The AFC East has belonged to the Buffalo Bills for the past five seasons and it’s not even close. Ever since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, Josh Allen and the Bills have dominated the division and don’t plan on giving it away anytime soon. While the Miami Dolphins have given the Bills a run for their money at times, they crumble at the end of the regular season and the Bills have captured the division from them.
Plus, we have seen the Bills win the division as early as Week 13 as well so they have won the division in any scenario possible. Going into the 2025 season, the Bills are once again the favorites to win the division. However, the Patriots vastly improved their roster and coaching staff so they might be closer to the Bills than we think. As for Miami and New York, well that’s a different story as they are going in different directions for the worse.
While some teams are better than others, each team has a top of the list best player going into this coming season. They may not be a huge difference-maker, but they should perform at a high level and become one of the best at their position if they aren’t already.
Ranking the best players in AFC East for 2025 season
4.) CB Christian Gonzalez - New England Patriots
I still remember when Christian Gonzalez fell to the Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft at No. 17 overall. It was a complete steal in the first round and last season proved it. Gonzalez had a rough start to his career, playing in only four games before suffering a season-ending injury that cut his rookie season short. But he rebounded greatly in 2024.
He was voted as a Second-Team All-Pro player despite being on a very bad Patriots defense. According to Pro Football Reference, he only allowed a 55.7% completion percentage and only allowed two touchdowns all season long. He’s the best player on the team right now, but there is a chance that Drake Maye could rise to that level as soon as this season.
3.) WR Tyreek Hill - Miami Dolphins
It was hard to not put running back De’Von Achane on this list for the Dolphins, but we can’t ignore the player that Tyreek Hill is despite a down year last season. In fairness to him, he is not as effective without Tua Tagovailoa and Tua’s injury history has hurt the Dolphins overall. At the same time, Hill is someone that you have to gameplan for and even though he didn’t reach 1,000 receiving yards last year, he still got to 959 yards and 6 touchdowns.
2.) DT Quinnen Williams - New York Jets
This might be a hot take for a lot of fans as cornerback Sauce Gardner is viewed as one of the best in the game, but if anyone has watched the Bills and Jets face off against each other, they will see that defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is more of an impactful player. Williams is a disruptor who can cause havoc in the backfield and he always gives Buffalo some problems.
As a three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro player in 2022, Williams gets another defensive-minded head coach in Aaron Glenn who could really help Williams go back to the player he was just three seasons ago.
1.) QB Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills
If anyone tries to argue that Josh Allen isn’t the best player in the division, they clearly don’t watch Bills games (or NFL games in general). The three-time Pro Bowler and defending MVP of the league is the best quarterback in the game and can do it all. Since the 2020 season, he has taken the league by storm and is the reason why the Bills are a powerhouse Super Bowl contender.