AFC Position Group Breakdown

[GunnerBill]

5 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

Bills secondary is probably the best in the nfl. No question a 4 and easily the strongest unit on the team.

 

If Earl Thomas is anything like his old self then the best secondary in the NFL is the Ravens. Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Tony Jefferson and Earl Thomas. I mean I have no idea how you move the ball on that. The Chargers is pretty awesome too. Derwin James might have been the best rookie in the NFL last year - even if he wasn't flashy enough to get the DROY award. Casey Hayward is an elite cornerback and in Desmond King they have the best slot corner in the NFL. The slight weakness last year was alongside James at safety but they nabbed Nasir Adderley in the draft and if he can hit the ground running then they will be pretty awesome.

 

The Bills are in the conversation though certainly. White, Poyer, Hyde are very good. Wallace still has to grow but played pretty well for a rookie and I think Taron Johnson was a steal at nickel (and was the Bills best performing 2018 rookie by some distance before his injury). You have to throw the Patriots in there as well. Devin McCourty is elite and Gilmore certainly played at an elite level last year then Jason McCourty and Patrick Cheung are seasoned vets who epitomise "do your job". The Bears secondary was great last year too. I remain a little unconvinced by them at corner - Kyle Fuller had a career year last year but I need to see him back it up before I crown him. But Eddie Jackson was outstanding in year 2 at safety - a deserving 1st team all pro - and now they add HaHa Clinton Dix who is underrated by people who remember one play in a playoff game his rookie year.... so they can take another step too Fuller is legit. Vikings - great safeties, meh at corner; Jaguars - great corners, meh at safety. The Jets have a pretty good 3 too, their safeties are a top 3 duo and Johnson is a very good corner (though not in that elite company). They are let down a little by the opposite corner spot which has been a bit of a revolving door.

 

That's probably my top 8:

 

1. Ravens

2. Chargers

3. Bills

4. Bears

5. Patriots

6. Jaguars

7. Vikings

8. Jets

 

There are some other secondaries that could really jump forward this year too - Cleveland and Arizona both have real talent back there now and snagged the top 2 corners in this draft. If they can put it all together they have a chance to be great.

[vincec]

It's so hard to break teams down by position group and get an accurate reading of their overall quality. So much depends on cohesion and execution as a team. That's where the Patriots excel. They have great coaching, great leadership, team first players and experience at QB so that the whole is always more than the sum of their parts.

[Wayne Cubed]

I could disagree with a couple of the position groups but I think the overall numbers feel right, although I'd say the Bills/Jets are probably a bit closer to the Pats and the Dolphins probably aren't that low down.