Out of all the divisions in the NFL, the AFC East has been the most predictable one. The New England Patriots are always on top, and maybe one other team competes for a Wild Card spot, only to flame out.
As long as Tom Brady is around, the Patriots are going to be a lock to win the division every year, but following the draft, did any other team in the division take a large enough step forward to challenge New England?
Here are the power rankings following this weekend’s draft.
4. New York Jets
There’s a lot to like about the Jets. They have a good, young defense and they added safety Calvin Pryor in the draft to go along with Rex Ryan’s hard-hitting style. Defensive end Sheldon Richardson won the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and they still have Muhammad Wilkerson and second-year player Damon Harrison on the line.
But, there’s still too many questions surrounding this team. New York did nothing to help their situation at corner, and they don’t have a solid receiver to line up on the opposite side of Eric Decker. Tight end Jace Amaro is a good receiving threat to have, but there’s no real standouts out of the three receivers that the Jets drafted (Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa).
Adding Chris Johnson will help the running game, but he has a lot of mileage on him, and Chris Ivory has a serious history of injury. And, there’s always the quarterback situation. Drafting Taj Boyd makes no sense, and it’s tough to feel comfortable about a team that is heading into the season with a rookie, Michael Vick and Geno Smith at quarterback.
3. Buffalo Bills
For the future, drafting Sammy Watkins may have not been the best move for the Bills. Giving up a first-round pick to Cleveland could prove to be too high of a price to pay for moving up, but for this year at least, it’s a good sign for the Bills if they want to compete in the division.
Having Watkins, Mike Williams and Robert Woods at receiver will definitely help second-year quarterback E.J. Manuel, who played well at times last season when he was healthy. You have to question trading away Steve Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers, but the Bills still have C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and now Bryce Brown in the backfield.
On defense, Buffalo lost its best player in Jairus Byrd to free agency, but it added Brandon Spikes in free agency to play next to Kiko Alonso, and up front Kyle Williams and Mario Williams make for a great one-two combination. This is a team who could surprise some opponents this season by playing tough defense and controlling the clock, with Watkins a threat at any time to go for a big play.
Compared to New York, the Bills have less questions heading into this season and there are more proven playmakers on offense.
2. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins were actually pretty close to sneaking into the playoffs last season, and they put themselves in a position to make the same push this year. Overall, Miami’s draft wasn’t all that great. There was no real direction that the team took. However, some individual players could make a difference, including offensive tackle Billy Turner and wide receiver Jarvis Landry (I’m not that impressed with Ja’Wuan James at offensive tackle).
Landry rounds out what is now a solid group of receivers with Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline, and late-round pick Matt Hazel could turn out to be a sleeper from this year’s draft. The offensive line is still a concern for Miami, but adding Knowshon Moreno in the offseason will give them an improved rushing attack and Ryan Tannehill has even more receiving weapons now.
On defense, Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan now make up the second-best secondary in this division and Dannell Ellerbe and Cameron Wake anchor the front seven. This isn’t a complete team, but there’s enough talent on the roster that the Dolphins can get to nine wins, which is more than the Jets and Bills can say.
1. New England Patriots
No surprise here. The Patriots had a sub-par draft, but there’s no denying this is still the best team in the division, and one of the three best teams in the AFC. Defensive tackle Dominique Easley could have an impact this year, but the rest of New England’s draft focuses on the coming years, especially quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and running back James White.
Vince Wilfork is anything but a lock to play 16 games, and the Pats don’t really have an answer for losing Spikes. But, they picked up Darrelle Revis, and any time you pick up someone of that caliber, it’s going to help your defense. Revis is now the single best defensive player in this division on a defense that finished just 18th last year in pass defense.
I would have liked to see New England pick up a tight end in this draft with Rob Gronkowski’s injury history and Brady’s performance in two-tight end sets, but Brady can make anyone better, which puts the Patriots head and shoulders above the rest of this division. There are questions at wide receiver as well, but there’s no reason to think that the Patriots won’t get to 10 wins again this year.