AFC East Analysis: How will the division play out in the 2024 NFL season?

With the 2024 NFL regular season just around the corner, every team in the league is preparing to make some tough decisions, paring down their roster to 53 men who will enter the year with Super Bowl aspirations.

However, with only a limited number of playoff spots to secure, each team will be fighting to emerge from its division as a winner, or at least earn a wild-card spot.

FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd gave his predictions for how each division will play out before training camp begins. With those rankings, here’s a breakdown of each team in each division, continuing with the AFC East.

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1. Buffalo Bills

Colin says“The Bills have won the division four years in a row. I give it to them.”

While all the shine usually comes from the Dolphins and Jets in the offseason, it’s been Buffalo that has consistently defended its throne in the AFC East, so Cowherd is simply going to hand it to them until someone else surpasses it.

The biggest difference from last season is the absence of Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen’s number one offensive lineman, who was traded to the Houston Texans.

However, Allen’s numbers when Diggs was injured last season (a second-half surge that led to the Bills winning the division again) lead one to believe the Bills can still get the job done on both sides of the ball.

KEY ADDITION: Receiver Keon Coleman

Now that Diggs is no longer with the team, perhaps the Bills can develop a new No. 1 receiver, and the second-round pick from Florida State is someone with that potential.

Keon Coleman is expected to have a solid role in the Bills’ offense this year, as Allen is known for spreading the ball around. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Coleman has shown off his speed, verticality and solid route running throughout camp, making him someone who could be a threat to Allen on deep passes, which is what Diggs and Gabe Davis provided at times over the years.

Allen is going to target Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir and more on offense, but keep an eye on Coleman down the field if he can break away against NFL cornerbacks.

NFC WEST ANALYSIS: HOW WILL THE DIVISION SHAPE DURING THE NFL SEASON?

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: IS THIS YEAR THE YEAR?

The Bills have long been a team with Super Bowl potential, and they still are even with Diggs, Davis and Tre’Davious White (players who were one of the reasons they’ve had so much success in recent seasons) gone.

The Bills, however, have been unable to overcome the Kansas City Chiefs and return to the Super Bowl. Head coach Sean McDermott remains confident that he has the team to get the job done. Allen and the rest of the locker room think the same.

Can they finally break free in the playoffs and make a run to New Orleans for a chance at a Lombardi Trophy?

Colin says“The Dolphins are an offensive league. They had the best total offense in the NFL and Tua threw for 4,600 passing yards. It’s an offensive league.”

The NFL’s No. 1 offense, led by Mike McDaniel, was simply a joy to watch in 2023. With Tua Tagovailoa leading the way, it just needed to be put in the arms of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, newcomer De’Von Achane, Raheem Mostert and many others who provided explosive production all over the field.

However, due to injuries plaguing the defense and sub-zero temperatures in their playoff game against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, the Dolphins were quickly eliminated from the playoffs.

If the Dolphins manage to stay healthy in 2024, they’ll have the same explosive players on both sides of the field. Can it all work out?

KEY ADDITION: S JORDAN POYER

Jordan Poyer has been wreaking havoc on AFC East offenses for quite some time now, having become an All-Pro and captain for the Bills.

However, Poyer now finds himself in the Sunshine State and joins a solid secondary that includes Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller and Kader Kohou.

Poyer’s veteran presence, 100 combined tackles last year and solid ball-catching skills make him a great addition to a playoff-ready team.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: CAN STAR PLAYERS STAY HEALTHY?

Health is wealth for any NFL team, but Miami especially needs its stars to stay on the field for the entire season.

The Dolphins saw Ramsey, Achane, Terron Armstead, Keion Crossen, Chris Brooks and others miss significant time last season due to injuries.

Of course, injuries are inevitable in this game, but perhaps a fully healthy Dolphins roster, especially later in the season, could be the difference in making the Super Bowl. They have the talent; staying on the field is the biggest question now.

3. New York Jets

Colin says“The Jets are third. Yes, they have a great defense. There are questions about the offensive line, the head coach is defensive, Aaron (Rodgers) hasn’t taken more than four snaps in 559 days in the NFL.”

