With the 2024 NFL regular season around the corner, every team in the league is set to make some tough decisions, cutting down the roster to get 53 men who will start the year with Super Bowl aspirations.
However, with only so many playoff spots to secure, every team will be fighting to come out of their division as winners, or at least earn a wild card spot.
FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd gave his predictions for how each division will shake out before training camp began. Using those rankings, here is a breakdown of each team in each division, continuing with the AFC East.
1. Buffalo Bills
Colin says: “The Bills have won the division four straight years. I’m giving it to ‘em.”
While all the flash usually comes from the Dolphins and Jets in the offseason, it has been Buffalo consistently defending their throne in the AFC East, which is why Cowherd is just going to give it to them until someone else overtakes it.
The biggest difference from last season is no Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen’s number on target on offense, as he was traded to the Houston Texans.
However, Allen’s numbers when Diggs was hurt last season – a second-half surge that led to the Bills winning the division again – leads one to believe the Bills can still get the job done on both sides of the ball.
KEY ADDITION: WR KEON COLEMAN
With Diggs no longer with the team, perhaps the Bills can develop a new No. 1 receiver, and the Florida State product taken in the second round is someone with the potential.
Keon Coleman is expected to have a solid role in the Bills’ offense this year, as Allen has been known to spread the ball around. At 6-foot-3-inches, 215 pounds, Coleman has flashed his speed, verticality and solid route running throughout camp, making him someone that could be a deep ball threat for Allen, which is what Diggs and Gabe Davis provided at times over the years.
Allen is going to hit Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir and more on offense, but lookout for Coleman downfield if he can separate against NFL cornerbacks.
NFC WEST BREAKDOWN: HOW WILL THE DIVISION SHAKE OUT IN NFL SEASON?
BIGGEST QUESTION: IS THIS YEAR THE YEAR?
For so long, the Bills have been this team with Super Bowl potential, and they still are even with Diggs, Davis and Tre’Davious White – players that were among the reasons why they have had so much success the past few seasons – no longer on the team.
However, the Bills have not been able to get past the Kansas City Chiefs and make it back to the Super Bowl. Head coach Sean McDermott remains confident he has the team to get the job done. Allen and the rest of the locker room think the same.
Can they finally break free in the playoffs and run to New Orleans for a chance at a Lombardi Trophy?
Colin says: “The Dolphins, it’s an offensive league. Had the number one total offense in the NFL and Tua threw for 4,600 passing yards. It’s an offensive league.”
The number one offense in the NFL, schemed by Mike McDaniel, was simply a joy to watch in 2023. With Tua Tagovailoa leading the way, he just had to get it in the arms of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, newcomer De’Von Achane, Raheem Mostert and many others who provided explosive production all over the field.
However, with injuries hampering the defense, and sub-zero temperatures in their playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road, the Dolphins were quickly knocked out of the playoffs.
If the Dolphins can stay healthy in 2024, they return the same explosive players on both sides of the ball. Can it all click?
KEY ADDITION: S JORDAN POYER
Jordan Poyer has been one wreaking havoc on AFC East offenses for quite some time, as he became an All-Pro and captain with the Bills.
However, Poyer finds himself in the Sunshine State now, and he joins a solid secondary that includes Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller and Kader Kohou.
Poyer’s veteran presence, 100 combined tackles from a year ago and solid ball-hawking skills makes him a great addition to a playoff-ready team.
BIGGEST QUESTION: CAN STAR PLAYERS STAY HEALTHY?
Health is wealth for any NFL team, but Miami especially needs their stars to remain on the field throughout the season.
The Dolphins saw Ramsey, Achane, Terron Armstead, Keion Crossen, Chris Brooks, and others miss significant time last season due to injury.
Of course, injuries are something unpreventable in this game, but perhaps a fully healthy Dolphins roster, especially later in the season, can be the difference for a Super Bowl run. They have the talent – staying on the field is the biggest question now.
3. New York Jets
Colin says: “The Jets third. Yes, they have a great defense. O-line questions, head coach is defensive, Aaron [Rodgers] has not taken a snap more than four snaps in 559 days in the NFL.”
