The AFC is absolutely stacked. Young, star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow had their respective teams in the Super Bowl discussion last season, and now Russell Wilson is in the AFC after being traded to Denver. The likes of Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert have their teams on the upswing, and second-year QBs Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are poised for second-year breakouts in 2022. And don't forget about solid veterans Derek Carr and Ryan Tannehill.
As if that isn't enough, the AFC has dominated the early stages of free agency, including several clubs that were already considered top Super Bowl contenders. Sure, things can change, as we're still in the heart of the free agent process, but dozens of impact players have already agreed to sign a new deal. That's enough of a sample for us to recognize the franchises that have made the smartest and savviest additions and re-signings to this point.
Here are the six teams that have aced free agency (so far) and the key additions that will help get them to the next level.
1. Los Angeles Chargers
Key signings: WR Mike Williams, CB J.C. Jackson, DT Sebastian Joseph-Day, DT Austin Johnson
The Chargers entered the offseason with their star quarterback Justin Herbert on a rookie contract and plenty of cap space. And thus far, they've done a nice job taking advantage, including the addition of one of the league's top cover corners in Jackson. The ex-Patriot joins 2021 second-round pick Asante Samuel Jr. to give Los Angeles a formidable perimeter presence, and the duo will be joined in the secondary by star safety Derwin James Jr. and Nasir Adderley. That's an excellent group.
The Chargers' run defense was putrid in 2021, but they've taken steps toward fixing it, adding Joseph-Day and Johnson to its interior defensive line rotation. It wasn't cheap, but the Chargers also locked up one of Herbert's top targets, Williams, through the life of Herbert's first contract. And while the team's trade for outside linebacker Khalil Mack is not a "free-agent" move, per say, the deal went down during the process and just adds to their impressive offseason.
See more on the Chargers' moves:
2. Buffalo Bills
Key signings: OLB Von Miller, G Rodger Saffold III, DT DaQuan Jones, DT Tim Settle, TE O.J. Howard, C Mitch Morse, WR Isaiah McKenzie
The Bills made one of free agency's biggest splashes by signing Miller away from the Rams on Wednesday evening. Miller is entering his age-33 season, but he was still a force for the Super Bowl-winning Rams last season and brings a much-needed veteran presence to an edge rusher room that otherwise is lacking experience. If one of Gregory Rousseau or Carlos Basham Jr. (both 2021 early-round picks) emerge into an impact pass-rusher this season, Buffalo will have one of the league's top edge-rushing duos.
Buffalo also reinforced the interior of the defensive line with the solid veteran Jones and 24-year-old situational run-clogger Settle. On the other side of the ball, Saffold is an upgrade at guard, and Howard adds competition for Dawson Knox at tight end.
The Bills also extended standout center Morse and re-signed McKenzie. And despite losing out on running back J.D. McKissic, this has been a great free-agency period for the Bills. The AFC is going to be extremely tough this year, but they continue to solidify themselves as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
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3. New York Jets
Key signings: G Laken Tomlinson, CB D.J. Reed, S Jordan Whitehead, TE C.J. Uzomah, TE Tyler Conklin, DE Jacob Martin, WR Braxton Berrios
The Jets entered the offseason with a laundry list of roster holes, and they've done a respectable job filling several of those voids without spending egregiously (we're looking at you, Jaguars). Perhaps the most notable is long-time 49ers standout Tomlinson, who provides an immediate upgrade at right guard.
GM Joe Douglas also chipped away at 2021's league-worst defense, adding Reed, Whitehead and Martin. A converted safety, Reed has quietly emerged into a quality corner in Seattle over the past few seasons and gives New York the No. 1 corner that it didn't have in 2021. Whitehead was a gem find by Tampa Bay on Day 3 of the 2018 draft, and he emerged into a reliable every-down player for the Super Bowl LV champs. And Martin was, at times, the top edge rusher in Houston. He'll be a quality No. 3 behind Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers in New York. Speaking of Houston, the Jets also landed the Texans' sixth-round draft pick in exchange for linebacker Blake Cashman, who has appeared in 14 games over the past three seasons due to injuries.
The Jets haven't truly solved tight end since the Dustin Keller era about a decade ago, so they took steps to solve that by committee, signing a pair of 2021 starters in Uzomah and Conklin. That's a nice upgrade over last season's Ryan Griffin-Tyler Kroft duo. New York also re-signed slot receiver Berrios, who racked up 25 touches during his final four games last season.
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4. Baltimore Ravens
Key signings: S Marcus Williams, OT Morgan Moses
The 2021 season saw the Ravens post a losing record for only the second time during the John Harbaugh era. But the front office took big steps toward getting back on track this week.
Williams has been one of the league's best safeties since he was drafted in 2017. He'll join Chuck Clark on the back end of the defensive backfield, and with Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters healthy at cornerback, Baltimore will once again have one of the league's top secondaries.
To further Baltimore's work so far, Moses was one of the top available right tackles and is a solid replacement for retired Alejandro Villanueva.
(Update: We originally had outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith joining the Ravens' pass-rush as a factor here, but he has opted to not sign his deal in Baltimore.)
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5. Pittsburgh Steelers
Key signings: G James Daniels, C Mason Cole, CB Levi Wallace, LB Myles Jack, QB Mitchell Trubisky, OT Chukwuma Okorafor
One year after inexplicably failing to address clear roster voids at cornerback and along the offensive line, the Steelers made impact additions at both positions early in free agency. Daniels is the biggest addition, as the former second-round pick emerged as a quality guard during his time in Chicago and is an upgrade on Trai Turner. He will be aligning next to projected center Cole, who provides a big improvement on second-year Kendrick Green. Cole ranked 11th among 39 qualified centers in Pro Football Focus grade last season (Green was 34th). The Steelers also re-upped young left tackle Okorafor for three years.
Wallace, meanwhile, was a full-time corner opposite Tre'Davious White in Buffalo's elite defense last season and is ticketed for the same role opposite Cameron Sutton in Pittsburgh. Jack isn't coming off his best season, but he has at times been one of the league's better off-ball linebackers -- and he's still in his prime at age-26. He's an upgrade over Joe Schobert next to Devin Bush.
And finally, Pittsburgh's long-term quarterback situation is far from solved, but Trubisky was one of the best options among an underwhelming group of free-agent signal-callers. He's a better starting option than the alternative (Mason Rudolph), though Pittsburgh should still be considering QB options during next month's draft.
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6. Cincinnati Bengals
Key signings: G/C Ted Karras, G Alex Cappa, DT B.J. Hill
Free agency goals vary by franchise, and sometimes it's less about volume and more about accomplishing a goal. The Bengals had one primary objective this offseason: Drastically improve one of the league's worst offensive lines. So far, so good.
Former Tampa Bay starter Cappa is a major upgrade at guard, and Karras -- who can play any interior position -- is expected to slide in as an improvement on center Trey Hopkins. Cincinnati still has to figure out right tackle, but they're on the right track. Perhaps a trade for Dallas' La'el Collins accomplishes that. Will this end up as one of the league's top units? Probably not. But it now seems substantially less likely that Joe Burrow will repeat as the league's most-sacked quarterback. (And that's not even including the 19 sacks he took during four playoff games.)
The Bengals also kept two key defenders in house, franchise-tagging star safety Jessie Bates III and re-upping defensive tackle Hill, who played 81% of the defensive snaps in the postseason.
See more on the Bengals' moves: