It was a wild day yesterday, and probably no division was busier than the AFC East. And that's with Tom Brady not yet signing anywhere, though he says it won't be New England. While the Dolphins were writing checks left and right, the Bills were bringing in one of the two best wideouts to change teams, Stefon Diggs.
The Minnesota wideout had been grousing about getting out of Minnesota for a while, unhappy with his role or not being the clear lead dog over Adam Thielen or whatnot. The Vikings obliged him by sending him to Buffalo for draft pick compensation that included a first-round pick -- a wee bit more than Houston managed for DeAndre Hopkins, who's a year older, for those keeping score at home.
It remains to be seen if Diggs will be happy about this fit, with Josh Allen slightly less proven as a passer than Kirk Cousins. But Buffalo definitely looks like a team on the rise -- strong defensively, and stocking up on talent offensively. With Diggs and John Brown, they now have two of the league's most productive deep threats on the same roster.
Last year 51 wide receivers caught at least 10 balls from 20-plus yards. Two of the 10 most productive guys in that regard were Diggs and Brown, now one of two teams (including Tampa Bay) to have a pair of those wideouts.
| DEEP THREAT WIDE RECEIVERS, 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | 20+ | 40+ |
| Chris Godwin | 86 | 1333 | 15.5 | 9 | 25 | 3 |
| Kenny Golladay | 65 | 1190 | 18.3 | 11 | 22 | 6 |
| DeVante Parker | 72 | 1202 | 16.7 | 9 | 21 | 7 |
| Cooper Kupp | 94 | 1161 | 12.4 | 10 | 21 | 4 |
| Julio Jones | 99 | 1394 | 14.1 | 6 | 21 | 3 |
| Stefon Diggs | 63 | 1130 | 17.9 | 6 | 20 | 8 |
| Jarvis Landry | 83 | 1174 | 14.1 | 6 | 20 | 2 |
| Michael Gallup | 66 | 1107 | 16.8 | 6 | 18 | 5 |
| Courtland Sutton | 72 | 1112 | 15.4 | 6 | 18 | 6 |
| John Brown | 72 | 1060 | 14.7 | 6 | 17 | 3 |
| Mike Williams | 49 | 1001 | 20.4 | 2 | 17 | 8 |
| Deebo Samuel | 57 | 802 | 14.1 | 3 | 17 | 1 |
| Mike Evans | 67 | 1157 | 17.3 | 8 | 17 | 7 |
| D.J. Chark | 73 | 1008 | 13.8 | 8 | 17 | 1 |
| Amari Cooper | 79 | 1189 | 15.1 | 8 | 17 | 6 |
| Michael Thomas | 149 | 1725 | 11.6 | 9 | 17 | 3 |
| Odell Beckham | 74 | 1035 | 14.0 | 4 | 16 | 3 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 104 | 1165 | 11.2 | 7 | 16 | 1 |
| Breshad Perriman | 36 | 645 | 17.9 | 6 | 15 | 1 |
| A.J. Brown | 52 | 1051 | 20.2 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| Randall Cobb | 55 | 828 | 15.1 | 3 | 15 | 2 |
| Terry McLaurin | 58 | 919 | 15.8 | 7 | 15 | 3 |
| Tyler Lockett | 82 | 1057 | 12.9 | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| Allen Robinson | 98 | 1147 | 11.7 | 7 | 15 | 1 |
| Keenan Allen | 104 | 1199 | 11.5 | 6 | 15 | 1 |
| Robert Woods | 90 | 1134 | 12.6 | 2 | 14 | 1 |
| James Washington | 44 | 735 | 16.7 | 3 | 13 | 4 |
| Chris Conley | 47 | 775 | 16.5 | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| Robby Anderson | 52 | 779 | 15.0 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| DK Metcalf | 58 | 900 | 15.5 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| D.J. Moore | 87 | 1175 | 13.5 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| Julian Edelman | 100 | 1117 | 11.2 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
| Tyrell Williams | 42 | 651 | 15.5 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
| Darius Slayton | 48 | 740 | 15.4 | 8 | 12 | 3 |
| Marvin Jones | 62 | 779 | 12.6 | 9 | 12 | 1 |
| Calvin Ridley | 63 | 866 | 13.7 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| Davante Adams | 83 | 997 | 12.0 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| Tyler Boyd | 90 | 1046 | 11.6 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
| Zach Pascal | 41 | 607 | 14.8 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| Anthony Miller | 52 | 656 | 12.6 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Tyreek Hill | 58 | 860 | 14.8 | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 66 | 869 | 13.2 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| Jamison Crowder | 78 | 833 | 10.7 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Corey Davis | 43 | 601 | 14.0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Will Fuller | 49 | 670 | 13.7 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| Golden Tate | 49 | 676 | 13.8 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| Dede Westbrook | 66 | 660 | 10.0 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| Cole Beasley | 67 | 778 | 11.6 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 75 | 804 | 10.7 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| John Ross | 28 | 506 | 18.1 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
Buffalo in recent days has also added to its defense, with cornerback Josh Norman and former Saints linebacker A.J. Klein. They lost Shaq Lawson, but he wasn't a starter on the defense. With Brown-Diggs-Devin Singletary, it's a nice offensive product they're putting on the field around Josh Allen.
DOLPHINS: The NFL's stingiest team last offseason while in tank mode, the Dolphins are spending like drunken sailors now. They handed out $193 million -- not a typo -- in multi-year deals to just four players yesterday -- Ereck Flowers, Shaq Lawson, Kyle Van Noy and Byron Jones. (There's also talk they're interested in Melvin Gordon, should they have another $30-40M burning a hole in their pockets.)
All of these players won't see all this money, most likely. Flowers, as a for instance, had one good year as a guard in Washington after being a bust at tackle with the Giants, so too soon to say they'll be glad about that purchase. And we'll see if Lawson and Van Noy play like difference-makers while removed from better Buffalo and New England defenses. But it must be conceded that Miami's defense will be better next year. It has to be. And Flowers, perhaps, will help protect whatever top rookie quarterback the Dolphins draft.
JETS: Sounds like the Jets got outbid by some teams on targets like Van Noy, because they're the Jets and their front office is inept. But they added George Fant from Seattle, which should help what was a terrible offensive line a year ago. And there's apparently some thought that Robby Anderson might re-up, although those dreams will probably be dashed today. Hey, at least they spent $163M less than Miami yesterday. But if Miami's investments prove sounds, New York is looking like the 4th-best team in the division.
PATRIOTS: Will the 21st century's dominant team be taking it on the chin in 2020? Let's not jump to conclusions, but it at least looks like Buffalo will be able to challenge for the top spot in the AFC East. It's no surprise New England wasn't handing out mammoth contracts yesterday; they never do. They'll bring in some cheaper guys in the second wave of free agency, draft a lot of guys, coach them up, and continue to be a force, in the division if nothing else.
But. Yesterday they lost two key members of their linebacking corps, Van Noy and Jamie Collins. They'll be breaking in a new quarterback this season, with Tom Brady announcing this morning that he's leaving town. A step back seems a little more likely at this point than another deep playoff run.
--Andy Richardson