It was simply unfair for Jets fans, and fans of football for that matter, to only see four Rodgers snaps last season. He tore his Achilles at MetLife Stadium on “Monday Night Football,” absolutely crushing any hope the team had of breaking its playoff drought.
The Jets’ defense was stellar throughout the year, but Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Brett Rypien could not do a thing on offense to push them over to victories. New York finished 7-10 and the playoff drought moved to 13 years – the most in professional sports.
KEY ADDITION: NEW TACKLES
The Jets have Rodgers fully healthy again, Garrett Wilson has Mike Williams joining him from the Los Angeles Chargers, and many believe running back Breece Hall can expand on a stellar 2023 campaign as well.
NFC EAST BREAKDOWN: HOW WILL DIVISION SHAKE OUT IN 2024 NFL SEASON?
Why? Jets GM Joe Douglas did not mess around this offseason and fortified the offensive line, especially on the edges. Tyron Smith, the Dallas Cowboys’ eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle will cover Rodgers’ blindside, while Morgan Moses reunites with the team he played for in 2021.
While these two are both 33 years old, which brings up the old-age-injury question, they are massive upgrades from a season ago when the Jets’ offensive line was questionable yet again. If health is on their side, Rodgers and company should feel great knowing they have a solid veteran presence on that line.
BIGGEST QUESTION: CAN THEY BREAK THE DROUGHT?
This was last year’s biggest question for New York, as Jets fans surely believed Rodgers would help take this team back to the playoffs. However, it remains the question when Rodgers, who the Jets traded for last offseason, didn’t get to fulfill all the hype he and the team got throughout training camp.
Rodgers has been looking good at training camp, getting re-acclimated with Wilson and Hall, and creating new chemistry with Williams and third-round rookie receiver Malachi Corley.
All Jets fans will be holding their breaths in Week 1 for obvious reasons, but if Rodgers can get through that “Monday Night Football” game against the reigning NFC-champion San Francisco 49ers, perhaps they can once again believe the drought will end.
4. New England Patriots
Colin says: “Patriots fourth. I think that’s the first- or second-worst offensive roster in the league.”
Well, Cowherd has a point here when looking at the new-look Patriots without Bill Belichick.
The Patriots’ new era under Jerod Mayo begins as a rebuild, and No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye at quarterback starts that. However, his supporting cast does not compare to those in their division, let alone the rest of the NFL.
However, Mayo does have some good pieces on defense to work with. New England was good on this side of the ball, which is typical of Belichick-run Patriots squads for the last two decades. Trading Matthew Judon due to a contract dispute is a big loss, but it is still a unit that can pester offense in 2024.
KEY ADDITION: QB DRAKE MAYE
Mayo still has not named his starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, though he did point out that the decision could come on Thursday.
Mayo did, however, mention that Maye outplayed his veteran competition, Jacoby Brissett, during the preseason. However, whether he starts under center in Week 1, Week 4, or Week 8, the future of the Patriots franchise lies in the North Carolina product’s hands.
Maye has been as professional as they come, according to all the reports in camp, and he has showcased why many teams were high on him back in April. With Mac Jones not working out, and the Patriots entering what feels like limbo for Patriots fans because they have only known Belichick and winning for so long, Maye’s production at quarterback will be garnering lots of attention and rightfully so.
He is the future, and Patriots fans would like to see that become the present sooner rather than later.
BIGGEST QUESTION: IS MAYO THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB?
With a roster that appears inferior on paper to the rest of the teams in the division, Mayo is handed a tough task in his first year as a head coach anywhere, let alone taking over for perhaps the greatest to ever wear that hat in NFL history.
Patriots fans will need to be patient with this team in 2024, but the moves Mayo makes, the culture he puts in place in the locker room, how he interacts with the media and virtually everything he does on and off the field will answer the question above.
Mayo has worked his way through the ranks to reach this point in his coaching career, and he has the opportunity to solidify his seat as the next great head coach in New England starting next week.
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