It was simply unfair to Jets fans — and football fans for that matter — to see just four plays from Rodgers last season. He tore his Achilles tendon at MetLife Stadium on “Monday Night Football,” completely destroying any hope the team had of breaking its playoff drought.

The Jets’ defense was stellar all year, but Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Brett Rypien couldn’t get anything going on offense to lead them to victory. New York finished with a 7-10 record and their playoff drought extended to 13 years, the longest in professional sports.

KEY ADDITION: NEW TACKLES

The Jets have Rodgers fully healthy again, Garrett Wilson has Mike Williams joining him from the Los Angeles Chargers, and many believe running back Breece Hall can also expand into a stellar 2023 campaign.

NFC EAST ANALYSIS: HOW WILL THE DIVISION SHAPE IN THE 2024 NFL SEASON?

Why? Jets general manager Joe Douglas didn’t mince words this offseason, bolstering the offensive line, especially at the ends. Tyron Smith, the Dallas Cowboys’ eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle, will cover Rodgers’ blind side, while Morgan Moses will reunite with the team he played for in 2021.

While both are 33, raising the question of injuries from old age, they are huge improvements from last season, when the Jets’ offensive line was once again questionable. If health is on their side, Rodgers and Co. should feel pretty good knowing they have a solid veteran presence on that line.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: WILL THEY BE ABLE TO BREAK THE DROUGHT?

This was the biggest question mark of last year for New York, as Jets fans surely believed Rodgers would help lead this team back to the playoffs. However, it remains the question mark when Rodgers, who the Jets acquired in a trade last offseason, failed to live up to all the hype he and the team received during training camp.

Rodgers has had a strong showing in training camp, reacclimating himself with Wilson and Hall and creating new chemistry with Williams and third-round rookie receiver Malachi Corley.

Every Jets fan will be holding their breath in Week 1 for obvious reasons, but if Rodgers can get through that “Monday Night Football” game against the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, maybe they can once again believe that the drought will end.

4. New England Patriots

Colin says: “The Patriots are in fourth place. I think they have the first or second worst offensive roster in the league.”

Well, Cowherd is right here when he analyzes the new Patriots without Bill Belichick.

The Patriots’ new era under Jerod Mayo begins as a rebuild, and third overall pick Drake Maye is the quarterback to start it. But his supporting cast doesn’t compare to that of his division, let alone the rest of the NFL.

Mayo does have some good pieces on defense to work with, though. New England was good on that side of the ball, which is typical of Belichick-led Patriots teams over the past two decades. Trading Matthew Judon due to a contract dispute is a big loss, but it’s still a unit that can be a nuisance on offense in 2024.

KEY ADDITION: QB DRAKE MAYE

Mayo has yet to name his starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, though he indicated a decision could be made as early as Thursday.

However, Mayo did mention that Maye outperformed his veteran rival, Jacoby Brissett, during the preseason. However, whether he starts under center in Week 1, Week 4 or Week 8, the future of the Patriots franchise is in the hands of the North Carolina product.

By all accounts from training camp, Maye has been a top-notch professional, and he’s shown why many teams held him in high regard back in April. With Mac Jones not working out and the Patriots entering what feels like limbo to Patriots fans because they’ve only known Belichick and winning for so long, Maye’s production as a quarterback will draw plenty of attention, and rightfully so.

He’s the future, and Patriots fans would like to see him become the present sooner rather than later.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: IS MAYO THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB?

With a roster that appears inferior on paper to the rest of the division’s teams, Mayo has a difficult task in his first year as a head coach anywhere, let alone replacing perhaps the greatest head coach in NFL history.

Patriots fans will have to be patient with this team in 2024, but the moves Mayo makes, the culture he establishes in the locker room, how he interacts with the media and virtually everything he does on and off the field will answer the above question.

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Mayo has worked hard to rise through the ranks to reach this point in his coaching career, and he has the opportunity to cement his place as New England’s next great head coach starting next week.

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