Biggest Need for Each AFC East Team

Photo Credit: Full Press Coverage

The AFC East had two teams make the playoffs this year in the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, and both had their seasons ended by the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. As for the other two teams in the division, the New England Patriots and New York Jets had very frustrating seasons, both finishing in the bottom 10 of the league.

Let’s take a look at the biggest need for each team heading into the offseason:

New England Patriots

Biggest Need: Quarterback

The Patriots were plagued with poor quarterback play all year. Both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe showed that they are not capable of being a franchise Quarterback for the Patriots. Mac Jones went 2-9 as a starter this year, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. After Jones was benched, Bailey Zappe took over in Week 13. Zappe went 2-4 as a starter with six touchdowns and nine interceptions. It is likely the Patriots will move on from both quarterbacks in the offseason. Head Coach Jerod Mayo has already hinted at the Patriots plan to draft a Quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. The Patriots also have needs at wide receiver and offensive line, expect both to be addressed through free agency and through later rounds of the draft.

New York Jets

Biggest Need: Left Tackle

 The Jets were looking to make a splash this year after acquiring MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but that ended quickly as he suffered a torn Achilles that ended his season in the first game of the year. With Rodgers coming back next year, the biggest need the Jets have is going to be finding people to protect him. Current starting left tackle Mekhi Becton is set to hit free agency in March, and the team likely has no intention of bringing him back. Becton allowed 12 sacks this year, which is tied for most in the NFL this year. He also had been second in the NFL in penalties at 18. Expect the Jets to address this need through the draft, they hold the No. 10 pick and this year’s offensive line class is stacked. Offensive line depth will also likely be addressed in Free Agency and the later rounds of the draft. It also would not be surprising to see the Jets target a strong veteran backup quarterback in free agency for insurance if Rodgers were to go down again.

Miami Dolphins

Biggest Need: Determine the Future of Tua Tagovailoa

Many will argue that the Dolphins have bigger needs this offseason than determining the future of Tagovailoa, but long term this is by far the most important. The Dolphins must decide if they believe Tagovailoa can lead them to a Super Bowl while they still have all their offensive core under contract.  The Dolphins do not have much cap space to play with in upcoming years, but if they decide that Tagovailoa is their quarterback of the future and offer him a long-term deal, then they will not only be locking in their franchise quarterback, but they could also free up millions in cap space for the upcoming offseason depending on how the deal is structured. This would allow them more freedom to address some other needs like resigning Christian Wilkins, along with other upcoming free agents, as well as trying to bring in new talent to the team.

Buffalo Bills

Biggest Need: Address Salary Cap issues

While many Bills fans are likely to say that a kicker is their biggest need after their heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, but there are other issues that need to be addressed. The Bills are set to be in a similar salary cap situation to the Dolphins with the 3rd lowest salary cap this offseason, which is going too difficult to add and retain talent in free agency. The Bills have a lot of upcoming free agents on the defensive side of the ball that are set to hit free agency in March, especially on the defensive line players including Daquan Jones, Tim Settle, Poona Ford and Jordan Phillips. The Bills are going to need to find some cut candidates to free up more cap space as well as trying to restructure some contracts of their bigger cap hits like Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Von Miller. Positionally, the Bills need to add more help at wide receiver, which was especially evident with the absence of Gabe Davis in the playoffs. Luckily for Buffalo, this year's draft is full of Wide Receiver Talent, and they hold the 28th Pick in the Draft. They will also need to address their defensive line if they are unable to bring back the players named above with expiring contracts.