Fantasy Football: AFC East Breakdown Recap
The Fantasy Footballers Podcast has begun their annual Divisional breakdown episodes! To kick things off, they dove into the AFC East on Episode #734. Here’s a quick summary of that episode covering the Patriots, Dolphins, Bills, and Jets. Listen/Watch the show for the full breakdown.
Average Draft Position listed in parenthesis are from Half PPR mock drafts on Fantasy Football Calculator.
New England Patriots
2018 Offensive Stats:
[lptw_table id=”160259″ style=”default”]Projected Week 1 Starters (ADP)
QB: Tom Brady (11.04)
RB: Sony Michel (4.11), James White (6.03)
WR: Julian Edelman (4.03), N’Keal Harry (8.12), Phillip Dorsett (Undrafted)
TE: Matt LaCosse (Undrafted)
Additions:
WR N’Keal Harry (Rookie)
RB Damien Harris (Rookie)
WR Demaryius Thomas
WR Dontrelle Inman
TE Ben Watson (SUSP two games)
Subtractions:
TE Rob Gronkowski
Offseason Summary:
The New England Patriots added some firepower to their offense on the back of yet another Super Bowl victory over the L.A. Rams last season. After losing Rob Gronkowski to retirement, the Patriots added N’Keal Harry in the first round of the NFL Draft to fill a void in the passing game. To attempt to replace Gronk, they added veteran, Ben Watson, who will be suspended the first few games of the year and have a late round sneaky target in fantasy drafts (currently free!) in Matt LaCosse. The rest of the WR depth chart is up in the air with veterans Phillip Dorsett, Demaryious Thomas, and (maybe) Josh Gordon. At the RB position, Sony Michel got company with the addition of rookie Damien Harris out of Alabama in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Miami Dolphins
2018 Offensive Stats:
[lptw_table id=”160260″ style=”default”]Projected Week 1 Starters (ADP)
QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick (Undrafted) / Josh Rosen (Undrafted)
RB: Kenyan Drake (5.03), Kalen Ballage (14.04)
WR: DeVante Parker (13.04), Albert Wilson (Undrafted), Kenny Stills (Undrafted)
TE: Mike Gesicki (Undrafted)
Additions:
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
QB Josh Rosen
RB Mark Walton
RB Myles Gaskin (Rookie)
Subtractions:
QB Ryan Tannehill
RB Frank Gore
Offseason Summary:
The Miami Dolphins are making no joke about it – they are positioning themselves for a full on rebuild for 2020 and beyond. The team started with firing Adam Gase and hiring former Patriots linebackers coach, Brian Flores, to be the new head coach. They also traded for Josh Rosen and signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to compete for the starting QB position after the departure of Ryan Tannehill. The other skill position groups remained largely unchanged, which should give these skill position players a chance to produce more than they did in 2018.
Buffalo Bills
2018 Offensive Stats:
Projected Week 1 Starters (ADP)
QB: Josh Allen (11.05)
RB: LeSean McCoy (9.11), Devin Singletary (11.04), Frank Gore, T.J. Yeldon
WR: John Brown (14.09), Zay Jones, Cole Beasley, Robert Foster
TE: Dawson Knox (Undrafted), Tyler Kroft (Undrafted)
Additions:
WR John Brown
WR Cole Beasley
RB Frank Gore
RB T.J. Yeldon
RB Devin Singletary (Rookie)
TE Tyler Kroft (injured – broken foot)
TE Dawson Knox (Rookie)
TE Tommy Sweeney (Rookie)
Subtractions:
TE Charles Clay
Offseason Summary:
The Bills attempted to sign Antonio Brown, but that clearly didn’t work out…so they signed a lot of WR2 free agents. The good news though, is that the team is clearly trying to surround Josh Allen with weapons in the passing game to help support the rushing attack. They also added several RBs to the depth chart, including rookie Devin Singletary out of Florida Atlantic, and free agents Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon. The Bills backfield may be crowded at the start of the year, but a true starter could emerge as the season progresses.
New York Jets
2018 Offensive Stats:
[lptw_table id=”160262″ style=”default”]Projected Week 1 Starters (ADP)
QB: Sam Darnold (14.10)
RB: Le’Veon Bell (1.09)
WR: Robby Anderson (6.09), Jamison Crowder
TE: Chris Herndon (14.04), (likely SUSP 2 games – not yet confirmed)
Additions:
RB Le’Veon Bell
RB Ty Montgomery
WR Jamison Crowder
TE Trevon Wesco (Rookie)
Subtractions:
RB Isaiah Crowell
Offseason Summary:
The New York Jets’ off-season started with a bang – hiring Adam Gase to replace Todd Bowles with an in-division hire after Gase departed from Miami. They followed that up with the signing of Le’Veon Bell to big money in free agency and added Jamison Crowder to the WR room. The biggest question mark in New York is whether or not Adam Gase will allow Le’Veon Bell to be a workhorse like he was in Pittsburgh, or will he get the Kenyan Drake treatment that we saw last year in Miami?