AFC East: Will The New England Patriots Be The Worst In The Division?

When it comes to the AFC East, the New England Patriots have been atop of the division for the past two decades. With the exception of the past two seasons where the Buffalo Bills took the crown, rarely in this millennium have the Pats not come out on top. But a lot has changed in New England since Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will this finally be the year the Patriots are in the cellar of the AFC East?

First, there’s the Buffalo Bills. With weapons all across the board on offense and a defense that can do just enough to not lose games, Buffalo has been on a rampage lately. If not for the overtime rules last year, the Bills could’ve taken down the Kansas City Chiefs on their way to their first Super Bowl since the 90s. Buffalo added some key pieces like Von Miller to shore up their defense and had a pretty good draft. The most important part of their offseason was the drafting of running back James Cook. Buffalo has struggled to balance their offense and a player like Cook will either be a stud when he comes in, or he’ll be a great change of pace back to take reps off of the workhorse backs. The Pats had a solid defense last season, but did teams add enough to figure out their moves?

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Then there’s the Miami Dolphins who made arguably the biggest splash on paper this offseason. The Dolphins went ahead and traded for Tyreek Hill. But the key piece of their offseason wasn’t just the trade, it was drafting linebacker Channing Tindall. Tindall is a sideline to sideline linebacker who gets after the football. What he lacks in coverage he makes up in pursuit. Pair him with fellow LB Jerome Baker and the duo should be able to close a few lanes that ball carriers usually slide through. Mac Jones will have a tough time with the Dolphins’ defense if the New England Patriots struggle to get their offense to the next level.

Last but not least there’s the New York Jets. While Zach Wilson struggled last year, the Jets went out of their way to provide him with many upgrades to his offense. They are said to have had one of the better drafts of 2022 so if Wilson can take the next step, whether or not he becomes elite won’t matter. New York on paper should find a way to win football games to get to 8 or 9 wins.

While each team in the AFC East seems to have gotten better, the New England Patriots arguably stayed the same. They added some key pieces but they weren’t much of an upgrade over the players in those positions last year. Their advantage is obviously experienced when it comes to coaching. Bill Belichick has been in the division longer than all three coaches combined. Given their ability to make any player look like a star, the New England Patriots are still in good hands. They might not be at the bottom of the division this year, but don’t be surprised if they are.