2018 AFC East Draft Grades

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New England Patriots

Grade: B-

First-Round Pick: Isaiah Wynn-Guard-Georgia

Best Pick:Round Two-Sony Michel-Running Back-Georgia

You have to go back to 2000 to find the last time that the New England Patriots had a losing season. Since then the Patriots have won five Super Bowl Titles to go along with 15 AFC East Titles, and 12 seasons in which they’ve won at least 12 games. And that success for the Patriots begins at the National Football League Draft where they always don’t necessarily come away with stars, but they find players that fit their system in order to keep the machine going.

This off-season the Patriots were once again hit hard in free agency, but New England head coach Bill Belichick knows how to find replacements.

After trading wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, the Patriots entered the 2018 NFL Draft owning a pair of first-round picks. The Pats would uses the first of those selections on former Georgia Bulldogs guard Isaiah Wynn. Wynn is a “road grader”, and more importantly he fits the Patriots mode of being versatile. Wynn is a guard by trade, but he can also play offensive tackle, and at 6’2″, 313 lbs., he is athletic to boot.

Later on in the first round, the Patriots would stay with the Georgia theme as they selected Wynn’s college teammate in running back Nick Chubb. The Patriots lost running back Dion Lewis in free agency to the Tennessee Titans and they needed some new explosion at the tailback position which they’ll get from Chubb.

Chubb spent his time at Georgia splitting carries with running back Sony Michel who was taken several selections after him by the Cleveland Browns. But make no mistake about it that when Chubb turned the corner and got a head of steam, most defenders had a very hard time slowing him down. Now Chubb brings that hard running mantra to New England, while he’ll also be catching passes coming out of the backfield from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

In typical Patriots fashion, they used the remainder of the draft on players who might fly under the radar for now, but will become very valuable to this team over the next few years.

Buffalo Bills

Grade: B-

First-Round Pick: Josh Allen-Quarterback-Wyoming, Tremaine Edmunds-Middle Linebacker-Virginia Tech

Best Pick: Tremaine Edmunds

The 2017 National Football League season saw the Buffalo Bills end the longest current playoff drought in the league which dated back to 1999. But as the Bills saw that streak come to and end, they could not celebrate for long as they had numerous needs to fill on their team heading into the NFL Draft which was the result of trades, retirements, and free agency.

The Bills came into the draft owning a pair of first-round draft picks and it was no secret that they were in the market for a quarterback. The Bills had already traded up once in the first-round prior to the start of the draft after they had struck a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. But as the draft had begun, the Bills felt the need to move up again and their new trading partner would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they went from twelfth to seventh in order to select former Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen.

Josh Allen

At the end of the 2016 college football season, there were people who felt that Allen could have been the first overall pick had he elected to leave school early. However Allen stayed at Wyoming for one more season, and he failed to light it up. For Allen’s career at Wyoming, Allen only completed 56.2% of his passes, while he also failed to light it up in 2017 against his competition in the Mountain West Conference which doesn’t bode well for him heading to the NFL.

The Bills would once again move up in the first round in order to select former Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Edmunds plays with a high motor as he’s all over the field tackling everything in sight. And that intensity by Edmunds will allow him to develop a rapport rather quickly with the Bills fan base.

Coming into the draft, former Stanford Cardinal defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had the potential to be drafted early on in the second round, but he fell to Buffalo at the end of the third round. Phillips has an amateur wrestling background which translated to the gridiron as he led Stanford in tackles (102), and sacks (7) last year as a defensive tackle. Phillips has the versatility to be an end in a 3-4 defensive scheme, or a tackle in a 4-3 system which will fit into what Bills head coach Sean McDermott likes to do on defense which includes switching up his packages.

And if you’re looking for a player to have an immediate impact on special teams, then look no further than the Bills seventh round choice of former North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Austin Proehl. Proehl’s father Ricky was a wide receiver for several NFL teams such as the Carolina Panthers and St. Louis Rams. And just like dad, son Austin isn’t afraid to go over the middle as a slot receiver to get those tough yards. However Proehl’s toughness will see him start off as a special teamer; especially as a gunner on punt coverage as he could be the next coming of Steve Tasker in Buffalo.

Miami Dolphins

Grade B-

First-Round Pick: Minkah Fitzpatrick-Free Safety-Alabama

Best Pick: Minkah Fitzpatrick

The 2017 National Football League season was one to forget for the Miami Dolphins as it came apart so quickly. The Dolphins were done in by a lack of accountability by players which included too many of them being worried about their personal agendas as opposed to that of the team. Dolphins head coach Adam Gase has been focused on reshaping the Dolphins roster which saw him trade, or release several veteran players as he is hopeful that this draft class will help Miami to get back on track.

Minkah Fitzpatrick

The Dolphins were 16th in the National Football League in 2017 in pass defense and they got themselves a gift in the first round of the draft when they were able to select former Alabama Crimson Tide free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick joins the Dolphins as a highly decorated player which includes him being a two-time national champion, while also being the reigning Bednarik Award winner as the nation’s top defensive player as well as being the Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back. During Fitzpatrick’s time at Alabama, he was the “captain” of the secondary as he had the ability to call out plays and assignments for his teammates in the unit, along with being able to play multiple positions.

And those leadership qualities along with Fitzpatrick being a winner are what stick out the most for him joining the Dolphins as this is a franchise that is in need of a culture change.

Miami would use their second-round pick of former Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Mike Gesicki. Gesicki is a pass catching tight end who could be used in the role of an H-back, or as a bigger wide receiver. At 6’6″, 252 lbs., Gesicki is extremely athletic as he possesses a basketball background. And that hoops repertoire of Gesicki will be beneficial for Miami in the red zone.

The remainder of the draft saw the Dolphins attempting to get tougher on each side of the football as they are looking to put 2017 behind them and start anew for 2018.

New York Jets

Grade: C-

First-Round Pick: Sam Darnold-Quarterback-USC

Best Pick: Sam Darnold

Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles have three years under their respective belts as the general manager and head coach of the New York Jets, but surprisingly that time frame never saw the Jets use a first-round pick on a quarterback; especially since New York has failed to make the postseason over that stretch. However things would change for the Jets this year as they used the third overall pick on former USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold.

Sam Darnold

In two years as USC’s starting quarterback, Darnold threw 57 touchdowns to 22 interceptions which included him being the MVP of the 2017 Rose Bowl Game. At times Darnold can display supreme pocket awareness, while at other instances he can get flustered. Darnold struggled at times when he faced pro-style defenses in college, while he would also attempt to force the football at times. Darnold needs time to develop into being a National Football League quarterback, but he may not get that with the Jets.

The Jets traded up in order to get Darnold, and being that Bowles has yet to lead this team to playoffs, will he rush the development of Darnold in order to see what he has at quarterback?

Being that the Jets traded up to draft Darnold, they gave up several picks in the middle rounds that would have helped them to fill holes on this team which is going to make it more difficult for them to end their playoff drought which dates back to 2010.

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By | 2018-05-06T12:58:56+00:00 May 7th, 2018|Categories: National Football League|Tags: , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on 2018 AFC East Draft Grades

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