Caleb Harris
O NFL is almost in its dead period on the calendar. While teams are still going through OTAs and minicamps in the coming days and weeks, the main pillars of roster construction this offseason have already come and gone. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t questions hanging over every franchise. Position battles are still on the horizon, contract and injury updates need to happen, and more.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the AFC East and identify one burning question that remains with each club.
Is Keon Coleman ready for a heavy workload?
The Buffalo Bills turned their wide receiver room upside down this offseason. The club allowed Gabe Davis free agency to finally sign with the Jaguars and then they pulled off a stunning trade that sent Stefon Diggs out of town to Houston. That leaves the cupboard pretty bare with Buffalo’s receiver depth chart. The club brought in veteran pass catchers like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins, but none provided the upside that Diggs brought to the table. The responsibility of adding a high ceiling to the room could fall on the shoulders of rookie Keon Coleman, who was drafted in the 2024 second round. NFL Draft outside of FSU.
With Diggs and Davis gone, that puts 241 targets up for grabs from last season. Of course, these veterans, along with tight end Dalton Kincaid (91 targets last season), will likely take a chunk out of that target, but Coleman will have the opportunity to take the lion’s share. If he can produce with this heavy workload, he will help put Buffalo in position for another deep playoff run. However, if the rookie struggles, it could leave the Bills offense somewhat limited.
When will Tua Tagovailoa’s contract extension come?
The Miami Dolphins have a decision to make with Tua Tagovailoa. The quarterback is entering the final year of his rookie contract after the team picked up his fifth-year option last offseason. After 2024, however, Tagovailoa’s future is anyone’s guess. Of course, the Dolphins could opt to take Tagovailoa down a similar path to what Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins took in their careers and try to franchise him after this year, but that wouldn’t happen without some drama that could potentially bleed. throughout the regular season.
The 26-year-old is coming off the best season of his career in 2023, where he set career highs in passing touchdowns (29) and completion percentage (69.3) while also leading the league in passing yards (4,624). Most importantly, Tagovailoa played in all 17 games for the first time in his career after missing a total of 11 games in his first three seasons. Are the Dolphins willing to back up the Brink truck after that season and be the last team to hand a quarterback a monster extension? Or do they want to see Tagovailoa replicate what they saw in 2023 before tagging him and extending him next spring?
Is Aaron Rodgers ready for a sophomore comeback with New York?
I’m optimistic about the New York Jets in 2024. Even in a conference that features teams led by Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and other elite quarterbacks, I think they have what it takes to be a surprise team to make it out of the AFC and get to Super Bowl. That’s thanks to a stellar, explosive defense along with some young pieces on offense. They also addressed some of their biggest needs this offseason along the offensive line with three starting-caliber tackles.
Of course, a big reason why New York’s ceiling is so high is the presence of Aaron Rodgers. We don’t get to see what Rodgers’ tenure with the Jets in Year 1 could be like after he ruptured his Achilles just four times in his season. That sent the Jets down a familiar path of mediocrity, but the arrow is pointing upward now that Rodgers is ready to bounce back in 2024.
What kind of player will we have with Rodgers? Yes, he’s an all-time great quarterback, a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee, but he’s also a 40-year-old man coming off a torn Achilles tendon. He said at Jets OTAs that he feels “90% myself and 10% aren’t sure what’s going on with various parts of my body.” If that’s the case, a 90% version of Aaron Rodgers is better than any quarterback the Jets have had under center in decades and should fight for the playoffs. However, if those percentages start to fall in the other direction, it could be another unfortunate chapter in the team’s history.
Who will be the starting left back?
For most, the biggest question for the Patriots probably centers on when we will see Drake Maye move up to QB1 on the depth chart. However, I would say one thing needs to be resolved before the conversation can even take place: who is the left striker? The Patriots don’t have a clear answer for the blindside offense, which doesn’t exactly fill them with optimism for Maye’s development.
The team signed former Steeler Chukwuma Okorafor as a free agent and drafted Caedan Wallace in the third round of the NFL Draft out of Penn State. Okorafor has primarily been a right tackle throughout his time at NFL and Wallace was also predominantly on the right side at the collegiate level, so either one of them will go through quite a transition reversing positions. This will be the central storyline throughout training camp and could be directly related to when we see Maye on the field. If New England is seeing the fight blind, Jacoby Brissett might be the best option to support it rather than hinder Maye’s development, especially with pass-rushing teams like the Jets and 49ers on the cards in the first month of the year.
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