NFL DRAFT NEEDS: AFC EAST

The AFC East has been owned by the Bills the last few seasons, but they have yet to turn this run into a Super Bowl appearance. The Dolphins are improving and the Jets could be a QB away from playoff contention. The Patriots appear to be approaching a moment where they could become the bottom feeders in the division. Last season saw the Bills receiving a plethora of Super Bowl hype, but we all should have paid more attention to their loss to the Vikings as a sign of things to come. Their defense was littered with injuries and they are desperate for a WR to pair with Diggs. The Dolphins showed flash, confidence and resiliency in 2022. If Tua can stay healthy, this team has an open window. The Patriots had a losing year and the second losing season in 3 years since Tom left. This draft and offseason is critical as rumors swirl about Bill’s relationship with Bob Kraft and Mac Jones. The Jets showed marked improvement in 2022, but what do they do as an encore? If/when they land Aaron Rodgers, does the team perform or retreat to previous shortcomings?

I have laid out the current state of each franchise in the AFC East below. We’ll review their current issues, draft needs and draft prospect targets for their first draft selection in 2023. We all know Bill and the Patriots love to trade down, so if a QB or Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on the board and a desperate team comes calling, they could deal. The Dolphins won’t be participating in the 1st Round because their pick was taken away as punishment for tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton. The Jets might be dealing some high draft collateral, but they won’t move their 13th overall selection. Since the Bills are in Super Bowl or bust mode, I could see them trading up for an elite playmaker.

If you are looking for positional rankings of the draft eligible players on offense and defense, we have you covered at Spinnable Sports. You can also find my Top 105 NFL Draft Prospects and Mock Draft 2.0: 3 Round Mock Draft in the same spot. The Irrational Confidence Podcast (@IRConfidencePod on Twitter) will be dropping our Live Mock Draft Episode very soon. You can find The Irrational Confidence Podcast on any podcast platform as well as the Spinnable Sports YouTube Channel.

BUFFALO BILLS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• HAVEN’T LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS
• DEFENSE STRUGGLED DOWN THE STRETCH
• LACK TRUE #2 WR TO COMPLIMENT STEFON DIGGS
• NEED A RB TO PAIR WITH JAMES COOK

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• WR
• CB
• LB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• WR. JOSH DOWNS. (NORTH CAROLINA)
• WR. ZAY FLOWERS. (BOSTON COLLEGE)
• CB. KELEE RINGO. (GEORGIA)
• CB. EMMANUEL FORBES. (MISSISSIPPI STATE)

MIAMI DOLPHINS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• LONGTERM HEALTH OF TUA
• OFFENSIVE LINE
• WR DEPTH BEHIND HILL AND WADDLE
• NO TRUE TE

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• OL
• TE
• LB
• DL
• LB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• NO 1ST RD PICK, FIRST PICK IS IN 2ND RD
• LB. JACK CAMPBELL. (IOWA)
• LB. TRENTON SIMPSON. (CLEMSON)
• TE. TUCKER KRAFT. (SOUTH DAKOTA STATE)
• TE. LUKE MUSGRAVE. (OREGON STATE)
• TE. SAM LaPORTA. (IOWA)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• ALLEGEDLY BILL BELICHICK AND MAC JONES DON’T SEE EYE TO EYE
• OFFENSIVE INCONSISTENCY
• SECONDARY
• 2 LOSING SEASONS IN THE LAST 3 YEARS SINCE TB12 LEFT
• PATRIOTS RECORDS WITHOUT TB12 STARTING TO START THE YEAR….5-11 (2000), 7-9 (2020), 10-7 AND PLAYOFF LOSS (2021), & 8-9 (2022).
• BILL BELICHICK HAS A CAREER RECORD OF 79-87 WITHOUT TOM BRADY AS HIS STARTING QB AND 68-82 IF YOU REMOVE THE MATT CASSEL 11-5 SEASON IN 2008…..WAS TOM THE REAL CATALYST FOR THE FRANCHISE’S SUCCESS? NOTE: RECORD INCLUDES YEARS IN CLEVELAND.
  

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• CB
• EDGE
• LB
• OL
• DL
• QB
• RB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• EDGE. NOLAN SMITH. (GEORGIA)
• EDGE. LUKAS VAN NESS. (IOWA)
• EDGE. MYLES MURPHY. (CLEMSON)
• S. BRIAN BRANCH. (ALABAMA)
• CB. KELEE RINGO. (GEORGIA)

NEW YORK JETS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• AT THIS MOMENT, THE TEAM LACKS A REAL QB ON THE ROSTER
• YEARLY INJURIES TO THE OFFENSIVE LINE
• HAVEN’T PLAYED IN A SUPER BOWL SINCE THE LATE 1960’S….BEFORE AMERICA LANDED ON THE MOON
• TREMENDOUS PRESSURE TO WIN IF/WHEN THEY ACQUIRE AARON RODGERS

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• OL
• DB
• DL
• EDGE

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• OT. PARIS JOHNSON JR. (OHIO STATE)
• OT. BRODERICK JONES. (GEORGIA)
• S. BRIAN BRANCH. (ALABAMA)
• EDGE. TYREE WILSON. (TEXAS TECH)
• EDGE. NOLAN SMITH. (GEORGIA)

This is the second installment of my draft need odyssey through the 8 NFL divisions. The next division in line is the electric AFC North. They will be followed by the AFC West. We’ll dive into the NFC after that.