One thing to watch for every AFC team entering OTAs: Dolphins stars’ futures; Patrick Mahomes’ blind side

We’re now into the final week of May, which means it’s finally time for NFL teams to start getting into the meat of their respective offseason programs as organized team activities begin to kick off around the league.

While OTAs are voluntary rather than mandatory, this is typically when teams start doing their meetings and classroom instruction periods, which helps gear up for the scheme installation that will form the basis of what they do during the regular season. There are still on-field workouts during OTAs as well, so we can see how certain players look after months away from the facility.

With all that in mind, we want to highlight one thing to watch for every team entering OTAs. We’ll highlight the AFC below. 

AFC East

Cook apparently wants a new contract worth in excess of $15 million per year. He’s coming off another 1,000-yard rushing season and a second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, but it would be pretty surprising if the Bills wanted to pay a back at that level — especially considering he played less than half of the team’s offensive snaps last year. This could end up being a stalemate.

Ramsey and the Dolphins mutually agreed to find him a new home, but that hasn’t happened just yet and probably won’t until after June 1. Will the trade talks last through OTAs and into training camp? Hill has been making noise all offseason and seemingly isn’t too happy, either. So what happens there?

Maye played in such horrid circumstances as a rookie, and still managed to find a way to have his talent shine through more often than not. The Patriots, thankfully, went out and aggressive remade the offensive by bringing in Stefon Diggs, Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury, Mack Hollins, Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Williams and Jared Wilson. That is a lot. It’ll be exciting to see how it all comes together.

The Jets are clearly hoping that Glenn can transform their culture in the same way that Dan Campbell did for the Lions. He’s already put his stamp on the team with how he handled the Aaron Rodgers situation, but getting into the meat of the offseason program will allow him to really begin making a day-to-day impact.

AFC North

It took a while for Baltimore’s defensive backfield to really come together and jell last season. One of the key pieces of that effort (safety Ar’Darius Washington) is done for 2025 before it started, thanks to a torn Achilles. How quickly Malaki Starks makes the transition, how Chidobe Awuzie replaces Brandon Stephens and how the late-round picks look are all things to watch closely.

The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in recent memory last season. They moved on from Lou Anarumo and his flexible system that depended on veterans to really know how to play multiple styles. They brought back former linebackers coach Al Golden to simplify things and help the younger guys make more of an impact than they have to date. 

The Browns have four quarterbacks. How will they dole out reps to Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders? And which of those guys — if any — will actually distinguish themselves and take the early lead for the starting job?

The Steelers basically have no quarterbacks. With Aaron Rodgers and potentially Kirk Cousins hanging out there as solutions but not yet on the roster, it’s going to be interesting to see how things shake out during the offseason program.

AFC South

Houston dramatically reshaped its receiver room this offseason in the wake of Stefon Diggs’ departure and Tank Dell’s second devastating injury. Christian Kirk comes in to take over the slot job, but he could be pushed by Jaylin Noel. And Jayden Higgins should provide another bid-bodied complement to Nico Collins. Who emerges as the guy who earns C.J. Stroud’s trust?

Richardson should get every chance to keep his job and try to prove that he is the long-term answer for the Colts. If he’s unable to beat out Jones during the offseason program, that is a very, very bad sign for the team’s future at the position. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep a close eye on the battle nonetheless.

It sounds like Hunter has so far mostly been working at wide receiver, which doesn’t come as a surprise given the way that general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen have talked about him. But we know he has the ability to go both ways, and so do the Jaguars. Will they actually give him the opportunity to play defensive back? And how often?

The least-talked about No. 1 overall pick in recent memory has been getting rave reviews in Tennessee, but that also almost always happens for rookie quarterbacks. Ward has been a culture-changer at every stop of his career, though, and he landed with a coach who helped Joe Burrow make a strong transition to the NFL, which is at least somewhat encouraging. How quickly he can take command of the team and how he fares in reigning in some of the hero-ball tendencies while still accessing the playmaking side of his game are important things to watch.

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Cody Benjamin

AFC West

Denver already had one of the league’s better defenses last season, checking in seventh in yards allowed and third in points allowed, as well as first in Tru Media’s EPA per play. Then the Broncos went out and added two significant pieces in the secondary with first-rounder Jahdae Barron and free agent Talanoa Hufanga, plus linebacker Dre Greenlaw. This should be a very exciting group.

The Chiefs’ offensive line completely fell apart last season, with the failure of Patrick Mahomes‘ blind-side protection causing cascading problems elsewhere. Kansas City signed Jaylon Moore in free agency and then drafted Josh Simmons. Who wins that job? Is Simmons healthy enough to play right away? And will whomever emerges as the starter actually hold up?

One thing to watch for every NFC team entering OTAs: Packers’ WR competition, Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, more

Garrett Podell

The Raiders made massive changes on offense, trading for Geno Smith, drafting Ashton Jeanty, Jack Bech, Charles Grant, Caleb Rodgers and Dont’e Thornton, and hiring Chip Kelly as the new offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll. This should be one of the most different units in the entire league in 2025.

L.A. didn’t make quite the seismic changes as Vegas, but bringing in Mekhi Becton, Andre James, Najee Harris, Omarion Hampton and Tre Harris should make a sizable impact considering the roles those players are expected to fill. With Greg Roman’s style of offense, they could all be varying degrees of good fits.