Fantasy Football Bold Predictions For Every AFC East Team: Drake Maye Turns AJ Brown Into An Elite WR1

With the fantasy football season rapidly approaching, we are back with our hot takes. This time, we will be focusing on the AFC East. We will give you our hottest fantasy hot take for each team in the division.
New England Patriots
AJ Brown Will Finish As A Top Three Fantasy Wide Receiver
Drake Maye and AJ Brown are a match made in fantasy football heaven. Their skill sets complement each other perfectly, and we expect both players to raise the level of the other.
We wouldn't be shocked at all if Brown finishes as the WR3 overall. He is more talented than wideouts like Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. If Maye continues to play like an MVP, he could help Brown reach his ceiling after a career of playing with mediocre passers in run-heavy offenses.
Buffalo Bills
DJ Moore Will Finish As A Top 15 Fantasy Wide Receiver
The Bills traded for Moore this offseason, and it was their only big move to address what is viewed as their biggest need heading into the offseason. Buffalo is hoping their Super Bowl window is still open, so they are clearly expecting Moore to perform at a high level.
Fantasy owners seem to be down on Moore after a subpar 2025 campaign, and he can be had for a WR3 price. However, he has fringe WR1 upside as Josh Allen's top target. He's in line for a big season with his new team. Like Brown, he finally has a quarterback who can help him reach his ceiling.
Miami Dolphins
De'Von Achane Will Finish As The Fantasy RB1 Overall
There are concerns that Achane could take a step back this season because he is playing in a potentially terrible Dolphins' offense. However, we believe he will turn this disadvantage into an advantage.
Achane is going to lead both the Dolphins and all NFL running backs in receptions and targets this season. We wouldn't be shocked if he pushes 100 receptions. Combine that with his big-play ability and stick him in a backfield with an elite athlete like Malik Willis, and you have a recipe for fantasy success. If Willis is actually good, the offense could also far outperform expectations.
New York Jets
No Jets Player Will Finish Top 24 At Their Fantasy Position
At the risk of sounding like Jay Sherman, the Jets stink, Geno Smith stinks, and the whole offense is going to stink. Smith was a lateral move, and adding a bunch of weapons isn't going to make the offense better; it will just dilute everyone's fantasy value.
Breece Hall is going to be splitting snaps in a terrible offense, and Garrett Wilson has seen his share of Smith's 3,000 passing yards cut down, as this season they will also be throwing to rookies Omar Cooper Jr and Kenyon Sadiq, as well as Adonai Mitchell and Tim Patrick. Every year people inexplicably expect the Jets to be better, and every year they are still the Jets. That's not going to change this season because of a washed-up quarterback and some rookies.
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Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
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