Checking in on the AFC East

Checking in on the AFC East

We’ve reached the point in the offseason where we’re a bit thin on exciting stories to report on. The lull between the draft and camps starting is maybe one of the only times when fans get to take a moment and collect themselves. I figured that this lull would be the perfect time to look at the AFC East as a whole and think about the major storylines for each team. 

Miami Dolphins

Starting off with our team, the Dolphins enter the 2026 season with low expectations. This season should serve as a reset year after the McDaniel era, which had us fooled into thinking that we might have a shot at competing for a championship. Jeff Hafley’s first season as head man should be similar to Brian Flores’ first season.

The bar is low, though the team will not be outright tanking as they were in 2019. What’s important this season is figuring out who is going to be here for the long haul. Will Malik Willis be the answer at quarterback? Will the rookies live up to their potential? It’s easy to say that I’m going to be laid back when evaluating the team this season, but let’s be honest, come mid-November, I’m sure I’ll be writing about my complaints. 

New York Jets 

The Jets are currently in the midst of 10 consecutive losing seasons. It’s difficult to imagine New York is worse in 2026 than they were in 2025, when they posted a record of 3-14. They added David Bailey out of Texas Tech as the second overall pick in the draft last week, which should help a unit that was in the bottom half of the league last season.

They added their own former second-round pick, quarterback Geno Smith, this offseason to be their starter. Smith had revitalized his career with the Seattle Seahawks, but had an extremely rough season with the Las Vegas Raiders last year. They also took a flyer on Cade Klubnik out of Clemson with their 4th round pick last week. Klubnik came into last season as a potential top pick, only to struggle and see his draft stock tumble. It’s a decent move as the potential for Klubnik is there, but if it doesn’t work out, they should be in a good position to draft a new signal-caller in 2027. 

New England Patriots  

As a huge fan of reality television, I have been enthralled by the drama that is the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini cheating scandal. Though I will try to be professional in this article, as the situation is more than just a tabloid story.

The defending AFC Champions are in an awkward position in the wake of the scandal, with Vrabel calling meetings with players to go over his actions while losing some credibility as a leader of men. For what it’s worth, I don’t expect Vrabel to get fired, but I also don’t see this story going away anytime soon, as we have seen a steady drip feed of new information. Will it derail their season? That’s the big question, one that I’m sure all of us will be following closely. 

Buffalo Bills 

It’s about time that this team either wins a Super Bowl or we all collectively move on from them as serious contenders. They fired Head Coach Sean McDermott, who brought the team to relevance but was never able to get them over the hump. In his place, they hired Joe Brady.

Brady has served as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator since 2024 and been with the team since 2022, as such I don’t really see how this will serve as much of a culture change. So long as they have Josh Allen, they will be competitive, but I don’t think the team has done enough to finally make the Super Bowl. 

So to summarize, the Dolphins and Jets are rebuilding their teams. The Patriots are in the midst of a major scandal that will likely follow them throughout the season. While the Bills made a lot of changes but maintained their underachieving feel. The more things change, the more they stay the same in the AFC East. 

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