Picking one player from each team in AFC East to add to the Steelers in 2019

While there is very little to like about most of the other teams around the NFL, not all them are without talent. And as much as their abilities are somewhat tainted by wearing the uniform of another franchise, there are still one or two names who would be welcome additions to the Pittsburgh Steelers roster.

Recently, we took a look at the rest of the teams in the AFC North to find the one player from each franchise who could help Pittsburgh the most in 2019, and today we turn our attention toward the AFC East in an effort to identify which players would look better in the Black and Gold this year.

The only criteria for this exercise is that we are looking to identify the options who could help the Steelers the most this year, while also avoiding any names who have become too synonymous with a hated rival to consider adding them. Spoiler alert, there is no chance in hell that Tom Brady will ever find himself included on this list, while former players like Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are also discounted from consideration. The financial ramifications of adding the player have also been ignored.

These are our four picks to add to the roster from the AFC East in 2019.

Buffalo Bills - CB, Tre’Davious White

Given that Buffalo is hardly brimming over with talent, there are a limited number of options who would make a worthy addition to the Steelers’ roster this year. But forced to pick someone for the purpose of this exercise, cornerback Tre’Davious White has to be the selection. Hurt by penalties at times last season, White is still one of the better young defensive packs in the game, his rookie year in 2017 arguably good enough to have won him Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Miami Dolphins - CB, Xavien Howard

Much like the Bills, the Dolphins roster is equally bereft of talent, but the player to chose is far more obvious this time around, with cornerback Xavien Howard the clear pick. A total of 11 interceptions over the past two seasons are numbers that Pittsburgh fans could only dream of seeing from the secondary. In the conversation when the best cornerbacks in the league are discussed after just three years in the NFL, Howard offers a significant upgrade over anyone the Steelers have on the roster at his position.

New England Patriots - S, Devin McCourty

If not for his retirement, Rob Gronkowski would have been the obvious pick here, even if that did fly in the face of our rules for selection. Instead, will will add safety Devin McCourty as part of our rejuvenated secondary and dare anyone to throw against Pittsburgh in 2019. McCourty would start in place of Sean Davis, leaving them enviable depth and a solid veteran to help tutor Terrell Edmunds. At 31-years-old, the Patriots defensive back may not have too many years left in the NFL, but he has more than enough left in the tank to join the Steelers for one year.

New York Jets - S, Jamal Adams

The revamp of Pittsburgh’s secondary is completed by the addition of Jamal Adams, one of the few superstars the Jets have on their roster. An instinctive player who is equally adept in coverage as he is in run support, Adams is the sort of player the Steelers might want to hang on to after the year’s rental is over. Rated as the second best safety in the league last season by Pro Football Focus, Adams would be the choice here even if Bell was eligible for selection.

Let us know in the comments section below which names you would have chosen instead.