Today we get to the final group of our positional rankings with special teams. These players can change the entire direction of a game and the average fan might not even realize it.
4. Miami Dolphins - TBD (K), Tyler Newsome (P). Any time you have a "to be determined" in these rankings, you aren't likely to be near the top. The Dolphins traded away their rookie sensation kicker Jason Sanders to division rival Buffalo and are left trying to sort out who will be asked to win a game as time expires. Currently, Miami has Cole Tracy, Younghoe Koo, and Matt McCrane attending camp to battle for the position. We like Tracy as the favorite but his odds are just slightly better than a roll of the dice. Newsome is a rookie who will look to flip the field for the Dolphins when the offense stalls. He turned some heads by benching 30 reps at Notre Dame's pro day, but it's his lower body strength Miami likes. Overall, there really isn't any experience here so we wonder if that will play a role in tight games this season.
3. Buffalo Bills - Jason Sanders (K), Corey Bojorquez (P). As mentioned above, Buffalo went out and traded for Sanders which was an immediate upgrade over the struggling Chris Boswell. Sanders was close to automatic as a rookie and is knocking on the door of top 10 in the NFL. Look for him to win close games for the Bills this season. Bojorquez showed flashes of excellence, but ultimately struggled with consistency last year. He is going to need to do better this year and with Buffalo thinking Super Bowl title, early struggles could result in him being out of a job.
2. New York Jets - Jason Myers (K), Lachlan Edwards (P). Myers emerged into top kicker last season after three seasons of struggles that saw him bouncing around the league. He settled in and earned himself a top-10 contract for the position. We have to wonder if he truly found his stride in 2018 or have the Jets just paid for fools gold? Edwards was slightly better than Bojorquez but not by much. However, it was just enough though to tip the Jets into number two on our list.
1. New England Patriots - Dan Bailey (K), Michael Dixon (P). The Patriots snagged the final number one ranking in our series not because of Dan Bailey but because of Michael Dixon. The rookie punter was sensational last year with and average punting distance of 48.2 yards, good for second best in the league. What he can do with a football is remarkable. Dixon consistently made the ball do whatever he wanted and made return teams think he had it on a string. Look for him to quickly ascend into the unquestioned number one punter in the league. On the other hand, Dan Bailey is on the downhill side of his career. Yes he is number five on the all time field goal percentage list, but remember, he started last season as number two on that same list. That's not quite the direction the Pats want him headed. They brought him back on a one year deal, but another season like last year could spell the end of the veteran's decorated career.
We have assigned cumulative points to these rankings to determine the best overall team in the 3GML. First place rankings awarded a team 4 points, 3 for second, 2 for third, and 1 point for last. After examining 11 different position groups, we have the final totals.
Buffalo - 33
New England - 33
Miami - 22
New York - 22
As you can see, the AFC East seems to have two tiers. The division title will likely be a tightly fought battle between the Bills and Patriots while the Dolphins and Jets will be battling for a wild card spot. However, we don't like leaving things in a tie, so below is our final division standings prediction for the 2019 season. We give you these will one caveat: "On any given Sunday..."
Buffalo 12-4
New England 11-5
Miami 9-7
New York 7-9
