Every NFL Team's Biggest Early-Season Disappointment

Things could always go better as teams wade through the initial portion of an NFL campaign. 

"That's why I would just tell you honestly it's week-to-week in this league," Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the team's 14-7 victory Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings. "You have to work at it. Sometimes, you're going up against a really good defense and a really good scheme, and you have to improve."

Nothing is perfect. It never will be. The acknowledgment of a slow start shows the organization has an understanding of where it must get better. 

Things can certainly change. For example, the Seattle Seahawks fielded a historically bad defense through the first half of last season. The unit finished 22nd in total defense by the end of the year.

The following individuals or specific areas of the team's roster have been a disappointment based on expectations entering the season. They need to be better. Not perfect. Better.    

Arizona Cardinals rookie Zaven Collins is still finding his way. 

The team's 4-0 start overshadows the fact that Collins played four snaps Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. A team game-planning around its inside linebacker by using sub-packages and different personnel to offset certain offensive schemes is nothing new. But the approach shouldn't come at the detriment of the 16th overall draft pick. 

A first-round, off-ball linebacker should be considered a three-down defender. Collins isn't yet. He's a part-time performer who must grow into a bigger role as the season progresses. 

The Atlanta Falcons chose Jalen Mayfield with the 68th pick this year. At 21 years old, he has tremendous upside. But he probably shouldn't have been asked to start at the onset of his career, and that's clear via his abysmal 29.9 Pro Football Focus grade. 

The Falcons are a rebuilding team that's trying to establish a footing under new head coach Arthur Smith. Recent additions, particularly young players, will get their chance to play. Eventually, Mayfield could turn into a very good guard. He's simply not at the moment, particularly in pass protection, where he's been downright awful. 

"I feel like every day that I come out here, I'm just trying to get better," Mayfield told reporters. "I have great people around me to work with. I'm just trying to do the little things. Trying to do something positive to help the team."

Patrick Queen is a talented, athletic linebacker who has flashed brilliance during his first 20 regular-season games with the Baltimore Ravens. 

Conversely, he plays a little out of control and misses too many tackles, posting six this year. 

To be fair, the second-year defender leads the team with 27 total stops. Still, he understands he needs to make each play when he's in position to do so, telling reporters of his recent form against the Kansas City Chiefs: "No missed tackles."

Queen, 22, displays tremendous range and playmaking ability. But he must break down and play better in space to realize his full potential. He regularly does his job properly. It's when he whiffs that it becomes problematic for the entire unit. 

Cody Ford started 22 of the 23 games during his first two seasons.

The Buffalo Bills' 2019 second-round draft pick looked like he found a home at guard and opened this season in the starting lineup. But the coaching staff benched Ford in Week 4 while moving Daryl Williams inside and starting third-round rookie Spencer Brown at right tackle. 

"Just because it happened, don't always take it as negative," left tackle Dion Dawkins told reporters. "In any position in life you can get real comfortable real easy. If you have a great boss or you have great people around you that can help you just stay on track when you might come off track, it's always a positive."

Dawkins can spin it however he likes, but a benching is always disheartening. Clearly, the Bills are looking to find the best possible starting O-line combination. Ford may no longer be part of that group. 

A lot of good things are happening for the Carolina Panthers. The team is 3-1 and sits atop the NFC South alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Sam Darnold's career has been revitalized in his new surroundings. The Panthers' young defense ranks third overall. 

A glaring problem can be found on the left side of their offensive line, though. 

At the onset of free agency, the Panthers curiously signed Cameron Erving and Pat Elflein despite both being considered draft busts and backup-level performers. To no one's surprise, the left side of the line hasn't been good. Erving, in particular, has allowed too much pressure on Darnold's blind side. 

Fortunately for them, the Panthers have taken full advantage of the 24-year-old signal-caller's athleticism and even featured it as part of the offense. As such, Darnold helps offset a poorly constructed front. 

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy had a plan all along. Or did he?

