AFC Notes: Cam Smith, Zach Wilson, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

• The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia lists wide receiver and defensive end as the top needs for the Bills, as they need a threat to take attention away from WR Stefon Diggs and have just a couple of edge rushers under contract for 2024 right now. 
• Buscaglia expects those two positions to be the priorities for Buffalo in the first few rounds, adding he wouldn’t rule out the team double-dipping. 
• Other needs Buscaglia highlights include defensive tackle and safety. He mentions the team re-signing veteran DT DaQuan Jones if his market doesn’t develop or using a mid-round pick on a nose tackle. At safety, both veterans Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are on expiring contracts and there isn’t an obvious young replacement in the pipeline. 

Dolphins

Dolphins rookie CB Cam Smith spoke about watching from the sidelines due to injury after being selected in the second round of the draft by Miami.

“You can’t dwell on it,” Smith told Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. “That’s the hard part about it. I’ve embraced the role of making sure is everybody good and straight and uplifting everybody and making sure nobody is down about a play and telling them what I see from the sideline, so they can be well prepared for the next drive.”

“As a competitor, you definitely want to say you could have come out there and helped in some of those big games,” Smith continued. “[But] it’s not my time right now. Staying consistent in everyday football life. Making sure I know what this formation is doing, and making sure in certain formations I know what I’m going to get and certain game plans, what teams are going to do to get their players open against our defense. Knowing all of that stuff.”

Jets

• ESPN’s Rich Cimini talked to three personnel executives, one scout and two assistant coaches for other teams about what Jets QB Zach Wilson‘s potential trade value might be. The consensus was New York might get a late-round pick. One exec noted: “Perhaps a team out there felt stronger about him pre-draft, and that could influence how they value him.”
• As the former No. 2 overall pick, Wilson has talent and pedigree that could intrigue some teams. One assistant coach explained: “The only trade value for him is his arm talent, meaning he can make all the throws. But the biggest thing, he has to become more mature and be consistent in everything, especially his decision-making. There were flashes this year, but obviously not enough.”
• However, Cimini acknowledges Wilson’s shortage of functional tape will hurt his value. He adds Wilson’s salary could be a sticking point, he’s owed $5.5 million in 2024 and a team could ask the Jets to help with that. 
• One scout thought the Jets would be lucky to get a seventh and one of the assistant coaches was even more colorful: “I’d give up a two-week stay at a Best Western. I’m not a fan.”
• Another exec said the Jets could get creative and ask for a conditional pick, as they “will never get the value they want” in a straight-up trade.
• Cimini says it would be unusual and embarrassing for the Jets to end up having to cut Wilson but he can’t rule it out.