AFC East pre-draft roster grades for the 2022 NFL offseason
The AFC East is poised to be an ultra-competitive division in 2022. Let’s hand out some free agency pre-draft grades for each team.
The AFC East was very active in free agency this offseason. The Buffalo Bills, for the second year in a row, fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Their offseason moves would indicate that they are preparing to make a giant step towards finally dethroning them.
The Miami Dolphins also were very active, making a splash hire at head coach and adding a ton of quality players on the offensive side of the ball.
The Patriots, well, after being the most aggressive team in free agency last offseason, were not nearly as active, but they did make a few notable decisions.
The New York Jets, well, they didn’t really make many headlines, but they improved on their 2021 roster.
This appears to be a three-team race in the AFC East now. All of the Bills, Dolphins, and Patriots can win the division.
The Bills do appear to be the clear favorite, but their division rivals are poised to give them a run for their money.
As we head towards the NFL Draft in a few weeks, let’s hand out some pre-draft letter grades for each team.
AFC East pre-draft roster grades
1. Miami Dolphins, A+
The Dolphins’ offseason was stellar. It was clear what their issues were, and they fixed them and then some.
Firing Brian Flores was a stupid decision, but hiring Mike McDaniel was a great move.
The Dolphins’ biggest issue perhaps was their offensive line, and they fixed a chunk of it by signing left tackle Terron Armstead, formerly of the Saints, and guard Connor Williams, formerly of the Cowboys.
They could probably add another quality lineman before the draft, but it’s clear the unit will be stronger next year.
They also added a ton of talent on offense, including Tyreek Hill, Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, and Cedrick Wilson. This is clearly a situation where Tua Tagovailoa has no excuses going into 2022, and the Dolphins gave him a ton to work with.
Miami re-signed nine of its own players as well, keeping many of their free agents.
On both sides of the ball, the Dolphins got better. I’m not sure, short of trading for a Deshaun Watson, they could have done anything more to improve their team.