"The No. 1 thing that I understood as a head coach and that we all understood as an organization is knowing that when you make a trade up to go get a guy to develop and be the franchise quarterback, you always know that there's going to be that want to get him in there ASAP," Nagy told reporters Wednesday after naming rookie Justin Fields the Bears' starting quarterback.

Yes, everyone seemed to know this, except the head coach, who obstinately told everyone who'd listen that Andy Dalton was the team's starting quarterback. No revisionist history can change how poorly Nagy and his staff handled the situation, especially in Fields' first start, when the Ohio State product took nine sacks against the Cleveland Browns. 

To Nagy's credit, he ceded play-calling duties the following week and finally named Fields the starter. But few believe he set up his rookie to succeed based on the previous approach. 

The Cincinnati Bengals selected a wide receiver with this year's fifth overall pick instead of addressing the offensive line. 

Ja'Marr Chase has been great. He is firmly in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation through four weeks. 

The Bengals then pinpointed their weakest unit by drafting Jackson Carman in the second round. Because of the organizational approach, more pressure was to be placed on him than a typical Day 2 selection.

But the 21-year-old showed up to training camp out of shape. He eventually entered the Bengals' starting lineup in Week 3, but he's been highly inconsistent during his two appearances. 

Refinement, which leads to consistency, is the next step. He must realize his potential or always be compared to those line prospects the Bengals passed on during the 2021 draft, including No. 7 pick Penei Sewell. 

Baker Mayfield has gotten progressively worse through the first four games of the 2021 campaign, and he knows it. 

"I'm not really happy with myself. But our defense is playing well enough right now to save me," he said Monday. "I've got to be better. It's just flat-out simple. There's not much else I can say."

The quarterback's comment came after arguably the worst performance of his young career. Mayfield looked extremely uncomfortable in the pocket against the Minnesota Vikings defense, didn't see the field well and missed multiple wide-open throws while going 15-of-33 passing for 155 yards. 

He ranks 26th in QBR and 23rd in quarterback rating after grading as a top-two quarterback through the second half of last season, per PFF. To be fair, he's dealing with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

Cleveland has championship aspirations, but its quarterback must be better regardless of injury. 

The Great Wall of Dallas may never be the same as it once was, but it's closer to those glory days today than last year when Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La'el Collins all suffered season-ending injuries.

The biggest difference between then and now—aside from Collins' ongoing suspension for violating the league's policy on substances of abuse—is the downgrade the Cowboys experienced when Travis Frederick retired before the 2020 campaign. 

Since then, center has been in flux, with Tyler Biadasz starting eight games over the last two seasons, including all four of this year's contests. 

Biadasz has allowed far too much pressure along the interior. The Cowboys' offense is electric with Dak Prescott behind center, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield and Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup at wide receiver. Poor line play can slow the entire unit. 

The Denver Broncos' issues at guard are twofold. 

First, both Dalton Risner (foot) and Graham Glasgow (knee) are dinged, and a pair of young blockers—Quinn Meinerz and Netane Muti—are filling in when needed. 

Secondly, Glasgow's performance hasn't reflected his contractual value. The Broncos signed the 29-year-old lineman to a four-year, $44 million free-agent contract last offseason. Glasgow holds an $11.9 million salary-cap charge this fall. Yet Muti could push the veteran out of the starting lineup. 

"I'm a fan of his," head coach Vic Fangio said of Muti last week. "I think he's an NFL player. He can go in there and play guard any time we want. If he has to play some this week, he'll be ready."

Glasgow's lingering knee issue could make Denver better in the long run. 

The Detroit Lions are smack dab in the middle of a rebuild under new general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. The transition requires getting the type of players who fit in philosophically and schematically. It's a work in progress. 

The Lions invested a pair of Day 2 picks in defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill. 

As the second-round choice, Onwuzurike, who opted out of the 2020 campaign, holds slightly higher expectations. The defensive lineman didn't play in Week 1 because of an ailing back and hip. He played the following three weeks but only sparingly and didn't perform well, particularly at the point of attack against the run. 

