Biggest remaining needs for each AFC East team

New York Jets – Guard

I did this already a couple of times over the course of last season and beyond, but once again – my hat off to the Jets for playing energetic and being competitive pretty much every week. I honestly didn’t think they would win more than a game or two, but Jamal Adams took over as the leader of this defense and 39-year-old Josh McCown had a career year, with the guys behind them playing inspired football.

Nevertheless, this is still not the most talented roster by a mile, even though I look at them much differently coming into this season. They have two future stars on the front and the backend in Leonard Williams and Adams, who I just mentioned, and a very intriguing cornerback duo, as they brought in Morris Claiborne a year ago and added Trumaine Johnson this offseason, to go with Buster Skrine in the slot.

I like the signing of linebacker Avery Williamson and trading a seventh-round pick for defensive lineman Henry Anderson on that side of the ball as well. Offensively, Gang Green has an interesting running back room, a bundle of young receivers and whenever he’s ready, a rookie quarterback in USC’s Sam Darnold, who I believe has a chance to be really special. To me, there are two real question marks. I like the collection of Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jermaine Kearse and others, but who is the alpha dog among that unit?

The answer could actually be Terrelle Pryor I believe. The five-year veteran transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver two years and had a monster season with the Browns. Even though he never actually recaptured that magic during his one campaign with the Redskins, I think he still has a lot of room to grow and could be a top-tier guy. Therefore I want to shift my focus on the guard position. James Carpenter should start at one of the spots, but the other one is kind of up for grabs.

Brian Winters seems to be the obvious candidate, having started 26 games for them in the last two seasons, but he has missed three contests each year and hasn’t performed very well when he was in the lineup. Ben Braden and Dakota Dozier seem to be the other two options, but Braden was an undrafted free agent a year ago and Dozier has started just five games in his four-year career.