AFC East Division Preview
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Bill Wippert/Buffalo Bills)
The AFC East has seemingly completely turned on its head over the last couple of seasons. A division that was dominated by the Patriots with the other teams struggling to play at .500, all of a sudden has become one of the most competitive divisions in football. Last season, we saw both the Dolphins and the Jets make drastic changes to their teams that have made them tough to play against week in and week out. Those changes and improvements only became more drastic this offseason.
It seems as if the Patriots are not interested in a complete rebuild in what are suspected to be some of Bill Belichick’s final years as the head coach in Foxborough. However, they have not done anything to improve the roster to be able to compete in the 2023 season. In a pretty lateral move, they let Jakobi Meyers walk to sign Juju Smith-Schuster. Losing guys like Damien Harris (to a division rival, nonetheless) Nelson Agholor, and Devin McCourty without finding true replacements to fill those voids makes it hard to say that they will be an improved football team. In 2022, the Patriots coaching staff seemed to lose faith in QB Mac Jones. When Jones went down with an injury, it seemed as if backup QB Bailey Zappe was the new starter. Zappe’s lack of consistency proved to be too much to keep him as a starter, but this is something to watch throughout the 2023 season as the Patriots are certainly not 100% sold on Jones being their franchise guy. The Patriots are a power-rushing team. They love to attack gaps and run up the middle to gain small chunks at a time. This was an extremely effective playstyle with a backfield tandem of Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris. With Harris now out of the picture, being replaced by James Robinson, it will be interesting to see if they can still run that style of offense. James Robinson is more of a zone-rushing running back who likes to get out in space and make defenders miss. He avoids contact and opts to run to the outside, he also has high receiving upside as a guy who can be a safety net for the QB. The Patriots have emerged as the clear-cut bottom feeders in the AFC East and if they cannot put up a solid win total in 2023, it may be time to tear it all down to start from scratch.
(Image courtesy of Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
The New York Jets made the biggest splashes of the offseason when they, eventually, traded for Aaron Rodgers. The actual completion of the trade was a long and drawn-out process, but after his darkness retreat, he was shipped to the Meadowlands to play for the Jets. Last season, the Jets seemed to be a quarterback away from competing in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers is certainly a guy that can launch the Jets into playoff contention. While he has taken a step back from his MVP seasons, it is worth mentioning that Rodgers’ weapons were not ideal in his last season in Green Bay. On top of that, the Jets do not need him to be an MVP. They simply just need Rodgers to produce as more of a game manager, reducing turnovers in order to give his playmakers a chance to do their thing. The defense will keep the team within striking distance and the additions they have made to go around Rodgers will make this one of the more productive offenses in the league. A combination of Zach Wilson and Mike White were able to deliver 7 wins, a team led by Aaron Rodgers and company are poised to end the Jets’ postseason drought.
Mike McDaniels and the Miami Dolphins were also able to make a big splash when they acquired Jalen Ramsey for next to nothing, no offense to Hunter Long. With Byron Jones struggling to get on the field and depth in the secondary being tested, Jalen Ramsey was a great option to go opposite of Xavien Howard. Having these great cornerbacks may result in offenses shrinking the field and trying to gain yards in the short and intermediate areas of the field closer to the hash marks. The Dolphins also got team-friendly deals with LB David Long Jr. and SAF Deshon Elliott to provide depth within the defense. The offensive weapons for Tua Tagovailoa will remain relatively similar to last season despite a few minor tweaks. If he can stay healthy, the offense will be able to build on the rapport they built.
(Image courtesy of Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Bills did not have much cap flexibility heading into the offseason to improve the roster, so they had to get creative. Being able to get Jordan Poyer at the price they did was very unexpected and certainly contributed to their ability to retain a contending team. The Bills’ biggest change in the offseason was, without a doubt, the loss of LB Tremaine Edmunds. Edmunds was the quarterback of that entire defense ever since he got to the league. He had his ups and downs in terms of consistent production but whoever they put at MIKE LB this upcoming season will have big shoes to fill. The Bills also improved their offense with additions to the line in Connor McGovern, as well as Damien Harris to provide a nice contrast to James Cook, who will likely be the new RB1 in Buffalo. They also added big-time playmakers in the draft and we could see a very different Bills’ offense in 2023. Look for the Bills to run more 12 personnel and use tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox much more.
The AFC East is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL with all of the teams expected to at least be competitive. With the exception of the New England Patriots, it would not be a huge shock to see any of these teams win the division title. There is a very clear path for the three top teams to run the division in 2023. As of now, I am choosing to stay away from predictions this early in the offseason, but will definitely hand out some standings predictions before the preseason.
