The 2026 NFL offseason hasn’t just been a reshuffling of the deck—it’s been a shift from the old guards who oversaw the conference for decades. From stunning coaching changes in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Buffalo, to the scorched-earth rebuild currently underway in Miami and New York, the AFC landscape is unrecognizable compared to just twelve months ago.
With the free agency frenzy beginning to cool off, the focus shifts to a 2026 Draft class stocked with the trench talent and defensive anchors needed to stabilize some of these volatile rosters. For some, like the Super Bowl runner-up Patriots, the draft is about finding the final piece of a championship puzzle; for others, like the Raiders and Jets, it’s about ensuring their massive veteran investments don’t collapse under the weight of poor infrastructure. Here’s the final look at the biggest remaining need for every AFC team heading into April.
Baltimore Ravens – Interior Offensive Line
Losing Tyler Linderbaum to Vegas definitely stings. Along with looking to find his replacement, Baltimore is also in need of upgrades over current projected starting guards John Simpson and Andrew Vorhees. With the 14th pick in the draft back after the Ravens nixed the Maxx Crosby trade and signed Trey Hendrickson instead, the Ravens are set up to take an impactful lineman early to better protect Lamar Jackson.
Buffalo Bills – Linebacker
Buffalo needs to improve the spine of their defence if they want to finally get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl. The trade for DJ Moore was an expensive gamble to try and finally give Josh Allen a true number one receiver, but the defence lost some key starters this offseason. The Bills signed veterans to insulate their secondary, including Dee Alford to play nickel, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone will fight for the job opposite of Cole Bishop at safety, but linebacker is still very thin with Terrel Bernard looking like the only locked-in starter.
Cincinnati Bengals – Best Defensive Player
The Bengals shouldn’t even be looking at offensive players with their first few picks in the draft. The offence is good enough to make the team competitive in every game and they even have an adequate offensive line now. But their defence has continued to let them down season after season. Snagging a blue chip player at a traditional non-premium position like Ohio State’s safety Caleb Downs or linebacker Sonny Styles would be a dream scenario to bring in impact players that can add some skill to the defence from year 1. The signing of Chiefs safety Bryan Cook doesn’t negate the need for another running mate in the defensive backfield and Downs’ skillset doesn’t overlap the hard hitting play-style of Cooks so if he happens to slip in the first round, look for Cincinnati to sprint the card up to Roger Goodell.
Cleveland Browns – Tackle
The Browns are one of a few teams that are likely to roll out their inadequate quarterback room for one more season and see what the 2027 draft looks like. With that in mind, the Browns still have a major need at tackle after rebuilding their entire offensive line. The Browns added Tytus Howard, Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins this offseason, giving the line some experience with a combined 252 starts, but are still a couple of starters short of having a passable unit. While wide receiver is also a need, it wouldn’t shock me if Cleveland double dipped along the offensive line in the draft with both of their first round picks (No. 6 and 24) to make sure that whoever is their 2027 starting QB has a solid front protecting them.
Denver Broncos – Tight End
The Broncos pulled a late shocker, trading multiple picks to the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, giving Bo Nix a complementary weapon to Courtland Sutton. Broncos fans were up in arms that the team didn’t make a splash in free agency despite ample cap space, but this move solidifies their receiver room going forward. Denver’s overall roster doesn’t have many holes (other than finding a replacement for defensive end John Franklin-Myers) but they could really look to improve at tight end in the draft. Sean Payton has seemingly been on the hunt for a weapon at tight end since his tenure began in Denver, including signing Evan Engram last offseason. Engram has been underwhelming to say the least, and with a depth chart of Lucas Krull, Adam Trautman, Nate Adkins and Caleb Lohner, the Broncos can easily find an improvement in a deep tight class to give them a viable pass catcher at the position.
Houston Texans – Offensive Line
The Texans continue to rebuild their offensive line, but after finishing as the 24th ranked pass blocking unit (according to PFF) in the NFL last season and ranking 30th in pass block win rate, upgrades are needed across the entire front. The Texans traded away tackle Tytus Howard, but should be ok at that position with Braden Smith, Trent Brown and Aireontae Ersery fighting for starts. At guard, Ed Engram had one of his best seasons in 2025. While he’s a good blocker in the run game, he’s a liability in pass protection. The recent trade for Wyatt Teller is an improvement at left guard, but improving at right guard and center should be a priority if the Texans are to try to elevate the offence to the level of the defence.
