New England’s rivals invested considerable resources in the

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"WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL DraftPatriots Opinion/AnalysisAround the LeagueNFL draft recap: Patriots’ AFC East rivals invest considerable resources to win the line of scrimmageNew White Deatrich Wise Jerseys ,26commentsRead more: AFC East gears up against Patriots’ outstanding offensive lineEDTShareTweetShareShareNFL draft recap: Patriots’ AFC East rivals invest considerable resources to win the line of scrimmageMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsWe focus primarily on the New England Patriots here at Pats Pulpit, but that also includes looking beyond Foxboro and at the bigger league-wide picture especially as it relates to the club’s division rivals. In this installment of the AFC East Report, we will therefore break down the draft classes of the Patriots’ four rivals. One thing stands out right away: all three of the teams tried to bolster their trenches.They all picked defensive tackles in the first round, before adding offensive linemen on day two. Winning the line of scrimmage, especially in a division that saw the Patriots outmuscle their opponents on the way to a Super Bowl title last year, is obviously the goal — time will tell if the investments pay off, though, and translate into wins after all three clubs failed to even reach .500 in 2018.Buffalo Bills2018 season: 6-10Draft classRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolThe Bills’ draft started with the selection of one of the top interior defensive linemen in the first round: Houston’s Ed Oliver slid down to the ninth overall spot, where Buffalo was able to pick him up to bolster its defensive front. The team again invested in its trenches in round two by trading up to grab highly-graded offensive tackle prospect Cody Ford. Buffalo also added noticeable depth to its tight end group by making two selections at the position.What Buffalo Rumblings thinks: “The Buffalo Bills entered the 2019 offseason with many holes on their roster. They addressed a very large number of them in the first few days of free agency and continued building depth [in the draft].” — Matt WarrenMiami Dolphins2018 season: 7-9Draft classRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolMiami also went after a defensive tackle — Clemson standout Christian Wilkins — in round one, but the team’s biggest addition of the weekend might have happened the next day: the Dolphins opted to trade the 62nd overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for quarterback Josh Rosen. Rosen, of course Deatrich Wise Jerseys 2019 , was drafted tenth overall just one year ago before getting tossed aside in favor of first overall selection Kyler Murray this year.What The Phinsider thinks: “The Dolphins simply didn’t have enough picks to address every position of need in this draft, and I believe taking the best player available regardless of position is the best draft philosophy anyway. With all that said, Grier’s deft maneuvering that allowed the team to trade for Josh Rosen while still netting an extra second-round pick in next year’s draft deserves applause, and it boosts my draft grade for 2019 to an A-.” — Justin HierNew York Jets2018 season: 4-12Draft classRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolRoundPickPlayerPositionSchoolWith the Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers both opting to address needs atop the first round, the Jets were able to scoop up arguably the best overall player of this draft with selection number three: Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams will add considerable upside to an already talented Jets defensive line. The rest of New York’s draft class produced mostly developmental depth options, with edge defender Jachai Polite the most likely candidate to join Williams on the day one starting lineup.What Gang Green Nation thinks: “The Jets class of 2019 is heavily tilted towards defense. Major college programs dominate the list, so the usual problems of small school prospects struggling to adjust to an enormous step up in level of competition should be mitigated somewhat this year.” — MacGregor Wells A first wave of New England’s players will report to training camp later this week." NFL training campPatriots AnalysisPatriots Training Camp CoverageBreaking down the Patriots’ injury questions heading into training campNew,5commentsA first wave of New England’s players will report to training camp later this week.EDTThe NFL’s summer break is almost over which means that training camp is right around the corner: later this week — on Sunday, July 21 — the first wave of players will report to the New England Patriots training camp. While this arrival process happens without much hubbub, the physical examination that will take place will determine the outlook for some of the players that have been nursing injuries during the offseason.Judging by the Patriots’ final open practice of the offseason — the mandatory minicamp session on June 6 — there are nine players to take a closer look at; they were either limited or not spotted at all.RB Sony MichelPreparations for the upcoming season started with Michel being forced to sit out parts of New England’s offseason workouts, including all of mandatory minicamp White Joe Thuney Jerseys , after undergoing a knee arthroscopy. While the procedure itself is relatively minor, it is the latest medical issue the 2018 first-round draft pick has to deal with: he