Even though the AFC has a ton of loaded teams, there are a small handful that are just downright bad and are going to have it hard in 2024. There are a plethora of teams in this conference that have great arguments to be huge juggernauts in 2024.
Teams like the Chiefs, Bengals, Ravens, Browns, Dolphins, Bills, Jets, and maybe even a few other teams have arguments to at least convincingly make the postseason. However, on the other side of this are the bottom-feeding AFC teams.
And these three AFC teams are in for a brutal 2024 NFL Season.
These 3 teams in the AFC are in for a brutal 2024 NFL Season
New England Patriots
Besides re-signing OT Mike Onwenu and drafting Drake Maye, which are two exceptional moves, there isn't anything else to like about this team for 2024. Now yes, this team is not going to compete in 2024 and did not plan on being contenders, but they're still going to be in for a brutal season. I think we could see the Patriots earn the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, so this might be a truly brutal rebuilding process.
Some teams have been able to jump a year during their rebuild, kind of like the 2023 Houston Texans, but with the 2024 Patriots, their roster is simply atrocious on offense and they just do not have the talent overall to win more than a few games, so for Patriots fans, welcome to this new era.
Las Vegas Raiders
You have to feel bad for Raiders fans. They now get to watch another NFL season go by where they're a wholly irrelevant team. Missing out on all six first-round quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Raiders seem poised to head into the season with either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell as the QB1.
Even if the Raiders were in the much weaker NFC, this team would not be any good. So for the Raiders, they can use this season as more of an evaluation year I guess. From there, they could look to the 2025 NFL Draft to target someone they believe can be a franchise quarterback. Besides Maxx Crosby and their overpaid free agent splash Christian Wilkins, there isn't much else to like about the Raiders.
Davante Adams is still in the picture, but he had a down year statistically in 2023, so you have to wonder if age could catch up to him. Nonetheless, the Las Vegas Raiders are going to be horrid in 2024.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are an interesting team who spent a metric-ton of money in free agency this year, inking Calvin Ridley, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Tony Pollard to huge deals. Talent wise, the Titans are among one of the least-talented squads in the AFC, but you can begin to see a bit of a picture coming into view.
Second-year QB Will Levis does seem to have enough talent to work with for the Titans to get a good reading on his development. Overall, though, Levis was pretty "eh" as a rookie save for his debut. Levis wasn't a hugely talented prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft, so you have to wonder if at the end of the day, the QB is going to hold them back.
Titans GM Ran Carthon may have his work cut out for him next offseason if Levis isn't the answer.