Indianapolis Colts – Defensive Front 7
Saying that the Colts are going young at linebacker is an understatement – they currently do not employ one that has at least 250 career snaps in the NFL. Not that the veterans were setting the world ablaze last season in Indy – with Zaire Franklin and Germain Pratt on the field last season, the Colts still ranked 30th overall at the position. To add insult to injury, Indianapolis reportedly just missed out on signing edge rusher Trey Hendrickson after losing Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam in free agency, leaving Laiatu Latu as the team’s most proven edge rusher. Without a first round pick in the 2026 draft thanks to the trade deadline deal for Sauce Garnder, they will be bargain bin hunting on day two to try and find some impact defensive players.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Defensive Line
The Jaguars offseason was extremely quiet as they made only one significant signing from outside the organization (running back Chris Rodriguez), largely due to the organization being tight against the cap with no way to restructure contracts thanks to years of Trent Baalke’s cap mismanagement. For a team that took a big step forward last season under new head coach Liam Coen, this will definitely limit their ability to take another step in 2026, but will alleviate the issues going forward. Their biggest need remains finding some sort of pass rush pressure to compliment Josh Hines-Allen after Jacksonville finished 27th in the league with just 32 sacks in 2025. Arik Armstead provides some pressure from the interior, but the defense needs to bring in someone to get after opposing quarterbacks if the organization wants to continue climbing the power rankings.
Kansas City Chiefs – Edge
After trading away cornerback Trent McDuffie and losing Jaylen Watson in free agency (both to the Rams), the Chiefs depth chart is dangerously thin at the position. However, they still have Nohl Williams and have a history of coaching up day three corners into viable starters. So while leaving with the draft with some fresh blood in the secondary would be great, their recent history indicates that won’t be the team’s most pressing need. George Karlaftis and Chris Jones are the only returning players on the roster who tallied at least 25 pressures last season, and Karlaftis isn’t at the level they had hoped he would be entering his fifth year in the league. The Chiefs have both the 9th and 29th overall picks in the upcoming draft. From a fantasy perspective I would love to see the team add some offensive speed, but the smart move would be to double down on defence in the first round and give defensive coordinator Steve Spagnola some true blue chip players, starting with finding some way to get to the opposing quarterback more consistently.
Las Vegas Raiders – Offensive Line
This is based on the assumption that Vegas is taking quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the number one pick so that is no longer a need.
After spending big money on defence in free agency and with Maxx Crosby currently still on the roster and apparently ready to suit up in Vegas, the Raiders focus after the first overall pick needs to shift to how to protect their new franchise quarterback. The trade with the Baltimore Ravens that would have netted the Raiders the 14th overall pick was a perfect place for Vegas to draft Vega Ioane, the 6’4” 320 guard out of Penn State that is atop of many evaluators boards for offensive lineman despite playing in the interior of the offensive line. Without that pick in tow, the Raiders will have to look to later in the draft to find upgrades over left guard Jordan Meredith and right tackle DJ Glaze to help insulate the landing spot to help out both Mendoza and sophomore running back Ashton Jeantry if they look to avoid finishing last in the NFL for the second consecutive season.
Los Angeles Chargers – Edge
After yet another injury plagued season in LA, the Chargers will hope that tackles Rawshawn Slater and Joe Alt return to the roster in 2026. They, along with the signing of center Tyler Biadasz to replace Bradley Bozeman gives the Chargers three strong starters along the offensive line – a massive improvement over 2025. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels also brought over Cole Strange to play one of the guard spots, so at least there’s some familiarity with the system there. With four out of five offensive line spots theoretically in place, that leaves edge as the Chargers biggest position of need. Tuli Tuipulotu and Khalil Mack (who is still a steal on the one year $18 million deals he signs annually with LA) remain on the roster as solid contributors, but are far from impact defenders at this stage of their careers. With only five total picks in the 2026 draft, the Chargers will have to take advantage of a deep edge class to complement the position and continue to use Mack in a rotational role paired with another pass rusher who can stay on the field more regularly.
