Free-agency and 2022 draft targets, plus coach questions

Six NFL playoff games down, and seven to go. The offseason is nearly here — and for 24 teams, it already is — bringing the opportunity for every team to get better and make changes as they prepare for the 2022 season.

There are question marks surrounding current quarterbacks — like Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson — and also the future of the quarterback position for multiple franchises. Couple that with the eight teams without a current head coach, and you have many teams with urgent questions yet to be answered.

Who will score in free agency? How will coaching hires alter the direction of more than a handful of franchises? Who will land playmakers in the 2022 draft? How will teams navigate cap-space issues?

It’s clear all 32 teams have numerous areas to address in the coming months, and some are in limbo until the urgent issues are taken care of. So we asked our NFL Nation reporters to identify the biggest area of need for each team as we enter the offseason.

Let’s start with the AFC East.

Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

AFC EAST

Address the defensive line.

Buffalo needs to determine what the next steps are up front on defense. The Bills invested their first two picks of last year’s draft in defensive ends, but there are multiple veterans on the line who are in the backend of their careers. With the rush defense having issues at times and the inconsistencies of the pass rush this season, how they address that group will big for the defense going forward. Also, if Leslie Frazier gets a head coaching job elsewhere, they will need to find a replacement for the head of their defense. — Alaina Getzenberg

Hire a coach.

Whoever they hire will then have to work with GM Chris Grier in figuring out how best to support quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — starting with improving an offensive line that ranked…