weapons. Hill’s new contract consists of 4 years and $120 million with $72.2 million fully guaranteed.

Tyreek Hill traded?!

As Ian Rappaport reported contract extension talks between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tyreek Hill have stalled, Kansas City has granted Tyreek‘s agent to seek a trade. As over his six-year career Tyreek Hill has emerged as one of the top premiere wi outs in the NFL for making big plays in the Super Bowl to being nicknamed the “cheetah” it looks like a blockbuster trade may be on its way.

As we saw just days ago Devante Adams got traded. The NFL is at an all-time high in trades and player movement, as the jets and the Dolphins being the teams mentioned and trade talks we could see a similar trade package as to what the Packers got for Davante Adams.

Top NFL free agents still left

Despite NFL free agency being over a week in, there’s still many big name players looking to make big impacts on teams.

       Tyrann Matthieu is the biggest name still left and is quite a shocker that he’s still on the board of free agents, despite Matthieu being 30 he’s still a top level player in this league and is looking to make an impact on any team willing to give him the chance. 

       Stephon Gilmore would be my number two option in the free agent pool that’s still left, the 31 year old is still a pro bowl level corner in this league and has had many teams of interest but hasn’t inked a deal yet but I’m certain he will soon.

       Jarvis Landry had an injury riddled season last year before getting cut by the Browns but Landry is only 29 and can still be a great playmaker on a championship team, the multi time pro bowler is a culture builder and someone you can depend on.

J.C Tretter, one of the top centers in the league was cut this off-season by the Browns due to barely playing or practicing last season due to an ankle injury but considering the age of offensive lineman still playing today it’s clear Tretter can still play at an elite level for a few more years and would be a great captain for any team.

Matt Ryan traded, Mariota to the Falcons

After Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was reportedly unhappy about the Falcons being in the Deshuan Watson sweepstakes the Falcons and Ryan were looking to move into different directions, the 37 year old quarterback heading into his 15th year as the Falcons QB was looking reportedly becoming more and more unhappy with the teams overall performance and record since the 2016 super bowl year. 

       After last offseason star wideout and longtime Falcon Julio Jones was unhappy in the team’s direction Julio was traded and now looks like it’s Matt Ryan’s turn.

        The 37 year old will now be playing quarterback under Frank Riech and the Indianapolis Colts which should be a significant upgrade from the Falcons these last few years. With the Colts having much better players and management in the organization it wouldn’t be a surprise for Ryan to find a potential landing spot for the rest of his career.

       After trading Carson Wentz a couple weeks ago it wasn’t a secret the Colts were in the Quarterback market once again, with getting multiple 2nd and 3rd picks from the Carson Wentz trade the Colts flipped one of those 3rd round picks for Ryan.

       Marcus Mariota will now be the replacement for Matt Ryan as the quarterback for the Falcons under head coach Arthur Smith. With Mariota signing a 2 year deal with the Falcons he looks to resurrect his career after having a failed start in Tennessee and having a brief stint with the Raiders these last couple seasons. 

It was no surprise that Mariota would be the next Falcons QB as he’s already worked with now Head Coach Arthur Smith who Mariota’s already worked with Smith as the Offensive Coordinator in Tennessee.

The QB carousel continues

As this NFL offseason has been crazy for big trades, signings and many other stories the quarterback carousel has not disappointed, with big moves including the Denver Broncos trading for former Seattle Seahawks QB Rusell Wilson, Deshuan Watson getting traded to the Cleveland Browns, Carson Wentz getting dealt to the Commanders and many more! 

Looks like some more quarterbacks may be on the move as the 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garrapolo hasn’t been dealt yet, Baker Mayfield looking to get traded, and the Falcons now looking to move off Matt Ryan. With all the big name QB’s off the board teams aren’t looking to settle for a mid tier quarterback which leaves some players in trouble of finding a suitable trade partner to continue their careers with, quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield doesn’t look to have many options left other than the Colts, and the Seahawks as favorites to trade for the 27 year old, Mayfield is on a fifth year option which is a cheap $18 million dollars. 

Matt Ryan also is on the trade block as he is the favorite to be traded to the Colts, Ryan has been the long time quarterback for the Falcons but looks like that all may come to an end very soon, the veteran QB is owed a whopping $48.67 million against the cap in 2022, making him one of the highest paid players in all the league.

NFL news around the league

Rams making big moves including extending Matthew Stafford to a 4 year $160 million dollar deal with $135 million of that guaranteed, it’s essentially a 3 year $129 million deal but with added years for cap purposes. 

       Also Rams are trading star wideout Robert Woods to the Titans for a 2023 sixth round pick, Los Angeles has been shopping Woods since singing star wideout Allen Robinson to a 3 year $45 million dollar deal, the Rams are stacked at receiver with Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham jr projected to come back so it only made sense for the Rams to shop Woods as he’s coming off a ACL tear last season.

       The Atlanta Falcons are also resigning wr/rb Cordarrelle Patterson to a 1 year deal, coming off a career year Patterson made it clear it wasn’t about the money with resigning with the Falcons it was about the franchise and relationships in that organization.

       The Cleveland Browns are trading backup QB Case Keenum to the Buffalo Bills for a 2022 seventh round pick. Also the Browns are signing former Dolphins quarterback Jacoby Brissett on a 1 year deal.

The Green Bay Packers are resigning cornerback Rusal Douglas to a 3 year $21 million dollar deal worth up to $25.5 million.