A thorough assessment of a team’s draft can’t truly be reached for another three years or so. That said, with tighter rosters and larger rookie contracts, a successful draft must yield at least some immediate help. With that in mind, here’s a look at how AFC East teams fared over the weekend—both from a big-picture NFL standpoint as well as a fantasy perspective—taking into account how key needs were (or weren’t) addressed and the impact potential of the players acquired.

Buffalo Bills

Conventional wisdom suggested that Buffalo would use one of its two first-round selections to address the loss of LT Jason Peters, and on the surface that void went unfilled. However, the Bills project C Eric Wood—taken with the pick acquired for Peters—as a starting guard and second-round selection Andy Levitre could play either guard or tackle. The Bills significantly upgraded their pass rush with DE Aaron Maybin and added depth to their secondary with Jairus Byrd (a corner who projects at safety and should see nickel work this year), press CB Cary Harris, and athletic DB Ellis Lankster, who if he makes the team will contribute initially on special teams. Nic Harris also played safety in college but projects to OLB in the NFL.

Fantasy nugget: The Bills were extremely fortunate to find TE Shawn Nelson in the fourth round. At worst he should emerge as Buffalo’s primary pass-catching tight end this year—and we all know how young quarterbacks love to rely on their tight end. And if Nelson’s blocking improves, he’ll be on the field enough to contend for fantasy relevance as a rookie.

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