McNeill hasn't been significantly better, but he's played a little more as the starting nose tackle in base sets. Onwuzurike finds himself in a rotational role behind Nick Williams and Michael Brockers. 

Receiving the disappointment label isn't necessarily the same as playing poorly. In most cases, the two intersect. The same can't be said of Robert Tonyan's 2021 campaign. 

He emerged as a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end last season—the fact that he wasn't named a Pro Bowler was ridiculous—after he finished second on the team with 52 receptions and 11 touchdown grabs. 

He's still a big part of the Packers offense, though quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn't quite connected with his tight end the same way he did a year ago.

No Green Bay tight end or wide receiver other than Davante Adams has more than nine receptions, and Tonyan has eight grabs for 74 yards and a score. 

A player of his capabilities must be utilized. As Zach Kruse of the Packers Wire noted, the tight end ran 98 routes through the first four games and saw a few misfires by Rodgers while forcing a couple of penalties. He can do so much more. 

The idea of someone being disappointed in anything the Houston Texans did on the field this season is comical, considering most projections had them as the league's worst squad. 

Surprisingly, the Texans were competitive to open the campaign until quarterback Tyrod Taylor suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2.

If Houston had one strength, running back looked like it could be it. The veteran trio of Mark Ingram II, David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay has been successful elsewhere. 

Instead, the Texans rank 26th in rushing offense. Granted, Houston is often playing catch-up against better teams. But the group hasn't been great, particularly Lindsay, 27. The youngest of the three averages a woeful 1.3 yards per carry. The number is easily the worst of any back with 20 or more carries. 

The one-time undrafted free agent has gotten progressively worse in each of his four seasons. 

The Indianapolis Colts signed left tackle Eric Fisher to be the final piece of the puzzle. The organization needed someone to replace the always reliable Anthony Castonzo, who retired during the offseason, and protect quarterback Carson Wentz.

One hang-up existed: Fisher suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills. The Kansas City Chiefs subsequently cut the 2013 first overall draft pick. 

The Colts signed Fisher knowing he wouldn't be ready for the regular season. The veteran blindside tackle made his way into the lineup by Week 2. Still, he's nowhere near close to the same caliber of player

"Mentally, I’m right where I need to be," Fisher said last week. "The one thing that I was told, going into surgery, post-surgery, throughout rehab, is the last thing to come is that quick-twitch explosiveness. Whether I came back Week 2 or Week 6, whatever it was, there was going to be an adjustment in quick-twitch training experience."

Urban Meyer's tenure as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach has been a disaster. 

On the field, the team is 0-4 with a minus-41 point differential. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence doesn't look like a No. 1 overall pick because he lacks the supporting cast and offensive scheme necessary to realize his immense potential.

Meyer clearly wasn't ready for a jump in the level of competition. 

But more seriously, he hired strength coach Chris Doyle, who parted ways with the Iowa Hawkeyes football program after over a dozen players asserted he discriminated against and bullied them. He later resigned from the Jags amid heavy criticism over his hiring.

The NFL also disciplined the Jaguars for violating the no-contact rule during minicamp.

And after a Thursday loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the head coach didn't fly home with his team. Instead, he stayed in Ohio, and a woman who isn't his wife was recorded dancing against him at a bar. 

The accumulation of missteps already made in what's been a short tenure is mind-boggling. Maybe Meyer isn't cut out to be an NFL head coach. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are always in the thick of things because they have quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The group can score at a moment's notice. Life would be much easier if the Chiefs defense held up its end of the bargain, though. 

Kansas City ranks 31st in total and scoring defense. 

"If we just tighten that up a little bit, I think we'll be OK," head coach Andy Reid said of the unit.

A little bit? 

The Chiefs defense has never been counted among the league's best, but the unit finished in the middle of the pack the last two years when the team went to two straight Super Bowls. 

Can Kansas City still win at a high level with a bad defense? Sure. The Chiefs did so in 2018. But that particular path isn't the easiest and has the potential to prevent Reid and Co. from reaching a third straight Super Bowl appearance. 

