AFC East Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

The Vikings ultimately used the first-round pick they got from the Bills in the trade for Stefon Diggs to draft LSU WR Justin Jefferson.

An NFL executive tells Mike Sando of The Athletic that if the Bills keep Diggs on his current deal, they’ll walk away with good value.

“Diggs’ contract is the variable on that trade,” the executive said. “If they hold the value of the contract, it’s good. If they have to redo him, it’s not so good. But when you talk about those names in the draft vs. Diggs, maybe Pittman is the only guy that would be in the conversation to me. The other part of that is, they will have a decision to make on Josh Allen before too long and he was all over the place, good and bad, in their playoff game. They were aggressive in saying, ‘Here is our team, we are ready to go, let’s really find out what the quarterback is.’ ”

Sando also spoke with an NFL evaluator, who said he would rather have Jefferson, but Buffalo still got some quality picks in the middle rounds of this year’s draft.

“I would rather have Jefferson than Diggs,” the evaluator said, “but (second-round defensive end) A.J. Epenesa and (third-round running back) Zack Moss are really good picks and will be immediate contributors.”

Jets

• Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports the Jets had agreed to trade the No. 79 overall pick to the Broncos during the draft, but the Falcons selected C Matt Hennessy at No. 78 and prevented them from finalizing a deal. 
• Mehta notes that New York would have gained the No. 83 pick and an additional Day 3 selection, which could have been the Broncos’ No. 178 pick in the fifth round. 

Patriots

Former Patriots FB James Develin said his decision to retire from the NFL came down to the number of head injuries he’s sustained throughout his career. 

“The thing that gives me solace in all this is this is what’s best for my family,” Develin said, via Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “I can try to blow smoke and say I’m a fullback and super, super tough and nothing can hurt me. There were definitely times when I felt like that, and I had to take the mentality in order to just be willing to do what I had to do.”

Develin added that spending time with his family in the right state of health was important to him. 

“But at the end of the day, we’re all human beings, and we all have what is important in life. My family is the most important to me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something serious were to happen and I wasn’t able to provide for them and be the father and husband I see myself as. It was that sheer fact right there that I need to prioritize my family over everything. That made that pill easier to swallow.”

According to Develin, a doctor found an underlying issue with his head that could have led to a more serious situation. 

“The doctors found that underlying issue that was kind of unrelated to the actual symptoms I had, but somewhat related and potentially way more serious if something were to happen,” Develin said. “Fortunately and unfortunately at my position, contact is the name of the game, so it’s not like I can tippy-toe around and try not to use my head. That’s something I love about the game of football and love about the position I played. It was just one of those things, I wouldn’t be able to approach the game the same way and play with a relentless abandon that I had grown to play with.”

Develin says he does not require surgery for any conditions. 

“Just running into people with my face – as long as I don’t do that, I think I’ll be OK,” Develin said. “It’s nothing that I’m going to need surgery on or anything like that. We’ll see years down the road if anything comes, but I honestly think I’ll be A-OK and enjoy life like anybody else.”