FanRag Sports took the time to rank the top offensive players by position from each team in the AFC East and then ranked them against each other.
FanRag Sports is awesome. They have been cranking out a series of articles that takes a look at the best players from each team by position and matches them up against their division rivals. In the end, you get a taste of which players are at the top of their division.
The players were selected based on “current ability, with a lean toward “near future” projections thrown in,” according to the article. They recently did the AFC East’s offensive players and the Buffalo Bills actually ranked very well.
Starting with the quarterbacks, the Buffalo Bills ranked 2nd in the AFC East with Tyrod Taylor controlling the offense. Of course, Tom Brady was at the top, with Ryan Tannehill in 3rd and in fourth — lol.
Here’s what the article said about T-Mobile:
"Taylor and Tannehill are both mid-tier quarterbacks that operate much differently and are tough to compare. On a snap-to-snap basis Tannehill is more consistent and more accurate to the short-intermediate areas of the field, but I gave Taylor the overall edge because I think he has improved significantly in both of those areas and he offers much greater big-play potential. In the best performances of his career (against Seattle last year comes to mind), Taylor made plays in and out of structure, relying on his legs when necessary but also letting his arm do the work against one of the best secondaries in the NFL. If he could maintain his peaks for longer periods, Taylor could be an even better quarterback. But his play does suffer ups and downs, and not having Sammy Watkins fully healthy very often doesn’t help either."
Moving on to the running backs, Buffalo gets some glory. The Bills’ trio of LeSean McCoy, Jonathan Williams and Mike Tolbert was ranked at the top, with the Miami Dolphins in a close second (Jay Ajayi, Damien Williams, Kenyan Drake). In the explanation, Jon Ledyard said he expects Jonathan Williams to be one of the better backups in the league this season.
"McCoy is a top-five running back in the NFL without question, and I think Williams is going to be one of the top backups in the league while putting himself in position to vie for a starting gig somewhere down the road. According to Pro Football Focus Elite, McCoy had 22 runs of 15 yards or more last season, tied for tops in the NFL at his position."
That’s quite the prediction, but one we all hope becomes reality. As far as the other two teams, the Patriots came in 3rd with the Jets last — again.
The Buffalo Bills’ running backs weren’t the only top-ranked position in the AFC East. FanRag Sports also ranked the Bills’ offensive line the best, with the Patriots ranked 2nd, Dolphins 3rd and that other team ranked 4th. Ledyard had good things to say about the left side of the offensive line, which is no doubt the best in the NFL.
If the Bills can solidify that right side, oh boy. Here’s the excerpt on the offensive line:
"The left side of the Bills’ offensive line, including center Eric Wood, is a fantastic group with three quality linemen, especially in the run game. Miller is an average starter and Dawkins will try to supplant Mills in the starting lineup after the veteran struggled last year, but the Buffalo line was absolutely a catalyst to the team’s offensive success last season."
Two positions remain — wide receivers and tight ends. Although the Bills didn’t rank first in either, they did rank second in the tight ends category.
With Charles Clay and Nick O’Leary, Ledyard felt more confident with those two than with the Dolphins (Julius Thomas, Anthony Fasano) and the Jets (Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jordan Leggett). The Patriots ruled the AFC East with Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, who will be a tough forced to stop.
As far as the wide receivers go, Ledyard ranked the Bills third in the AFC East. The Patriots once again took first, with the Dolphins in second place. Obviously, Julian Edelman, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell will be a tough group to stop.
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Even Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and Leonte Carroo is a pretty scary corps.
Luckily, I think Sammy Watkins, Zay Jones, Andre Holmes, Corey Brown and Rod Streater will have a successful year and prove otherwise. Plus, adding Anquan Boldin would help greatly.
Here’s the excerpt on the Bills’ wide receivers:
"Sammy Watkins is elite when healthy, but he has spent a lot of his career banged up, and the rest of the Bills receiving corps is either unproven or underwhelming. Jones can be a quality No. 2, however, which could put the arrow up for a group that has lacked depth for a couple of years."
The Jets placed at the bottom of each offensive position. Just sayin’.
Next: Wrestling with the Buffalo Bills
How would you rank the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East? Leave your comments below!