The Las Vegas Raiders are pretty good. But their offensive line is not. 

"We're considering all options, but we like our linemen," head coach Jon Gruden told reporters Tuesday. "We really do. We did have some pretty good outings. We are not going to hit the panic button.

Two days later, first-round right tackle Alex Leatherwood lined up at right guard during practice, according to The Athletic's Tashan Reed. 

The potential move is an indictment of this year's 17th pick. Leatherwood's selection came under fire as yet another Raiders first-round reach. General manager Mike Mayock balked at the assessment, but if the move becomes permanent, the Raiders are basically admitting Leatherwood was a reach because he's not capable of securing one of the valuable tackle spots. 

The 22-year-old blocker began his Alabama career at right guard. He could be a very good fit there. But the perceptions of the original selection won't change. 

The Los Angeles Chargers sank last year's 23rd overall draft pick into linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. He wasn't meant to play in new head coach Brandon Staley's scheme, and the transition hasn't been automatic. 

"Kenny Murray is going to be a good player, and we're just going to stick with it," Staley told reporters at the end of September. 

The second-year defender rolled his ankle a few days later and found himself on injured reserve. 

Going back to Staley's comments, the decision to stick with a player isn't necessarily a ringing endorsement. Obviously, the front office would like a recent first-round selection to work out, but it's not a given, especially when philosophical and schematic changes are made. 

Drue Tranquill is arguably a better fit, and Murray may not come back to a starting position depending on how his replacement performs over the next couple of weeks.

Taylor Rapp faced the tall task of replacing John Johnson III in the Los Angeles Rams lineup. 

The two are very different players, and it shows in their approach. Johnson is versatile and can do everything as a complete defender. Obviously, he entered free agency as one of the most sought-after defensive backs because of his skill set. 

Rapp is much better playing in the box. He's more of a traditional strong safety who serves as an extra linebacker. 

Johnson was excellent in coverage as part of last year's top-ranked pass defense. Rapp isn't nearly as polished in this particular area.

Does that mean he's a bad player, per se? Absolutely not. Rapp brings a certain level of physicality to the position. At the same time, he's not Johnson, which is a step down based on last year's positional performance compared to the current setup.

Five offensive tackles heard their names called among the top 20 picks of the 2020 NFL draft. Four of them—Andrew Thomas, Jedrick Wills Jr., Mekhi Becton and Tristan Wirfs—are well on their way to becoming long-term answers at a premium position. The Miami Dolphins' Austin Jackson isn't. 

The Dolphins did the right thing by immediately investing in their offensive line after selecting Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall. Jackson should be a marquee piece, but he's struggling as one of the league's worst tackles. As a team, Miami ranks 29th in pass-block win rate, per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. 

"Austin competes out there. He's emotional. He wants to do well so bad," offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre told reporters. "The effort he puts in has never lacked. Sometimes you get those shots where you have a bad play and all of a sudden it gets caught and it makes it all look like it's really bad."

High-level offensive line play is based on consistent, repeatable technique. Jackson falls well short of that determination.

Last offseason, defensive tackle Michael Pierce signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a three-year, $27 million deal. This offseason, fellow interior defender Dalvin Tomlinson agreed to a two-year, $21 million contract. 

Between the two, the Vikings have 665 pounds of men to clog the defensive interior and disrupt opposing offenses. Sheldon Richardson can be thrown into the mix as well after the veteran returned to the team this offseason. 

Yet the Vikings are in the league's bottom five, allowing 4.8 yards per carry. 

"There's always things we need to go clean up," co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Andre Patterson told reporters. "Whether that's in the run game, or that's in our rush plan, or whether that's in the back-end coverage-wise, there's always things that we have to clean up."

The NFL may be a pass-first league, but the Vikings can be exploited up front.

The New England Patriots have $50 million reasons tight end Jonnu Smith should be a big part of the team's offense. 

