The AFC East looks as open as ever, as the Bills, Dolphins and Jets are all vying to bolster their roster to make a run for the division title. While the Patriots, have arguably the most important draft selection in franchise history coming up around the corner. Let's discuss what each team could look to improve on in this years NFL Draft.
Read about the NFL Draft needs for each NFC NFL Division:
All AFC East teams have seen a sizable change to their rosters already this season, whether it be key losses or massive acquisitions. The NFL Draft is the last chance for teams to round out their positional rooms with athletes that will compete and look to make a name for themselves in the big leagues. With no clear cut division favorite, this draft is proving to be crucial for all four teams to give themselves the best chance at capturing the division title.
Will Drake Maye be a New England Patriot next week? pic.twitter.com/ftJZ6sPwru
— PFF (@PFF) April 17, 2024
New England Patriots
Quarterback: After seeing the tweet above, I think you'll understand where this breakdown is going to go. Long story short, New England needs their Franchise QB. This class has a consensus top 3 QB's and the Patriots are guaranteed to land one of them if they stick at No. 3.
One of Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels will be available for them to select at No. 3 but they won't have their pick of the bunch. So some luck must be involved for New England to get their guy, but I have a hard time seeing either of those players being much worse than the product they had on the field last season.
Offensive Tackle: Another glaring need for New England is left tackle. With no starting caliber LT on the roster, NE must prioritize that position in the draft to provide some protection for their franchise QB that will be drafted at No. 3. Amarius Mims, Jordan Morgan and Tyler Guyton are three names I can see the Patriots eying with their second-round selection to provide much needed protection on the blindside.
Wide Receiver: Lastly, the Patriots need weapons. They've infamously struck out on multiple wideouts in Free Agency the past few years including names like Calvin Ridley this year and DeAndre Hopkins last year. New England's third-rounder looks like the spot that a WR will be selected but there have been rumblings that New England could hop back into the first round to take a guy that's still on the board.
Xavier Legette is a guy that the Patriots have met with twice that I could see fitting into that revamped NE offense. But, this WR class is super talented in my opinion, if I was the GM I wouldn't want to watch too many WR's go before I pick one.
New York Jets
Offensive Tackle: At No. 10 the Jets have a ton of different routes they could go and even after signing Tyron Smith, and acquiring Morgan Moses the Jets could definitely draft a young OT. Both Smith and Moses are older and more injury prone so selecting an OT for the future might be a smart move for Gang Green. But the real value in this comes from a possible trade back.
No. 10 is a great pick but if they can acquire a late first and a second/later rounders than the Jets now have more options to fill their depth out with young players than can learn under their loads of vets. A trade back option that I see is a very popular pick but for good reason is Taliese Fuaga who could do wonders with a year of mentoring from Smith and Moses.
Wide Receiver: After acquiring Mike Williams, this becomes less of a need but NY still needs a slot receiver. After Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams the next man up is Allen Lazard who lost a ton of value from last year. If the Jets do make a trade back, a second/third round receiver would be a smart decision for Joe Douglas to make, pairing him up with another young star in Garrett Wilson for seasons to come. Adonai Mitchell and Tez Walker are two rookies that I believe would both fit right into this NYJ offense.
Quarterback: It's not a need right now, but it certainly will be. Aaron Rodgers isn't getting any younger and this Jets team has multiple young pieces that will be able to carry the load for a long time. Taking a late flier on a rookie to develop under one of the greatest quarterbacks of the past decades doesn't sound to shabby and I think the Packers would agree.
Buffalo Bills
Wide Receiver: Another easy need, the Bills lost Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Getting Curtis Samuel is a nice addition to help stop the bleeding but the Bills are desperate for another wide receiver if they want to stay in the race. A late-first round receiver should be on their radar and a rookie that I could see landing in Buffalo and making a difference for Josh Allen could be speedster Xavier Worthy. With a super talented WR class, the Bills shouldn't have to move up to find a difference making pass catcher.
Secondary: After Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White were both released by the Bills, their secondary became suddenly bleak. A couple of signings have been made but nothing that moves the needle compared to previous years. A stud rookie could 100% make a name for themselves in this secondary where is is ample opportunity to get on the field. Kamari Lassiter at CB and Tyler Nubin at S are player that I could see making a name for themselves in Buffalo.
Miami Dolphins
The Trenches: With a late first, a late second than along wait until the 5th round, the Dolphins need to create a great draft gameplan to optimize the little opportunities they have. But I don't think that would be too hard as the Dolphins are in need of big dudes to fill the trenches on both sides of the ball. After losing Christian Wilkins on the defensive side and Robert Hunt on the offensive side, those are two glaring holes than Miami needs to fill in this draft.
I would lean more towards taking a defensive interior guy in the First round due to the talent drop-off after the top in that position. Jer'Zhan Newton is a player that may not make it to 31 but would be a no brainer if so, where he could jump right into that Christian Wilkins hole. Than in the late second, Miami could look to fill that IOL hole that was left by Hunt. Jackson Powers-Johnson is an interesting prospect that I believe could fill into their guard hole on Offense.
Trade Back: With only two picks before round five, Miami could look into trading back and garnering more capital to use for depth in some positions. But like I said earlier, the trenches need to be replenished with rookies and I think the dolphins could be right back where they were last season.
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Thank you guys for reading my Draft Needs: AFC East Edition! Please check out my X handle @ZednikJr and @IDP_Plus and subscribe to the IDP+ website.