Miami Dolphins – Future Building Blocks
The Dolphins’ goal this season is to clear the books and start building towards the future. They will look to add high-upside building blocks with their seven picks in the top 100 – capital largely salvaged from the Jaylen Waddle trade. The strategy is clear: focus on the spine of the roster. This means finding a foundational left tackle to protect Willis (and the quarterback of the future), a big-bodied perimeter threat to replace Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill’s production, and a versatile defensive anchor like a high-IQ safety to run Hafley’s complex secondary. By the time the 2027 draft rolls around, Miami hopes to have a plug-and-play environment ready for whichever blue-chip quarterback they inevitably target, ensuring that the next face of the franchise isn’t walking into a scorched-earth situation without a supporting cast
New England Patriots – DL
The Patriots managed to reach the Super Bowl on the back of a strong secondary, but their edge-rush production was essentially non-existent for most of the 2025 season. Despite the defense’s overall late-season improvement, the unit finished in the bottom four in PFF pass-rush grade and win rate – an unsustainable reality for a team that relies on pressure to protect its backend. While the 2025 signing of Milton Williams provided a much-needed interior push (and a massive improvement in run defence when he was on the field), and the recent addition of veteran Dre’Mont Jones adds versatility, both are more power-first players than athletic specimens. With K’Lavon Chaisson departing in free agency, the edge rotation is dangerously thin and lacks a true closer. Picking at No. 31, the Patriots are in the perfect position to add to their EDGE group targeting a high-motor finisher like Clemson’s T.J. Parker. Parker is a stout run defender but brings the refined hand usage and closing speed necessary to turn last year’s near-miss pressures into game-changing sacks as the young Patriots look to take another run at the Super Bowl.
New York Jets – Defensive Cornerstone
The New York Jets are attempting a culture reset after a disastrous 3-14 campaign that saw the franchise trade away its two biggest defensive stars, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. General Manager Darren Mougey and Head Coach Aaron Glenn have spent the offseason aggressively pursuing adults in the room, headlined by the return of 37-year-old Demario Davis and a trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. While the reunion with Geno Smith provides a competent bridge at quarterback, it doesn’t mask the Jets’ desperate need for a new defensive cornerstone. With the No. 2 overall pick, the Jets cannot afford to get cute; they need a blue-chip Edge Defender – likely Ohio State’s Arvell Reese – to replace the production they lost in the Quinnen Williams fire sale. For a team that recorded zero interceptions in former cornerback Glenn’s first season as head coach, Glenn’s defence needs more than just veteran leadership; it needs a disruptive force that can actually generate a pass rush without requiring constant blitzing and leaving the cornerbacks on islands.
Pittsburgh Steelers – OT
For the first time in 19 years, the Steelers are navigating a draft cycle without Mike Tomlin, with Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy being handed the reins as the new head coach of the club. GM Omar Khan added to the offensive weapons, trading for Mike Pittman giving the team a complimentary duo of Pittman and D.K. Metcalf. The team’s biggest need is a foundational Left Tackle to protect whichever quarterback – Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Will Howard or a potential rookie – takes the snaps for the team in 2026. The experiment with Broderick Jones is in jeopardy following his spinal fusion surgery, leaving a gaping hole on the blindside that former practice-squadder Dylan Cook isn’t ready to anchor full-time. While the secondary has been bolstered by free-agent splash Jamel Dean, the Steelers’ identity has always been won in the trenches. With 12 picks in this year’s draft (including four compensatory selections), the goal is simple: find a blue-chip protector at pick No. 21 to ensure the McCarthy era doesn’t start with a collapsed pocket for whoever they find at quarterback.
Tennessee Titans – IOL
The Titans’ new management spent the opening week of free agency looking for familiar names rather than fresh faces – 12 of Tennessee’s 15 free-agent additions have crossed paths with GM Mike Borgonzi, HC Robert Saleh, or OC Brian Daboll at previous stops. This includes a heavy influx of former mid level Giants (WR Wan’Dale Robinson, TE Daniel Bellinger, C Austin Schlottmann) and defensive pieces Saleh knew from his time in New York and San Francisco. While the defence received a $105 million facelift in the secondary, the offence still feels like it’s in the midst of a tear down. Wan’Dale Robinson (4 years, $78M) provides Cam Ward with a high-end slot weapon, but a timing-based receiver can’t operate if the pocket collapses in two seconds and the interior offensive line remains the team’s Achilles’ heel. Replacing center Lloyd Cushenberry with 30 year old Austin Schlottmann is a gamble as Schlottmann has never been a full time starter, and 2025 right guard starter Kevin Zeitler is still a free agent, leaving a gaping hole at that spot on the Titans roster. There are rumblings that the Titans would be interested in drafting running back Jeremiyah Love with the fourth overall pick, but without establishing an interior offensive line, that selection seems like it would be the flashy pick that doesn’t add more wins to the tally.
-Devon Gallant
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