During the month of August, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be breaking down every division in the league by position. This article contains a position-by-position breakdown of the AFC East‘s defenses and special teams. The breakdown will contain “the best” at each unit followed by “the rest” in descending order.
2016 AFC East Breakdown by Position: The Defense and Special Teams
Defensive Line
The Best: New York Jets
The Rest: New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills
All four of the defensive fronts in this division can certainly make the case for being the best in the league. But the edge goes to the Jets for a few reasons. The unit remained relatively intact after free agency, losing only Damon Harrison to the Giants. They have two dominant interior defensive lineman in Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson. The latter came to terms on a five-year extension after initially being franchise tagged. And the team added some depth with the signings of Jarvis Jenkins and Steve McClendon.
The Patriots finished second in the league with 49 sacks last season. Unfortunately, 12.5 of them came from Chandler Jones who has since been traded to the Cardinals. And they were dealt a blow in preseason after Rob Ninkovich tore a triceps muscle, forcing him out until October at the earliest. The team added veterans Chris Long and Terrance Knighton in free agency. But nevertheless, this unit’s depth will be tested early.
He got off to a slow start, but Ndamukong Suh eventually found his groove in his first season with the Dolphins. Pro Football Focus gave him the third highest pass rushing grade among interior defensive lineman last year. Though they lost Olivier Vernon in free agency, they added Mario Williams. The latter should be out to prove something after his time with the Bills ended so badly.
Perhaps one of the biggest stories of the 2015 season was the underperformance of the Bills defensive front. The most glaring example was in the sack category. After averaging 55.5 sacks the previous two seasons, Buffalo managed a measly 21 last year. That was second worst in the league. The team released Williams while adding Shaq Lawson and Adolphus Washington in the draft. Lawson won’t be available until midseason, though, after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Linebackers
The Best: New England Patriots
The Rest: New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins
In Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, the Pats boast quite the formidable linebacking tandem. Collins in particular was all over the field last year. He finished the season with 5.5 sacks, six pass breakups and an interception. His five forced fumbles led the league among linebackers. It led to the third-year pro out of Southern Miss being named to his first Pro Bowl.
The Jets linebacking corps has the potential to be exceptional moving forward. Ten-year veteran David Harris appears to have quite a few good years left. Darron Lee and Jordan Jenkins, selected in the first and third rounds of the 2016 draft respectively, look ready to contribute immediately. General manager Mike Maccagnan appears to be putting together a competitive squad. This group could be the hallmark of that.
Getting Reggie Ragland in the second round of the draft looked like a huge steal for the Bills. Most mock drafts had him going as early as the middle of the first. But he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in training camp. 11-year pro Manny Lawson adds a veteran presence to this unit in his fourth year with the team. And Preston Brown, who led all Bills linebackers in tackles and interceptions last year, will be looked at to continue his solid play.
The one prominent addition to the Dolphins crop of linebackers was acquiring Kiko Alonso in a trade with the Eagles. They also lost second-leading tackler Kelvin Sheppard to the Giants in free agency. Other than that, the unit remains pretty much as is from 2015. Jelani Jenkins and Koa Misi are expected to join Alonso as starters in Miami’s 4-3.
Cornerback
The Best: Buffalo Bills
The Rest: New York Jets, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins
As long as Darrelle Revis is playing at a reasonably competent level, it will always be tempting to put the Jets number one here. But the Bills boast two immensely talented starting corners in Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby. Getting the former to sign a long-term deal might be the biggest task the front office has heading into 2017. Darby finished with 21 pass breakups during his rookie season which was sixth best in the league. Nickell Robey-Coleman will reprise his role as the team’s primary option in nickel situations.
It’s pretty much a given that the first player who comes to mind when discussing Jets corners is Revis. The 31-year-old enters year two of his second stint with Gang Green with few signs of his shutdown skills letting up. His five interceptions was the second-highest total of his career. Marcus Williams added six picks playing both corner and strong safety. Add in Buster Skrine along with a healthy Dee Milliner and this is a hugely deep group in 2016.
Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler have gradually settled into being a reliable combo at corner for the Pats. The two were first and third among AFC East cornerbacks in combined tackles last season. Ryan had four interceptions in 2015 which was tied for sixth in the league among players at the position.
One of the more high profile off-season moves was the Dolphins trading down in the 2016 draft to bring in Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso from the Eagles. Maxwell was part of the Seahawks famed “Legion of Boom” defensive backfield before moving to Philly in 2015. A year later, he’ll be tasked with shoring up a Fins unit that lost Brent Grimes to the Bucs in free agency.
