NFL Draft round one could belong to the AFC East

Moves have been made in the AFC East this draft season and the Dolphins haven’t done anything…yet. Will they or can they is a big question but two rivals could be on the move.

While the Dolphins sit tight at 11th overall the Bills and Patriots have made a couple of trades to put them in a position to control what happens on day one of the draft. If they want to.

The New York Jets have already swung their deal and it is unlikely they will make another move to either the 2nd or 1st position. They should be content knowing they will get at least one of this years top quarterbacks.

When the Jets made the trade to jump from six to three with the Colts it wasn’t surprising given the fact they need a quarterback. Josh McCown isn’t it and there are a lot of questions about Teddy Bridgewater‘s knee.  Quarterback is as important to them as it is to the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills made a move as well. Holding back to back picks in the early 20’s, the Bills moved one of those picks and tackle Cordy Glenn to the Bengals to move up to the 12th spot. It was a cheap enough move but one that now leaves the Bills looking at major holes on the offensive line.

Buffalo lost tackle Cordy Glenn in the trade, watched Eric Wood retire in January, and Richie Incognito has announced he will retire. All three started last year. Wood is a Pro-Bowl center and the offensive line in Buffalo is now a question because they didn’t make moves in free agency to plan ahead.

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Why does this matter? Because the Bills are likely not done moving up and they need to draft a quarterback, likely in round one. If they don’t fix that line, the Bills next quarterback is going to get killed. That is a good thing for a Miami team hellbent on crushing opposing quarterbacks.

Buffalo owns two first round draft picks and are not afraid to use them both if need be to move up. Many have them projected to trade with the Giants and draft in the second spot of round one but the Patriots may also be on the move.

New England did what New England does, they got far more out of a player than any other team would have. A year after sending a late first round pick to the Saints for Brandon Cooks, they traded Cooks to the Rams for a first round pick. New England now holds two picks in the later part of the draft.

Bill Belichick is known to move around and make trades but there are rumblings that the Patriots head coach has his sights on a shiny new quarterback. Perhaps maybe this is his way of giving Bob Kraft and Tom Brady the middle finger without actually giving them the finger. Reports last year indicated pressure from Kraft who was being whined to by Brady forced Belichick to trade Jimmy Garroppolo against his own wishes.

It is unlikely that the Patriots would be able to move up into the top 10 with just those two first round picks but could NE offer both of those and a first next year and maybe a 2nd round pick thrown in as well? Or maybe just the two 1’s and a 2. The Patriots have two 2nd round picks this year as well.

Rumors have begun to surface that the Patriots may be eyeballing QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson is projected to go anywhere from a surprise top 10 pick all the way to the mid-rounds where a team like the Arizona Cardinals at 15 might be ready to pounce. New England would have the ammunition to move ahead of the Cardinals if they wanted to.

With the draft picks that the Bills and Patriots have, the potential of the Dolphins to be players in moving up, the AFC East could shake things up and dictate what potential top ten players could fall out of the top ten all together.

While it’s impossible to be certain it appears that the AFC East could be the top movers and shakers of this years draft and we still can’t rule out the Dolphins making a move up…or down.