March Madness is upon us, but the NFL is never far from the minds of most sports fans. So before the NCAA Tournament kicks into high gear, Yardbarker NFL writers offer the most maddening player, coach or executive on every AFC team.
AFC East
BUFFALO BILLS | HC Sean McDermott | With an 86-45 record since joining the Bills in 2017, McDermott has the fifth-most wins among current NFL head coaches. But he enters 2025 on the proverbial “hot seat” as his teams have gone 7-7 in 14 playoff appearances with five losses coming by seven or fewer points.
MIAMI DOLPHINS | WR Tyreek Hill | If Hill didn’t anger his teammates by pulling himself out of the Dolphins’ regular-season finale, a 32-20 loss to the Jets, the nine-year veteran surely did so by announcing he was done with the team after the game. He has since reconsidered, but after finishing the season as the league’s 30th-leading receiver, Hill should show his teammates more respect.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | RB Rhamondre Stevenson | Stevenson ran for 801 yards and a career-best seven touchdowns in 2024, but he also led the league with a career-worst six fumbles. His 41 broken tackles were also a career mark, but his 3.9 yards per carry and 5.1 yards per reception were career lows for the team’s leading rusher.
NEW YORK JETS | CB Sauce Gardner | The two-time All-Pro is arguably the best player on the roster, but Jets fans can’t be happy with the trajectory of his career. Gardner’s stats have gone down in practically every category over the past two seasons. In 2024, the former first-round pick finished with 26 fewer tackles and 11 fewer passes defensed than he had during his Defensive Rookie of the Year season in 2022. — Bruce Ewing
AFC West
DENVER BRONCOS | WR Troy Franklin | After Franklin played with Bo Nix for two seasons at Oregon, the Broncos figured he would become one of the QB’s more reliable targets. Instead, he finished with just 28 receptions for 263 yards and two touchdown catches in 16 regular-season games during his rookie season in 2024.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | OT Jawaan Taylor | Since signing a four-year, $80M deal in 2023, Taylor has failed to meet expectations in K.C. Per Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 12 sacks and been flagged for 37 penalties in 33 regular-season games over the past two seasons.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Edge-rusher Tyree Wilson | Wilson — pick No. 7 in the 2023 NFL Draft — has looked like a bust. In two seasons with the Raiders, the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder has only eight sacks in 33 regular-season games.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | WR Quentin Johnston | To Johnston’s credit, the second-year WR improved in 2024, finishing with eight touchdown catches in 15 regular-season games. However, he also led the team in drops (seven), per Pro Football Reference. — Clark Dalton
AFC North
BALTIMORE RAVENS | Kicker Justin Tucker | Ravens fans were spoiled for more than a decade knowing Tucker was going to make nearly every kick he lined up for no matter the pressure. But last season, he went 22-of-30 (career-low 73.3 percent) on field-goal attempts. Plus, now he faces significant off-field issues.
CINCINNATI BENGALS | Safety Geno Stone | The Bengals had the 25th-ranked scoring defense in 2024, and Stone was a big reason why. The 25-year-old missed 17 tackles and ranked 136th out of 171 qualified safeties in the overall PFF grade last season.
CLEVELAND BROWNS | GM Andrew Berry |
There’s probably nothing Berry can do to win Browns fans back after he signed QB Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed $230M contract in 2022. The Browns are stuck in cap hell with two years still left on the deal, which will likely go down as one of the worst contracts in NFL history.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS | HC Mike Tomlin/owner Art Rooney II |
It’s hard to argue with Tomlin’s impressive history of sustained success in Pittsburgh, as he’s never had a losing season in 18 years at the helm. But he refuses to adapt to the new NFL the way other veteran head coaches have. That, coupled with Rooney’s patience with Tomlin, is why the Steelers have won only three playoff games since 2011 and aren’t a Super Bowl contender. — Jack Dougherty
AFC South
HOUSTON TEXANS | Guard Ed Ingram | Ingram hasn’t played a down yet for the Texans, but Texans fans might already be reaching for their Excedrin. The four-year veteran was one of the league’s worst guards in Minnesota before being benched in Week 9 last season and yet he is expected to have a key role in attempting to revive Houston’s poor offensive line after being acquired earlier this offseason for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | QB Anthony Richardson | Few things are as maddening as when people can’t do the bare minimum for their job. After failing to complete half of pass attempts last season (47.7 percent on 264 attempts), Richardson is falling woefully short of the job requirement.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | EDGE Travon Walker | The No. 1 pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has yet to live up to his full potential, and Jacksonville’s new front office soon must decide if it wants to give him a lucrative extension. Should Jacksonville sign Walker this offseason and run the risk of him failing to live up to his contract? Or will it allow him to potentially have a monster 2025, escalating his price?
TENNESSEE TITANS | QB Will Levis | The two-year veteran’s mayonnaise obsession might be the least maddening thing about him. Levis was responsible for too many follies to count last season, making it easy to understand why the Titans are eager to move on from him so soon. — Eric Smithling
