2. New England Patriots (1)
It’s hard not to give the New England Patriots the first overall seed after they won it all a season ago. And who knows, by the time this season is in the books, they could very well be holding up the Lombardi Trophy once again while laughing at everyone who doubted them.
That’s not to say they’re being doubted at No. 2 here. Instead, it’s just the fact that they did lose a few key pieces this offseason. One loss came on the sidelines as their linebacker coach Brian Flores took a job coaching an AFC East rival — the Miami Dolphins.
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On the field, they lost defensive end Trey Flowers, defensive tackle Malcom Brown, and wide receiver Chris Hogan. All those losses will hurt, but nothing will sting as much as them saying goodbye to tight end Rob Gronkowski who decided to retire, due in large part to health concerns.
Gronk was arguably one of the best tight ends to ever play the game but took a beating, some of which came due to his willingness to give his all as a blocker. In the past, the Patriots have always just plugged in the next guy and been fine, but that won’t be the case. They’ll find targets and their first round pick, wideout N’Keal Harry, could be a Rookie of the Year candidate, but it won’t be the same as it was with No. 87 on the field.
However, even with all that being said about them missing Gronk, this team is going to be just fine and they’ll need to be dethroned before anyone in the AFC can go for their title.