Biggest remaining needs for each AFC East team

Now that we've gone over to the AFC, we will move clockwise through the divisions, which brings us to the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots and Jets. At this point, the majority of the work on the rosters has been done, but each of these teams have a serious positional need, that they should address until week one.

Buffalo Bills – Wide receiver

The drought is over. The Bills finally made the playoffs again for the first time since 1999 and still this feels like a totally different team. They traded quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Browns, which always felt like the move they wanted to make, left tackle Cordy Glenn was sent to Cincinnati for a swapping of first-round picks, linebacker Preston Brown was let go in free agency and Richie Incognito surprisingly decided to retire or so it seems.

Still, this is a promising young bunch. Buffalo moved up in the draft twice to get their franchise guys at quarterback (Wyoming’s Josh Allen) and middle linebacker (Virginia Tech’s Tremaine Edmunds). While the super-talented backer will step right into the starting lineup, A.J. McCarron should be the day-one starter under center. I think defensively they have a good mix of veterans and young players. On offense however, I’m not quite sure about the passing game.

LeSean McCoy has been one of the most heavily utilized RBs ever since he moved up North, but they need to take some pressure off him by adding some weapons on the outside. When the Bills traded away Sammy Watkins a year ago, it seemed like they were counting on a rookie in Zay Jones to take over as their featured guy. They made a much-needed move for Kelvin Benjamin in the midst of the season, but especially with Jones out for the offseason programs, they need another pass-catcher to build chemistry with the quarterbacks.

Andre Holmes appears to be their starting slot receiver, but you can’t work with him and guys like Brandon Reilly, Kaelin Clay or Jeremy Kerley as your number two option. A guy I really like that they picked up as an undrafted free agent is former Virginia Tech receiver Cam Phillips, who always was counted on in the Hokies’ offense. Of course, the loss of Richie Incognito leaves a hole at one of the guard spots, but I’m a big fan of fifth-round pick Wyatt Teller, who has a similar nasty attitude of mauling people.

Miami Dolphins – 3-tech defensive tackle

Adam Gase has cleaned up this Dolphins roster and he finally has the guys he wants to work with. Jay Ajayi, Jarvis Landry, Mike Pouncey and Ndamokung Suh are all gone, but they also brought in Danny Amendola, Josh Sitton and several key pieces in the draft. Eleventh overall pick Minkah Fitzpatrick from Alabama will be the focal point of this defense for years to come, while they added some more speed and playmaking ability to the linebacker unit with Ohio State’s Jerome Baker.

Offensively, former Penn State tight-end Mike Gesicki will be a weapon for them and so will the versatile Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage. Most importantly though, Ryan Tannehill will be back on the field after tearing his ACL last summer and missing the entire 2017 season. This will be a huge year for him, as it could determine if he will their quarterback of the future.

While there are some question marks for who will take over at right guard, I think the element they are truly missing is a penetrator on the interior of their defensive line. Miami let go of Ndamokung Suh this offseason because he became a cap casualty and seemingly never quite fit into the locker room. Jordan Phillips does a good job playing at that shade nose spot, but the ‘Phins are counting on second-year man Davon Godchaux to be a disruptive force for them.

The LSU alumn has powerful hands, which he can disengage with, but too often he still lets blockers get into his body and in a multitude of snaps he looks like just another guy. Cameron Wake and recently acquired Robert Quinn will come around those corners hot, with William Hayes moving over guards on some passing downs, but I don’t think they can count on anybody on the interior to get a TFL for minus-two yards on 1&10.

New England Patriots – Pass rushers

Once again, the Patriots lost several key contributors from the previous season and we are talking about how they won’t be able to recover from all of them. That is until they step back out on the field and are in the AFC Championship Game, which they are pretty much in every year. Even after trading away Brandin Cooks and letting Danny Amendola walk in free agency, this roster has several capable receivers, which is all Tom Brady needs to move the ball down the field.

With the draft pick they acquired from the Rams, they replaced left tackle Nate Solder with Georgia’s Wynn. While I thought he wasn’t long enough to stay on the outside, he has amazing feet and gives them what they need in their quick-rhythm passing offense. Their 31st overall pick Sony Michel has a chance to be a special, Alvin Kamara-like dual-threat out of the backfield. Defensively, they are coming off one of their worst performances in the Super Bowl, when they gave up 41 points to a backup quarterback and now they are without defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

With Jason McCourty teaming up with his brother, this secondary looks more than formidable and they get their leader in Dont’a Hightower back from injury. The pass rush however, still isn’t where it needs to be. Free agent Adrian Clayborn had a breakout season in 2017 (even though half of his sack production came in one game against a backup tackle, who was left on an island for some reason) and Trey Flowers is one of the most unknown stars of this league.

He has position flexibility and can be disruptive along the defensive line. Deatrich Wise saw quite a bit of game-action last season and Derek Rivers is a guy, who I was really high on in last year’s draft, coming out of Youngstown State. So there is some talent. Still, other than Flowers they don’t have a proven guy at getting after the passer. They need someone else they can count on to put on the heat, no matter where from.

New York Jets – Guard

I did this already a couple of times over the course of last season and beyond, but once again – my hat off to the Jets for playing energetic and being competitive pretty much every week. I honestly didn’t think they would win more than a game or two, but Jamal Adams took over as the leader of this defense and 39-year-old Josh McCown had a career year, with the guys behind them playing inspired football.

Nevertheless, this is still not the most talented roster by a mile, even though I look at them much differently coming into this season. They have two future stars on the front and the backend in Leonard Williams and Adams, who I just mentioned, and a very intriguing cornerback duo, as they brought in Morris Claiborne a year ago and added Trumaine Johnson this offseason, to go with Buster Skrine in the slot.

I like the signing of linebacker Avery Williamson and trading a seventh-round pick for defensive lineman Henry Anderson on that side of the ball as well. Offensively, Gang Green has an interesting running back room, a bundle of young receivers and whenever he’s ready, a rookie quarterback in USC’s Sam Darnold, who I believe has a chance to be really special. To me, there are two real question marks. I like the collection of Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jermaine Kearse and others, but who is the alpha dog among that unit?

The answer could actually be Terrelle Pryor I believe. The five-year veteran transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver two years and had a monster season with the Browns. Even though he never actually recaptured that magic during his one campaign with the Redskins, I think he still has a lot of room to grow and could be a top-tier guy. Therefore I want to shift my focus on the guard position. James Carpenter should start at one of the spots, but the other one is kind of up for grabs.

Brian Winters seems to be the obvious candidate, having started 26 games for them in the last two seasons, but he has missed three contests each year and hasn’t performed very well when he was in the lineup. Ben Braden and Dakota Dozier seem to be the other two options, but Braden was an undrafted free agent a year ago and Dozier has started just five games in his four-year career.