Miami Dolphins AFC East rival Buffalo Bills set to take the division

On Thursday we reached out to our New York Jets sister site to talk about the AFC East and today, we go a little further Northwest to talk Buffalo Bills.

Brandon Croce is the site editor for BuffalowDown.com and he took some time out of his day to answer some of our questions about his team and the AFC East in general. With Tom Brady out of the division, it seems as though the Bills are ready to take over. Is that how they feel?

Croce talks about this very question and while Paul Esden of TheJetPress.com feels it is the Bills division to lose, we can’t simply hand it to the Bills.

How do you feel your offseason has gone so far?

The Buffalo Bills weren’t losing many key players this offseason so they didn’t have any pressing needs. However, with the cap space they had, they brought in quality pieces to complement and compete with the starters they had. The biggest splash was obviously the trade for Stefon Diggs and the Bills wide receiver group with Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley is probably the most complete they have had since the early 1990s.

What free agent do you think will have the bigger impact?

Since Stefon Diggs wasn’t technically a free agent, the player that is going to have the biggest impact is going to be Mario Addison. The Bills didn’t get much production in terms of sacks from their defensive ends last year. However, Addison has been as consistent as they come with at least nine sacks each of the past four seasons. He should be an immediate boost on this defense.

What player lost in free agency will hurt the most?

There isn’t a free agency that is necessarily going to hurt as most of the players were rotational or depth players. If I had to choose one it would have to be Jordan Phillips as he had a tremendous season last year and the defense as a whole benefited from the pressure he was able to bring up the middle, collapsing the pocket and getting after the quarterback.

What direction do you think your team will take in the draft, who do you hope they draft?

The Buffalo Bills addressed a number of their more pressing needs which sets them up to really take the best player available.  The fact they don’t have a first-round pick makes its a bit tougher but the focus for this front office should be to bring depth at cornerback, add a younger pass rusher, a big wide receiver and a running back to compliment Devin Singletary. It would be great if J.K. Dobbins was available in the second round but otherwise a cornerback like Damon Arnette would be great.

Big changes to the AFC East this off-season, who do you see realistically winning the division?

The NFL is a QB-driven league and it is hard to imagine but the Buffalo Bills enter this season with the best QB in the AFC East. The improvement Josh Allen showed from Year 1 to Year 2 was a promising sign but he still has room to grow. The Bills collectively though are the most talented roster in the AFC East with the weapons they have on offense and the fact they bring back 9 or 10 starters from last year’s defense that was near the top of the league. The Buffalo Bills look to be the most complete team on paper heading into the NFL Draft.

For the first time in 20 years, the AFC East is going to be a divsion of young quarterbacks looking to make their mark on the NFL. While the Dolphins still have Ryan Fitzpatrick the reality is that the Dolphins will eventually move on to Josh Rosen or a quarterback they draft this year. The Bills have, as Croce said, a young guy Josh Allen and the Jets have the same with Sam Darnold. In New England, the Tom Brady era came to an end and the Patriots will be going with youth at the position as well.

It is too early to say who will run the division table but this year should provide a lot of competition but I would tend to agree with both of my fellow editors, it is the Bills if they want it. They have the talent and the least amount of turnover after a pretty good season last year. This year, the AFC East may indeed belong to the Bills.