Predicted Order of Finish
AFC East
1. Buffalo- Despite a 13-3 finish and its first East Division crown since 1995 motivation or complacency shouldn’t be an issue for the Bills after coming up just short of reaching Tampa in 2020, the organization has made two home run moves by drafting QB Josh Allen in the first round in 2018 and trading for WR Stefon Diggs, the offense set a franchise record for points last year will continue to light up the scoreboard in 2021, the run game dropped off considerably from 2019 and must seek more balance, all of the success on offense overshadowed the defense’s drop off, as a result the front office went out and drafted two defensive ends in the first and second rounds, defensive minded HC Sean McDermott and coordinator Leslie Frazier will also get back tackle Star Lotulelei who opted out in 2020 due to Covid, if the d returns to form it’s LA or bust
2. New England- HC Bill Belichick is hell bent in 2021 on proving all of his success in Foxborough wasn’t a result of riding Tom Brady’s coattails, Belichick went out and signed a slew of offensive weapons along with drafting Alabama QB Mac Jones in the first round to amp up an offense that finished 27th in scoring and 30th in passing, Jones appears to be the expected franchise quarterback of the future and will benefit from a loaded backfield led by Damien Harris, defense was the same story as the Patriots went out and signed 3 D-Linemen, used a second round pick for another, and resigned Lawrence Guy to provide more strength up front after finished 26 in rushing yards allowed, Brady makes a much anticipated return in a Sunday Night showdown October 3rd
3. Miami- there is plenty of reasons for optimism for QB Tua Tagovailoa as he enters his second season with the team, he had a normal training camp and preseason to prepare after being hindered in 2020 returning from a hip injury, last year’s coordinator Chan Gailey who seemed to prefer backup Ryan Fitzpatrick is now gone, and finally he will be surrounded by the key offseason additions of Malcom Brown at RB and receivers Will Fuller V via trade and Jalen Waddle via draft, the defense finished in the bottom half in rush and pass yards allowed but finished 5th in scoring as a result of leading the NFL with 29 takeaways, the unit should continue to improve under HC Brian Flores who was a longtime defensive assistant in New England, cornerback Xavien Howard leads the secondary after tallying 10 interceptions last year, if Tua can develop the playoffs are certainly within reach
4. New York- The franchise turned the page after last year bringing in former D coordinator Robert Saleh as HC and also drafting BYU start QB Zach Wilson to take over for Sam Darnold who was traded to Carolina, Wilson is expected to lead the franchise back to national prominence and will benefit from working with coordinator Mike LaFleur who runs the West-Coast offense similar to that of BYU, the O-Line must perform better and will be helped out by 1st round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker, the defense front should once again be a strength after finishing 12th in the league in rush yards, the secondary struggled last year finishing 28th in pass yards and remains a big question, while defense is Saleh’s specialty he will hand over play calling to coordinator and former Falcons linebacker coach Jeff Ulbrich, Saleh is an upgrade from Adam Gase and that alone should translate into more victories
Buy- New England
Sell- Miami
Best Bet- Miami UNDER total wins