Safety
The Best: Miami Dolphins
The Rest: New England Patriots, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills
Reshad Jones has become a mainstay at safety for the Dolphins over his six seasons with the team. Last year, he displayed an immense work rate, recording 135 total tackles which was fourth best in the NFL. He also added five interceptions. In so doing, he became the first player in league history to record at least 125 tackles, five picks, ten pass breakups, two sacks and two defensive touchdowns. Adding Isa Abdul-Quddus from the Lions in free agency makes this the division’s best unit on paper in 2016.
It’s hard to find a more situationally sound tandem of safeties in the league than the Pats Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung. There’s a reason both received top ten grades from Pro Football Focus among players at the position. Their numbers don’t stand out statistically but they make big plays, especially in coverage, when it matters.
Marcus Gilcrhist signed with the Jets via free agency from the Chargers in 2015. He had an impressive first season with the team, recording 82 tackles and three interceptions. 2014 first round pick Calvin Pryor also made an impact with two interceptions and a forced fumble. Dion Bailey provides a reliable threat on safety blitzes.
Corey Graham is the undisputed leader of the Bills safeties. The Buffalo, NY native is entering his tenth year in the league and third with the Bills after signing in 2014. Last year, he led the team with 91 tackles and also recovered two fumbles. Fan favorite Aaron Williams returns at strong safety looking to bounce back after a scary neck injury suffered in Week 2 last season.
Special Teams
The Best: New England Patriots
The Rest: Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills
Patriots placekicker Stephen Gostkowski is about as good as it gets. Last year, he didn’t miss a single extra point and hit more field goals beyond 40 yards (16) than any other player. Punter Ryan Allen had just three touchbacks and 31 punts downed inside the 20. And Danny Amendola‘s 12 yards per punt return led the league among players who had at least one per game.
Miami’s special teams is a mixed bag. Kicker Andrew Franks‘ 81.3 percent field goal percentage tied for 26th in the NFL. But punter Matt Darr averaged 47.6 yards per kick which was third best in the league. Jarvis Landry‘s potential as a game-changing kick/punt returner should be on full display once more.
Randy Bullock and Nick Folk split kicking duties with the Jets last year. The two combined to go 11 of 17 from beyond 40 yards and missed just one extra point. On the punting front, Ryan Quigley averaged just 43.6 yards per kick which was 26th in the league in 2015. He has since signed with the Jaguars. Rookie punter Lachlan Edwards out of Sam Houston State was drafted in the seventh round.
The new extra point distance seemed to be an issue for Bills kicker Dan Carpenter. He hit just 85 percent of his PATs which was second worst in the league. But he was seven of eight on field goals between 40 and 49 yards. Colton Schmidt will be entering his third season as Buffalo’s punter. He improved his punting average by nearly four yards last year, averaging 46.3 yards per punt. New signing Reggie Bush is expected to assume punt and kick return duties.
Coaches:
The Best: New England Patriots
The Rest: Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins
Since Bill Belichick was named Patriots head coach in 2000, the Jets, Bills and Dolphins have had 21 head coaches both interim and permanent. Really the only constant since the turn of the century in the AFC East has been his presence and that of his quarterback Tom Brady. The 64-year-old’s 22 playoff wins with the Pats is 18 more than the next closest coach in the division, Rex Ryan. And his last win came in 2010.
Speaking of Ryan, it’s his overall experience relative to the other two coaches we haven’t mentioned that puts him second on this list. 2016 will be his eighth season as a head coach. And as mentioned before, he does have four playoff wins which is 11th among active coaches. But this is a make or break season for Ryan in Buffalo as the franchise looks to erase their now 16-year playoff drought.
Todd Bowles had a fairly impressive opening year as Jets head coach. The team went 10-6 and came within a win of making the playoffs. Much of the nucleus on both sides of the football returns in 2016. As such, expectations will be high for this team to build upon the positive momentum from last year and make a return to the postseason for the first time since 2010.
It’s not much of a surprise that new Dolphins head coach Adam Gase finds himself at the bottom of this list. The 38-year-old has no previous head coaching experience and is currently the youngest coach in the NFL. He has the reputation of being a quarterback whisperer given his work as offensive coordinator with the Broncos and Bears. That might be just what Ryan Tannehill needs. But it remains to be seen if Gase has what it takes to be a head coach in this league.
Be sure to check out the AFC East divisional breakdown on offense.
