For the past five seasons, the Buffalo Bills have owned the AFC East and they aren’t looking to give up as long as Josh Allen is under center. Buffalo has dominated the division, and they have also won it in the last week of the regular season (right, Miami?).
The Bills are coming off a fresh beatdown of the AFC East from last season where they won the division in Week 13. Whether you want to argue that the rest of the division was completely week or not, the Bills were still being heavily doubted to defend their division championship. They swept both Miami and New York, and the only reason why they didn’t sweep the Patriots is because their backups were playing against Joe Milton III who played so well in Week 18, it cost the Pats the number one overall pick.
So now, we are approaching the NFL Draft which is just two weeks away and this is a time where teams the Dolphins, Jets, and Patriots will look to do whatever they can to challenge the Bills for the division. It’s Buffalo’s division to lose from here on out.
When it comes to the Jets and Patriots, there isn’t a ton to worry about because both offenses aren’t exactly built to beat Buffalo just yet. While both teams did add some pieces in free agency, it’s not enough to take down Josh Allen and the Bills.
The only team that has somewhat challenged the Bills for the AFC East is the Dolphins. There’s only been one time where they have put some serious pressure on the Bills for the AFC East, and that was in 2023-2024, where Miami almost won it in Week 18 at home. Instead, the Bills took it away, clinched a home playoff game and forced Miami to head to Kansas City in the first round.
As the draft approaches, fans will be looking at what moves their favorite teams could make, as well as what their rivals could make as well. Lead Draft Writer Eric Edholm from NFL.com listed the nine teams that have a lot of pressure to come out of this year’s draft with a solid class, and the Dolphins find themselves on that list.
"Over the past three drafts, the Dolphins have made only 15 selections -- the league average was more than 24 picks in this span -- and have only one clear hit (RB De’Von Achane) to show for it. Their go-for-broke approach to trade for Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey has resulted in a 28-23 record in Mike McDaniel’s three seasons and an 0-2 mark in the postseason. Injuries and depth problems have reared their ugly heads at the worst times."Eric Edholm, NFL.com
Dolphins face even more pressure to overtake Bills in AFC East
Miami has been trying to do whatever they can to take the AFC East away from Buffalo and nothing has worked. They have brought in big time players, whether it’s through free agency or via trade. As far as drafting, that hasn’t been the case. Now they have a lot more players to replace with some departures that they have had this offseason.
The Dolphins simply don’t draft well. This is great news for the Bills, and even for the rest of the division. Miami has ten draft picks to work with right now, but how will they spend them? If they want to contend with the Bills for the division in 2025, then they will need to do whatever they can come out of this draft with a solid class. Bills fans should be hoping that Miami doesn’t just all of a sudden draft really well to push the Bills for the AFC East.