NFL All-Division Tournament: AFC East vs. AFC West
Everyone has heard of “All-Division Teams”, but have you taken part in an “All-Division Tournament”? Each NFL team site editor on the FanSided Network teamed up to create an All-Division Team for their division, and the collaboration involved among editors yielded a team of 22 starts. We left the construction of the rosters up to each “division”, since these four members operate as a head coach, and a few divisions decided to be creative in order to maximize the talent on their squad.
This battle in the first round of our tournament pits the AFC East against the AFC West, and both lists unsurprisingly have their fair share of New England Patriots and Denver Broncos players. That said, there’s so much more to each division than the Pats and Broncos, as the AFC West sent a total of three teams to the playoffs last year, and the Oakland Raiders made plenty of improvements this past offseason. Their approach to add solid players was the right one, but their lack of stars made jack-of-all-trades fullback Marcel Reece their lone representative. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins nearly missed out on a playoff spot, while the New York Jets have some gems in the trenches and the Buffalo Bills have a deep roster.
Below is the AFC East’s All-Division Team, and it features some of the big names like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Darrelle Revis, and Nick Mangold, as well as some less-obvious contributors like Aaron Williams and Kraig Urbik of the Buffalo Bills. Their defensive line looks absolutely scary with Mario Williams and Cameron Wake on the edge, and the New York Jets elite 3-4 DE duo wreaking havoc on the inside. Oh, and good luck throwing the ball at their cornerbacks.
AFC East Offense
QB Tom Brady
RB C.J. Spiller
WR Mike Wallace
WR Sammy Watkins
WR Robert Woods
TE Rob Gronkowski
LT Nate Solder
C Nick Mangold
RG Kraig Urbik
AFC East Defense
DE Mario Williams
DE Cameron Wake
LB Kiko Alonso
LB Jerod Mayo
CB Brent Grimes
CB Darrelle Revis
S Aaron Williams
Now that we have the AFC East’s team all wrapped up, let’s take a look at what the deep AFC West has to offer. Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, and Demaryius Thomas headline an elite trio on the offensive side of the ball, and the thought of Keenan Allen catching passes from Peyton, instead of Philip Rivers, is probably enough to make San Diego Chargers fans cringe. On the defensive side of the ball, Von Miller and Justin Houston are a nightmare duo on the edge, and Terrance Knighton and Dontari Poe are almost as scary of a DT duo. But what might give Tom Brady the most pause is the AFC West’s safety tandem, which features two elite players who can do just about everything well at the position. This duo meshes so well together that they even have the same name, and that’s even more impressive than their ability to possibly neutralize Gronk.
AFC West Offense
QB Peyton Manning
RB Jamaal Charles
FB Marcel Reece
WR Demaryius Thomas
WR Keenan Allen
LT Ryan Clady
RT D.J. Fluker
AFC West Defense
DT Terrance Knighton
NT Dontari Poe
LB Justin Houston
LB Von Miller
CB Aqib Talib
CB Chris Harris Jr.
With both rosters in mind, it’s time to vote for the division that would win if both of these teams faced off head-to-head. We’ll take a look at the results on the poll below, and the winning team will live another day in our tournament.
[polldaddy poll=”8196686″]
Be sure to vote in the other NFL All-Division Team first round matchups:
NFC East vs. NFC South
AFC North vs. AFC South
NFC North vs. NFC West