The AFC East includes a pair of teams legitimately contending for a Super Bowl in the 2026 season, and a couple of other teams trying to find their way.
After everything that's transpired so far in the 2026 offseason, it's clear that both the Bills and Patriots are going to be ready when Week 1 rolls around to be able to jockey for not only the top spot in the AFC East but perhaps the top spot in the AFC as a whole.
Those two teams are powerhouses, but the Jets and Dolphins are in rebuilding/reloading mode. The Jets are further along at this point than the Dolphins, but even with all four of these teams in different stages of roster "completeness", they all have fatal flaws and one weakness bigger than the rest.
As OTAs continue around the league, our latest NFL Power Rankings will take a look at every AFC East team's biggest roster weakness on paper and what that could mean for this upcoming season. We will rank them worst to best based on how mission-critical these roster holes are.
NFL Power Rankings: Every AFC East team's biggest weakness in 2026
4. Miami Dolphins: Wide receiver
The Dolphins' current most obvious roster weakness is at the wide receiver position, and on paper, this might actually be the worst overall position group in the entire NFL. But there is good news for the Dolphins here:
Having such a rough-looking group of veterans at receiver could mean early opportunities for the young rookies to shine.
The Dolphins' current top three receivers in terms of seniority are Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and Malik Washington. They drafted -- in order -- Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell, and Kevin Coleman Jr. this offseason. Again, those young players should have opportunities to rise up the depth chart rather quickly, especially given what we've seen from the guys ahead of them right now on the depth chart.
You could make the argument that the tight end position for the Dolphins is even worse than wide receiver, but that's just the reality of where this team is at right now. Some teams are reloading, but the Dolphins ripped everything down to the studs and rebuilt the entire foundation.
3. New York Jets: Quarterback
It was a close call for the New York Jets between the quarterback position and the cornerback position, especially after the trade involving Sauce Gardner last season.
But until he proves otherwise, Geno Smith is the biggest weakness on this team. And frankly, he still feels like a massive upgrade over what the Jets had last year in Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook. Smith has a chance to rewrite his own narrative once again after a brutal season in 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was not only bad, but simultaneously very unlucky.
Unlucky or not, Smith has thrown a whopping 32 interceptions over the past two seasons (averaging one per game), and has been sacked 105 times in total. He's also fumbled the ball 13 times (4 in 2025, 9 in 2024).
Again, the fact that he feels like a substantial upgrade over the Jets' previous QB situation is telling. But this team is giving him a shot to redeem himself one more time, and they're going to live with the results, whatever those end up being. If Smith is good, this team could actually be a surprise playoff contender. If he's bad, they'll be in a good position for the 2027 NFL Draft (where they have three 1st-round picks).
Add us as a preferred source on Google