The AFC East features some of the best players in the NFL, including Miami Dolphins star WR Tyreek Hill, and Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen.
But with the release of Pro Football Network’s NFL Top 100 list, how many players from the division made the cut, and where does New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers land after missing all but four snaps in 2023 due to a torn Achilles?
AFC East Players in PFN’s NFL Top 100
1) Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins (7th overall)
Tyreek Hill led the NFL in receiving yards (1,799) and receiving TDs (13) and finished second in receptions (119), all while running just the 41st-most routes of any wide receiver. His efficiency was astounding, as his 3.85 yards per route run mark blew the modern record out of the water.
If there’s a defining image from the 2023 NFL campaign, it might be Hill streaking down the field, blowing past every defender for a score.
2) Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (11th overall)
Sixteen NFL QBs have posted at least 2,000 dropbacks over the past four years. While there’s a significant gap between Mahomes and Josh Allen (0.215) in EPA per dropback during that span, there’s another enormous chasm between Allen at No. 2 and the rest of the league.
Allen doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring or much personal hardware to speak of, but he’s been among the league’s best signal-callers since the decade began.
3) Sauce Gardner, CB, New York Jets (20th overall)
Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, only three defenders have earned first-team All-Pro nods in each of their first two seasons: Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, Parsons, and Sauce Gardner, who’s on an early Hall of Fame track with the New York Jets.
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NFL quarterbacks were terrified to throw at Gardner last year. In 2023, he was the only cornerback to start at least 14 games and receive fewer than 60 targets. Gardner only saw 55 targets in his coverage area last season as QBs avoided the former No. 4 overall pick’s zone. He’s broken up 31 pass attempts through two NFL campaigns while allowing just two touchdowns.
4) Quinnen Williams, DT, New York Jets (31st overall)
Quinnen Williams managed just 5.5 sacks in 2023 after putting up 12 in 2022, but those numbers don’t tell the entire story. He finished second behind Donald and Jones in interior pressures and ranked eighth among DTs in pass-rush win rate.
Williams simply got unlucky when converting that pressure into sack production.
5) Jalen Ramsey, CB, Miami Dolphins (36th overall)
While the Los Angeles Rams asked Jalen Ramsey to do a little bit of everything, he played almost exclusively on the boundary after being traded to the Dolphins in 2023. Ramsey tore his meniscus in training camp but returned in Week 8, mainly looking like the same elite CB we’d seen in years past.
Ramsey allowed just a 53.8% completion rate and 51.1 passer rating after coming back from his knee injury. Few corners boast Ramsey’s superior blend of coverage and run-defense skills, which could make him an excellent safety when the time comes. However, a potential position change is still a few years away.
6) Quincy Williams, LB, New York Jets (65th overall)
Quincy Williams has transformed into a Pro Bowl linebacker since joining the Jets as a 2021 waiver claim.
In 2023, Williams led the NFL with 80 defensive stops, but he wasn’t a pure run-stopping linebacker. He also finished second among linebackers in pass breakups (10) and played the third-most LB snaps from the slot.
7) Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins (66th overall)
Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.9) and touchdown rate (6.3%) in 2022 and paced the league in passing yards (4,624) in 2023. His statistics suggest an MVP candidate who should comfortably rate among the NFL’s highest-paid players.
Tua is undoubtedly aided by Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s dynamic scheme and the presence of superstar wideouts like Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but Miami doesn’t have many alternate paths to a quarterback upgrade.
8) Matt Milano, LB, Buffalo Bills (73rd overall)
The NFL’s poster child for safety-to-linebacker converts, Matt Milano has always been a solid coverage defender because of his defensive back history. The Bills LB earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2022 after posting 99 tackles, three interceptions, and 11 pass breakups.
Milano should be ready to return in Week 1 after suffering a season-ending leg fracture last October.
9) Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins (77th overall)
Despite battling injuries in 2023, Jaylen Waddle still went over 1,000 receiving yards for the third straight season and ranked eighth in the NFL with 2.52 yards per route run.
He’s been overshadowed by Hill in Miami, but the elder Dolphins wideout turned 30 in March. Waddle, who led the league with 18.1 yards per catch in 2022, could see an increased target share as Hill ages.
10) Jevon Holland, S, Miami Dolphins (79th overall)
Jevon Holland might have given us the most comical play from the 2023 NFL season when he intercepted Jets QB Tim Boyle’s end-of-half Hail Mary attempt and returned it for a 99-yard touchdown.
That was Holland’s first pick-six and fifth interception of his career, but that ball production understates his ability as a center-field safety. Set to play in his third scheme in as many seasons under new Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, Holland needs to stay healthy after missing five complete games and parts of others with knee issues in 2023.
11) Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets (80th overall)
Trying to predict how Aaron Rodgers will perform in 2024 is almost impossible. While he won back-to-back MVPs as recently as 2020 and 2021, Rodgers is now 40 years old, coming off a torn Achilles, and still trying to get his New York Jets stint off the ground.
The talent is probably still there, but Rodgers’s myriad question marks – punctuated by his mercurial personality and odd offseason – make the legendary QB a total mystery.
12) Tyron Smith, OT, New York Jets (84th overall)
Injuries have always been an issue for the 33-year-old Tyron Smith, who hasn’t completed a full slate of games since the 2016 campaign.
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However, he’s typically excellent when available. Smith handled 1-on-1 pass-blocking situations on 84.5% of his snaps last season, the third-highest among left tackles, per Next Gen Stats. His 6.7% pressure rate allowed on those snaps was the best mark in the NFL.
13) Christian Barmore, DT, New England Patriots (94th overall)
Always a dependable interior presence, Christian Barmore broke out with a career year in 2023, setting new highs in sacks (8.5), tackles (64), tackles for loss (13), and QB hits (16).
He’s still ascending and could emerge as an even more dominant force in his fourth NFL season. The New England Patriots saw enough to hand Barmore a four-year, $84 million extension in April.