already missed most of last year’s training camp and three regular season games because of two separate knee injuries.When it comes to 2019, Michel is expected to be ready to go when training camp opens on July 25. That being said, the 24-year-old might see a somewhat limited work load due to the arrival of third-round rookie Damien Harris. Nevertheless, Michel will play a considerable role in New England’s offensive attack once more — having him available to start camp will therefore be big after his previous absence.WR Demaryius ThomasThe veteran’s 2018 season ended because of a torn ACL suffered in late December. While Thomas’ rehabilitation process might allow him to participate in training camp at one point it would not be a surprise if that point came further down the line. The offseason signing, who sat out the Patriots’ OTA and minicamp sessions, is a prime candidate to open camp and possibly even the regular season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP).OT Isaiah WynnWynn enters 2019’s training camp as one of the players in the spotlight: he is the top candidate to replace free agency departure Trent Brown as New England’s starting left tackle. However, the former first-round draft pick is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury suffered during last year’s preseason — an injury that forced him not only to sit out virtually all of last year but also to be limited during OTAs and minicamp.The good news is that Wynn was at least present for minicamp even though he did not participate in any team drills. This should change next week: if he is cleared for the start of training camp, as is expected, the 23-year-old will see considerable action as Tom Brady’s blindside protector. The Patriots drafted him for that role and now he will get his chance to prove whythe team invested in him.OT Yodny CajusteNew England drafted Cajuste in the third round this year but he has yet to take the field for the team after undergoing quad surgery in late March. When NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the surgery, he added that the 23-year-old would face a recovery schedule of three months before being fully cleared again. If that holds up Joe Thuney Jerseys 2019 , Cajuste should be able to take the field when the Patriots open camp next week.If not, the team will place Cajuste on the PUP list to activate him further down the line. Either way, the West Virginia product should be expected back to return to the field sooner rather than later — which would be good news for a Patriots offensive line that has lost both its starter at left tackle (Trent Brown) and its swing/number three tackle (LaAdrian Waddle) in free agency.DE Deatrich Wise Jr.Wise Jr’s third NFL campaign was off to a less-than-ideal start: the 24-year-old was unable to do any on-field work during the Patriots’ organized team activities and minicamp after being spotted in a walking boot earlier during the offseason. While there were no reports on why he was wearing said boot, it would not be a surprise if the Arkansas product underwent surgery on his ankle — one that forced him to miss the AFC title game in late January.Despite the injury and Wise Jr. missing considerable parts of the offseason workout program, however, the injury is not expected to affect the 24-year-old heading into the new season. The situation is therefore somewhat reminiscent of Joe Thuney’s last year: New England’s starting left guard underwent offseason surgery but ultimately returned for training camp after sitting out OTAs and minicamp. He ended up playing all 1,371 offensive snaps during the season.While Wise Jr. is more of a rotational player than Thuney and every recovery is differently, itwould not be a surprise to see him back on the field next week.SS Patrick ChungWhen the Patriots hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in early February, Chung had his right arm in a sling: he left the Super Bowl early in the third quarter after breaking his arm. When New England opened its OTA practices, however, the veteran safety was back on the field. And even though he was not spotted during the club’s three minicamp practices White Michael Bennett Jerseys , the team captain is expected to be with his teammates when they take the field for their first training camp session.RB Nick Brossette, CB J.C. Jackson, SS Nate Ebner, SS Malik GantBrossette, Jackson and Ebner were all absent for the Patriots’ final practice of minicamp — but there have been no reports yet as to why that was the case. Jackson’s absence might be the most straight forward of the three, though: he pulled up lame after a drill late during New England’s second minicamp session and was not spotted the next day. The second-year man should be expected back on the field to start camp.Whether or not the same can be said about undrafted rookie Brossette remains to be seen: he was not spotted even once during the four offseason workouts open to the media. Ebner also was not, but he did participate in the Patriots’ paintball game to close out offseason workouts. This should be seen as a positive sign that the core special teamer will be ready to practice again beginning next week.Then, there is undrafted rookie Malik Gant: he left the field during the stretching portion of the Patriots’ final minicamp session and did not return. He will probably be back next week, but any additional time missed because of injury could severely hurt his chances of making the club (as is the case with fellow roster bubble player Brossette).