So far, the big free-agent signing—who's coming off a season in which he caught 41 balls for 448 yards and eight touchdowns, all career highs—has 13 receptions for 88 yards through his first four games in a blue, red and silver uniform. Fellow tight end Hunter Henry, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal, has been a little better with 14 catches for 141 yards. 

"We haven't played nearly our best football," Smith told reporters when asked about the Patriots tight ends. 

Ironically, the organization invested so much in new offensive weapons with the tight ends leading the way, yet Jakobi Meyers, who was already on the roster, leads the Patriots with 27 receptions for 246 yards. 

Eventually, Smith must become a bigger part of the game plan to warrant the investment New England made. His growth in the scheme will only help in rookie quarterback Mac Jones' development.

Without quarterback Drew Brees on the roster and wide receiver Michael Thomas still on injured reserve, Alvin Kamara is the focal point of the New Orleans Saints offense. 

A heavy reliance on the four-time Pro Bowl running back makes sense, though it limits his overall effectiveness. 

Kamara ranks third with 78 carries, but he's averaging only 3.8 yards per attempt, which is the third-lowest among running backs with 55 or more totes. The ball-carrier's potency in the passing game has been limited as well. In fact, Jameis Winston didn't even target his running back during last week's overtime loss to the New York Giants. Overall, Kamara averages 6.2 yards per catch. Both averages would set career lows. 

As good as the two-time second-team All-Pro is, he needs help. He can't carry the load by himself. Until that occurs, he's not going to be the same back he was throughout his first four seasons.

New York Giants tight end Evan Engram has been an enigma since being selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. 

Engram is an exceptional athlete for his position, yet he's never truly been a consistent mismatch in the passing game with too many drops along the way. He did put together a solid 2020 performance with 63 receptions for 654 yards, which earned him a Pro Bowl nod.

Now operating on his fifth-year rookie option, Engram opened the season with a calf injury. In his two games back, he snagged seven passes for 48 yards—while getting booed by the hometown fans. 

"Obviously, it's not ideal and it’s something you don’t want to see or hear," Engram told reporters last week. "But, that's my focus—is playing better football for my teammates and my team and giving the fans and our supporters something to cheer about and something to be proud about on the field."

The New York Jets decided to trade All-Pro safety Jamal Adams last year and retain his running mate, Marcus Maye, by placing the franchise tag on the team's top defender. 

The two sides seem destined for a breakup, though. 

Last week, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Maye suffered an ankle injury and will miss three or four weeks. To which Maye's agent, Erik Burkhardt, replied, "Should be back fully healthy just before the trade deadline." 

The emphasis in the previous statement clearly falls on the "before the trade deadline" portion. 

Maye had the potential to be a long-term franchise building block, and the Jets paid him as such this season. Instead, the two appear to be going in opposite directions with Maye indirectly saying he wants out and the Jets needing to continue their rebuild without their defensive cornerstone, who's facing possible charges from a February DUI arrest.

As a 2020 first-round draft pick, Jalen Reagor will be allotted every opportunity to become a focal point of the Philadelphia Eagles. Alongside fellow first-round wide receiver DeVonta Smith, the Eagles should have an exciting duo to develop around 23-year-old quarterback Jalen Hurts. 

Instead, Reagor is arguably the third-best wide receiver on Philadelphia's roster behind Smith and Quez Watkins. Hurts is targeting Reagor, but the others have been more productive with their opportunities. 

Reagor's average of 8.3 yards per reception is tied for 94th among players with 10 or more catches. When the second-year wideout left TCU, he projected as an explosive downfield target. He's not being used in such a manner, nor is he creating after the catch. Watkins has filled that role with a team-leading 21.9 yards per catch.

Ben Roethlisberger's career seems to be coming to a slow, sad end. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't set up a proper succession plan, and the organization is reaping what it sowed. 

Pittsburgh is 1-3 to start the season and already two games behind every other AFC North squad. Roethlisberger's ghost is still taking snaps to the team's detriment. The future Hall of Fame inductee's ball placement has been atrocious. He struggles to move behind a ramshackle offensive front. The 39-year-old ranks in the bottom third of the league in completion percentage (64.1), yards per attempt (6.1), interceptions (four), QBR (36.3) and quarterback rating (78.9). 

