One Bold Draft Move for Each AFC East Team
A look at one big move for every team in the AFC East that could shock the league and shake up the NFL Draft.
The amount of “boldness” in an act is relative to those involved: It would be bold for me to ask a supermodel on a date, but that’s just another Tuesday for Leo DiCaprio. That relativity stretches to football, where some teams are eager to make big moves while others sit back and let the draft come to them.
I am going through each division and naming one bold move each team could make either during or around the draft. For some, this means aggressively adding a player at a position of need; others would be bold by changing their usual strategy.
Let’s start in the AFC East, where all four teams are teetering to different degrees and have decisions to make on how to fill holes with veterans versus rookies.
Buffalo Bills
Trade into the top 10 for a wide receiver
By trading Stefon Diggs and letting Gabe Davis leave in free agency, the Bills currently have 2022 fifth-round pick Khalil Shakir at the top of their depth chart, followed by Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins, two free agent signings who are complementary pieces.
The Chiefs just won the Super Bowl without an imposing group of wide receivers, but Travis Kelce has filled the role of top receiver; is Dalton Kincaid ready for that challenge? The most likely outcome is that the team will add at least one impact wide receiver before the season starts (and maybe more).
This draft is rich with receiving talent, including a few potential superstars at the top. Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State is likely to be the first non-quarterback selected, and LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze are guys many say would be top-10 prospects almost every year.
The top eight picks have often been projected to include four quarterbacks, two wide receivers, an offensive lineman and a defensive player. If that holds, the Bears will come up at No. 9 with either Nabers or Odunze on the board.
Chicago has been linked to the top receivers, but they traded for Keenan Allen this offseason, eliminating the short-term need. The Bears also own only four picks in this draft and could look to trade back from the ninth pick to accumulate more selections.
If Buffalo offers second- and fourth-round picks this year (No. 60 and No. 128) and a second rounder in 2025, the Bears may be tempted to move back to 28th in the first round and let the Bills take the third receiver off the board. (This could also include Buffalo’s first-round pick next year, but I focused on adding another pick in 2024, and this deal could involve late-round selections as well).
This receiving core would look a lot different with Odunze at the top if he performs near expectations. A team that lost multiple impact players over the last few years would be better served holding onto their picks and building depth, but adding high-level talent is the best way to push the Bills to another level.
Miami Dolphins
Trade back in both Round 1 and Round 2
Other than No. 21 in the first round and No. 55 in the second round, Miami owns four Day 3 picks. That’s not going to cut it for a team that had to let go of a lot of talent due to budget constraints, notably losing guard Robert Hunt and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency.
Both of those players were arguably overpaid, but their absences left two holes on the starting lines. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is due for an extension, which will surely reach the $50 million per year mark, and receiver Jaylen Waddle’s fifth-year option will be extended this offseason, meaning his payday is coming as well.
Cheap talent is the best way to offset high salaries, and that comes mostly through the draft. Miami has spent the last few years building veteran talent, but it has come at the expense of their draft classes: They drafted just four players in both 2022 and 2023.
Their current set of picks would seem to point to another underwhelming class, but the Dolphins can help themselves by trading back with both of their early picks, adding selections to help supply the depth chart with youth.
Given their status as a playoff contender, it’s tempting to say the Dolphins should strike big and try to find two impact players early in the draft, even considering trading up. That’s a good way to create a roster barren of depth, though, that can’t match up to more complete teams.
It may not seem bold to take the safer route, but it is a change from the team’s recent pattern and would present a new challenge: finding talent on Day 3.
New England Patriots
Trade back from the third overall pick
Teams aren’t often in the position to add a potential franchise quarterback. Trading a fortune, as the Browns did when acquiring Deshaun Watson, can be defensible in the right situation, but choosing a young passer at the top of the draft is the most cost-efficient way to get a QB who can lead the team to success.
The Patriots are in that place now, holding the third pick in a draft in which three quarterbacks are seen worthy of top picks. The easy solution would be to sit back and take whichever guy is left after the first two selections, and no one would fault them.
The player remaining on the board when the Patriots’ pick comes up could influence their decision. If the team loves either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye and doesn’t see the other as worthy of a top-three pick, they could gain a lot of surplus value by trading down and building up the roster instead.
The Minnesota Vikings are probably the team most likely to trade up for a quarterback after adding the 23rd overall pick from Houston a few weeks back. Both the Jimmy Johnson and Chase Stuart trade value charts see Minnesota's 11th and 23rd picks as close to equal value for the third overall pick; New England would start with those two and next year’s first-round pick, and more would likely be added.
New England built up their supporting offensive cast this offseason by signing or re-signing no less than six players who will be expected to start or play in the rotation. They created an ecosystem in which a quarterback has a chance to thrive and succeed: Teams saw what happened with Bryce Young in Carolina last season and surely made note that young players need competence around them.
Drafting a quarterback is the most likely outcome, but New England can add a lot of value if they’re patient.
New York Jets
Make two first-round picks
Aaron Rodgers is in the last year of his contract, will turn 41 before the end of the season, and is coming off an Achilles injury that cost him almost all of 2023. It doesn’t take any kind of inside NFL knowledge to see that this could be his last season and the best chance for the Jets to win big for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, an all-in approach to the draft would make sense, and using future assets to build the 2024 team might be a necessary evil. The team has no second-round pick because of the Rodgers trade, so they would have to give up next year’s first and more to make this happen.
It might be worth it with a few upgrades available early. The Jets have been linked to Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with their pick at No. 10, a guy seen as maybe a top-five player in the draft who could fall due to his position. No TE on their roster offers the kind of potential that Bowers would bring.
Though the Jets brought in Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses to presumably man the ends on the offensive line, both will play most of the season at 33 years old and are set to be free agents at the end of the year. Especially considering Smith’s injury issues, adding a high-level offensive tackle prospect would make the team better this year and in the future.
Potential starters at both tackle spots are projected to be drafted near the end of the first round and into the second, so the Jets could look to make a deal with a team like Baltimore at No. 30 who has a history of trading back. That would allow New York to grab a guy who can play as a swing tackle and fill-in this season before starting full time next year.
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