AFC East stock up, down at midpoint: Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill cruising toward 2,000-yard goal

At the season's midpoint, here's whose stock is up and down in the AFC East.

Stock up 

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins wide receiver: While the entire Dolphins offense deserves praise for leading the league in nearly every major category, Hill has been the catalyst behind the unit's success. Some may have initially dismissed Hill's goal of becoming the first 2,000-yard receiver in a single season, which he set during the offseason, but the achievement is well within reach.

During last week's 31-17 win over New England, Hill became the first player in the Super Bowl era to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the eighth game of a season. Aside from ranking first in receiving yards (1,014), Hill is also atop the NFL in receiving yards per game (126.8) and receiving touchdowns (eight), scoring at least once in seven of his eight contests. As long as Hill maintains his blistering pace, he should be a lock to take home the Offensive Player of the Year Award. 

Terrel Bernard, Buffalo Bills linebacker: Buffalo needed to fill Tremaine Edmunds' starting role after he signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency and turned to Bernard, who has proven to be an upgrade over the former first-rounder. Bernard has posted a team-high 76 tackles and two interceptions, along with two sacks and six tackles for loss, all of which are more than Edmunds has collected in Chicago.

As the year has progressed, the Bills defense has been decimated by injuries, including a leg fracture and a season-ending knee injury sustained by Matt Milano, the unit's top linebacker. However, Bernard has been particularly impressive since Milano went down and is averaging eight solo tackles over the last four games, the second-most in the NFL during that span.

Robert Saleh, New York Jets head coach: After acquiring QB Aaron Rodgers, Saleh entered the season needing to prove he was the right man to lead such a talented roster. Expectations changed once Rodgers suffered an Achilles injury in Week 1, which forced Zach Wilson back into the starting role and appeared to have ended any hopes the Jets had about winning the Super Bowl.

Although the Jets may not be the championship contender they could've been with the four-time MVP, Saleh has his team in the mix for a playoff spot and on a three-game winning streak. If he can lead the Jets to the playoffs, Saleh will have a compelling case for Coach of the Year honors, an award he holds the third-shortest odds of earning, according to OddsChecker (+800). 

Stock down

Mac Jones, New England Patriots quarterback: New England's addition of OC Bill O'Brien hasn't been enough to help Jones revert back to his Pro Bowl form. In fact, the numbers suggest Jones has taken a step back under O'Brien, as he is averaging a career-worst 205.1 passing yards per game, and his 10 turnovers are the third-most among signal-callers.

One could argue that Jones' struggles stem more from his underwhelming pass catchers than his own inability, though there's no denying that the third-year quarterback will be playing for his career over the team's final nine games. While New England has the 13th-most favorable remaining schedule, according to Tankathon, it'll be challenging for Jones to perform well enough to get the 2-6 Patriots out of range for a blue-chip quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft.  

James Cook, Buffalo Bills running back: The decline in Cook's stock has nothing to do with his on-field performance but rather how he's being utilized in Buffalo's offense. Cook's 4.8 yards per carry are the second-most among running backs with at least 100 rushing attempts this season, yet he's been splitting reps with Latavius Murray and Damien Harris. Now the team has added Leonard Fournette to the mix as well.

The 2022 second-round pick has shown that his efficiency doesn't take a hit when given an extensive workload, as Cook averages 109 all-purpose yards in games with at least 16 touches. Buffalo's offense has been inconsistent at times, and a possible solution could be to give Cook more opportunities and cut back on the carries for its collection of aging running backs. 

Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami Dolphins defensive end: Despite carrying the largest cap hit of any Dolphin, as well as having back-to-back nine-sack seasons in 2020 and 2021, Ogbah has lost his place in Vic Fangio's defense. The 29-year-old has racked up eight tackles, 2.5 sacks and an interception this season but has played just 24.4% of Miami's defensive snaps despite being available for each game.

Ogbah's struggles have intensified over his last two games, as he played nine total snaps and didn't post a single stat. His lofty contract likely precluded Miami from trading him at the deadline since it would've had to attach draft picks or pay a substantial amount of his salary, so without a significant injury, Ogbah won't get meaningful reps anytime soon.