We continue our division draft grades with the AFC East. If you missed yesterday’s, we covered the AFC North. The shift in the power dynamic in the division has been swift as the Patriots’ reign of terror has seemingly come to an end because the Bills are the new kids on the block and they’re in the midst of a title window. That being said, the Dolphins are trying to surround Tua Tagavailoa with weapons in hopes of their own extended window. The Jets and Patriots are taking steps in the right direction as well. let’s see how they did with this year’s draft.
Buffalo Bills: B+
This draft really comes down to four picks as they’re most likely be the only ones making any form of substantial impact this season. I like the Kaiir Elam pick in round one, but Andrew Booth Jr was still available and makes more sense both from a talent and fit perspective. James Cook is a nice do-it-all back who I compared to Nyheim Hines and with Devin Singletary likely leaving next offseason and the team not getting what they expected out of Zack Moss, Cook could figure to be in for a productive rookie year with the snaps he’s given. Terrel Bernard is one of my favourite players in the class and fits what the Bills look for in a sub-package linebacker. He just runs sideline to sideline, chasing everyone down from behind and being an all-around pain in the ass for opposing offenses. Given his injury history, this might have been a touch early, but it’s fine. Then comes the best specialist in the class punter Matt Araiza. Somehow the man nicknamed “The Punt God” was the 4th specialist and 3rd punter off the board. Having a punter that can put it inside the 5 no matter where he’s kicking it from is insanely valuable for a team with a good defense and trying to make a run in the playoffs. The rest of the draft honestly is filler, depending on how you feel about Khalil Shakir’s ability to play early, but the Bills had a solid draft overall.
Miami Dolphins: C+
The Dolphins only had 4 draft picks the whole weekend and didn’t have their first selection until 102. That’s already a tough place to be in, but I didn’t like them taking Channing Tindall over Leo Chenal. They’re both great athletes with high upside, but Chenal has the more well-rounded game so I thought he’d be the obvious choice. I like the Erik Ezukanma pick, but the Cam Goode and Skylar Thompson picks do nothing for me.
New England Patriots: D
This draft is why it’s important to play the board. The draft, in itself, is a game. If you like a player at one pick but you know you can get him 30 picks later, you can wait. You can trade back. You don’t need to take him right away. The Patriots seemingly forgot that. I understand that Patriots fans are under the impression that Cole Strange was going to go in the top 50 and that’s why he needed to be picked at 29, but that doesn’t make sense. Yes, he was going to go higher than the third round which is where most had him graded, but he wasn’t a first-rounder, at all, and you could have traded back to Day 2 and still got him. I understand that he’s a rare athlete, but he was also a 6-year college player and they tend to go later than a player who’s similar but only a three-year player. The pressure of making Strange the pick at 29 puts too much pressure on a player who was a relative unknown only a few months ago.
I liked Tyquan Thornton and even I thought that trading up to get him at pick 50 was a gigantic reach. He was one of my last 4th rounders because while he’s incredibly fast, he doesn’t have great hands and most importantly, he doesn’t fit what Mac Jones does best. Marcus Jones was a fine pick but the next pick Jack Jones was a reach. Pierre Strong is a great rotational back but New England has about 600 running backs on the roster. Bailey Zappe might actually be their best pick because he fits the system to sit behind Mac Jones as a backup. This class was weird on so many levels.
New York Jets: A
When you leave the first round with 3 players who could have gone in the top 10, you’ve done well. When you get a bellcow running back to help your developing QB, you’re cooking with gas. Throw in another weapon for Zach Wilson to throw to in Jeremy Ruckert and a developmental tackle and you’ve got yourself a winning formula. Good job, Jets! Now there’s a sentence no one has said in about a decade.