The AFC East will be very fun to watch in 2019. Can Tom Brady continue to be an ageless wonder? Will Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and (newly acquired) Josh Rosen take steps forward in their 2nd seasons and become franchise QBs? Will the Bills, Dolphins, or Jets finally end the Patriots’ 10 year run as division champs?
With all of these questions looming, let’s take a look at some of the most anticipated position battles we’ll see in training camp in the AFC East.
Buffalo Bills
Over the past 2 seasons Tre’Davious White has amassed 123 total tackles, 6 INTs, 26 passes defended, and 2 fumble recoveries. It’s pretty safe to say that he is locked in as a starter on the Bills’ defense. The question is: who will be the starter on the other side of the field?
Will it be the incumbent Levi Wallace, who started 7 games for the Bills last season? Will it be journeyman E.J. Gaines, who has previous experience with the Bills? Or will it be Kevin Johnson, the former first-round pick? Johnson has the most upside of the group, but injuries have plagued the 26 year old in his four years in the league.
Whoever it will be, they will be tasked with coverage duties in a division that boasts arguably the greatest QB of all time and two up-and-comers looking to have breakout seasons.
Miami Dolphins
Who doesn’t love a good, old fashioned battle in training camp for the starting QB position? Well, um, maybe Miami Dolphins fans, who have been watching their team search for their long term answer at QB since Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season.
After three injury-plagued seasons, the Miami Dolphins decided to move on from QB Ryan Tannehill. On March 15, they traded the former first-round pick and a sixth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a fourth-round pick (2020) and a seventh-round pick (2019). Shortly thereafter, on March 18, they signed free agent veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to a two-year deal followed by a bold move on day two of the draft by Dolphins GM Chris Grier when the he traded their second-round pick for Arizona Cardinals’ former 10th overall pick, Josh Rosen.
Fitzpatrick is the starter, but he has to know that he’ll have a very small window for error with a hungry Rosen nipping at his heels for the starting role. He wants to prove that the Arizona Cardinals made a terrible mistake by trading him.
This’ll be fun to watch unfold in training camp and the preseason.
New England Patriots
We knew the New England Patriots would look vastly different in 2019 the moment Rob Gronkowski published his retirement announcement via Instagram on March 24th. The 4x All-Pro was one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets year after year, and was a major contributor in the three Super Bowls he won with the team.
Trying to plug the giant hole that Gronk left at the tight end position will be 15 year NFL veteran Benjamin Watson (serving a 4-game suspension to begin the season for failing a drug test in March), and newly acquired free agent acquisitions Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Matt LaCosse.
LaCosse may have a leg up in the competition as of now considering he was one of the Patriots’ first signings in free agency. That may be indicative of how highly the club values him. If you factor in Seferian-Jenkins‘ injury issues and Watson’s looming suspension, it may just lead to the 26 year old’s time to shine in the NFL. Watson will be available for training camp and the preseason however, so the job certainly won’t be handed to him on a silver platter.
New York Jets
There’s no doubt that Trumaine Johnson will be a starter in the Jets’ secondary in 2019. The savvy veteran recorded 4 INTs in his first season with the team, and he’s entering only his second year into the five-year, $72.5 million contract the New York Jets gave him prior to the 2018 season. The position battle will be who will line up on the field opposite him.
Darryl Roberts, Parry Nickerson, Blessuan Austin will be duking it out for the other starting CB spot. Roberts has started 16 games for the Jets over the past three seasons, but the numbers he’s put up are nothing to write home about. Nickerson was used sparingly in his rookie season, tallying just 1 pass defended and 21 total tackles. Austin was a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft following two final seasons at Rutgers in which he only appeared in 5 total games. The Jets definitely drafted Austin on potential, and they hope the 6-foot-1, 198-pounder will be the steal of the draft.
The No. 2 CB position is up in the air. The only possible front runner may be Roberts based solely on the fact that he has the most experience with the team of the three candidates.