Hope lies in Big Ben showing some improvement, because the Steelers don't have a better option.

"I need to fight through and figure out how to make better decisions, how to make better throws, be a better football player," Roethlisberger told reporters.

Brandon Aiyuk led the San Francisco 49ers last season with 60 receptions for 748 yards. His 2020 performance didn't guarantee anything this fall. 

Aiyuk basically fell out of the team's plans through the first four games with six catches for 58 yards. He had to earn his way into the rotation. 

"He's trying to work on being more consistent and it's still a work in progress," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Tuesday. "We're going to keep pushing him hard at that. Not a lack of effort. B.A.'s working at it and I expect him to keep trying to get better here."

Deebo Samuel is clearly WR1 in San Francisco. He leads the NFL with 490 receiving yards. Room still exists for Aiyuk, though. The latter should provide the 49ers with a fantastic complementary option if he achieves the level of consistency the team's coaching staff wants from him.

The Seattle Seahawks brought in tight end Gerald Everett during free agency to fully realize Shane Waldron's offensive scheme, since the two worked together in Los Angeles with the Rams.

Everett could provide a different element to the Seahawks passing game. 

"This is a guy with an excellent range of ability, and probably the thing we like best is how competitive he is," head coach Pete Carroll told reporters at the start of training camp."

In three games played, Everett had eight receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. Everett has missed the previous two contests against the 49ers and Rams after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Once Everett is back, he needs to be a bigger component to Waldron's system. The tight end position should be in general, since Will Dissly has all of six catches. Having those two work the middle of the field will only help the Seahawks' talented wide receivers.

Richard Sherman may be pictured, but he's only a byproduct of a much bigger problem within the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. 

The secondary is in shambles. Antoine Winfield Jr., Carlton Davis III, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean are all injured. The team had to sign Sherman off the street simply because the defensive backfield lacked healthy bodies. 

Overall, the Buccaneers are dead last in pass defense. 

The group should naturally improve as the regulars get healthy and return. But the secondary won't be fully intact for some time. 

"The two that are Sean [Murphy-Bunting] and Carlton [Davis III], I don't see either one of them coming back anytime soon," head coach Bruce Arians told reporters Wednesday. "I'm fine with the other guys we have."

Tampa Bay features the game's No. 1 passing attack. It'll need to offset the defense's shortcomings. 

The Tennessee Titans offensive line deserves to be called on the carpet for its performance. Ryan Tannehill has been sacked more than any other quarterback through four games. 

The amount of pressure Tannehill has faced so far is rather amazing considering running back Derrick Henry leads the NFL in both carries and rushing yardage. Yet a strong ground game isn't keeping opponents from pinning their ears back and getting after the Titans quarterback. 

Left tackle Taylor Lewan gets singled out because he's a team leader and a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He also couldn't handle the Arizona Cardinals' Chandler Jones during the defender's monstrous five-sack Week 1 performance. Since then, Lewan has played better but far below his normal standard. 

Jones' performance is one thing because he's an elite edge-rusher, but allowing the New York Jets to register seven sacks in last week's 27-24 upset is an unforgivable breakdown.

So, about that article that argues the Washington Football Team is ready to take over as the NFL's top defense—let's forget that ever happened, shall we? 

The unnamed ones have gone in the complete opposite direction. Washington is currently ranked 29th overall in total defense and 30th in scoring defense. 

Despite all of the talent found on that side of the ball, Washington can't stop anyone. 

"We've been talking about this for four weeks," defensive lineman Jonathan Allen told reporters. "There's really not much left for me to say besides, 'We've just got to do better.'"

Washington may have the game's most talented defensive line. The unit sets the tone. However, the team's linebackers and secondary must play complementary football to improve the entire group, and they're not doing that.

Statistics via Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted. Salary-cap info via Spotrac.