By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The NFL Wire has the Bills as the second-best team in the AFC East in their pre-training camp power rankings.
Naturally, Buffalo only trails the New England Patriots.
Overall, the Bills landed at the No. 22 spot.
Here’s how Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar explained the Bills’ placement:
Give the Bills credit — they did a lot in the offseason to improve over last year’s 6-10 mark as they worked through serious salary cap issues. They may have the best player in the draft in Ed Oliver, and they made a ton of smart signings in free agency. Mitch Morse, John Brown, Cole Beasley, and Ty Nsekhe should all make life easier for quarterback Josh Allen. But this is still a quarterback-driven league, and though Allen had his moments in his rookie season (more as a runner than a thrower at times), there’s still a lot of work to be done. The Bills will be fun to watch in 2019, but true contention is on the Allen developmental timeline.
The Bills had a large gap between themselves and the Miami Dolphins, as they landed in dead last. Most AFC East critics consider the battle for the No. 2 spot behind the Patriots as a Bills-Jets battle. Per NFL Wire’s rankings, the Bills have the leg up as New York is slotted as No. 26.
Far and ahead of the rest of the division in the Pats, but only at the seven spot. Other recent power rankings often have the Patriots ranked within the top-three.
Speaking of that top three, the New Orleans Saints take the No. 1 spot, edging out the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, respectively.