The entire AFC East is in the offseason and they will all go back to the drawing boards to figure out how they can get past their current bumps that they ran into this past season. The Buffalo Bills once again dominated the division, but even more than they have before. They didn’t just win the division again, they won it by Week 13 before they even faced off against the Patriots once.
As for the rest of the division, they are at different points within their franchises. The Patriots, outside of Drake Maye, have little to no talent. They made the right decision to move on from Jerod Mayo and hire Mike Vrabel. The Dolphins are running it back with Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier after a disappointing season once again where Tua Tagovailoa suffered yet another concussion. Then there are the Jets…who are heading into a major rebuild potentially. However, they hired a solid defensive coach in Aaron Glenn from the Lions.
As it stands right now, the Patriots (No. 4) and the Jets (No. 7) are in the top ten while the Dolphins are at No. 13 and the Bills are all the way down at No. 30. This has been the typical story of the AFC East in recent memory. The Bills are the best in the division, the Dolphins are usually finishing in second place, and both the Jets and Patriots are near the bottom.
Recent CBS Sports NFL mock draft has all four AFC East teams going with offense in Round 1
Ryan Wilson from CBS Sports published a 2025 NFL mock draft and Wilson has each AFC East team addressing their first round pick with an offensive player.
AFC East picks per Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports |
|---|
New England Patriots (No. 4): OT Will Campbell, LSU |
New York Jets (No. 7): WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona |
Miami Dolphins (No. 13): TE Tyler Warren, Penn State |
Buffalo Bills (No. 30): WR Matthew Golden, Texas |
Going with wide receiver in Round 1 would be a terrible mistake for Bills
"Explosive is the best one-word description for Golden, who reminded me a lot of Jordan Addison coming out of USC. He doesn't have the biggest frame, but he consistently creates separation at the top of his route, he has legit track speed (10.93 in the 100m in high school) and also has return ability. His best football is ahead of him."Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports
The Bills already went with a wide receiver with their first pick last year when they drafted Keon Coleman out of Florida State. Now granted, the Bills may need some help at wide receiver if they lose both Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins in free agency. At the same time, they have bigger needs than wide receiver.
Instead, Buffalo needs to do whatever it takes to bring in defensive help. Their secondary took a big hit down the stretch when they lost Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp, Christian Benford, and Rasul Douglas at various times leading up to the playoffs. In addition, their run-defense was atrocious at times.
While it might be tempting to go wide receiver in the first round, it would just take away help that Buffalo could get on defense.