The New England Patriots Have the Best Wide Receivers in the AFC East

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots made it all the way to the Super Bowl with a very underwhelming receiving corps, not including the tight ends, of course.

Nonetheless, the wide receiver position is one of the most glorified in the game. It's unwarranted, though, as pointed out by the respected Kerry Byrne of Cold Hard Football Facts website in his logic on the "Shiny Hood Ornament Man Law".

But none of that stopped the Patriots from making one big splash after another at the position in free agency.

Here are how the AFC East wide receiving corps grade out, from top to bottom of the depth chart.

1. New England Patriots

The New England Patriots have built an army of wide receivers who all have shown big-play potential in the past. From Brandon Lloyd to Donte Stallworth to Chad Ochocinco and even the injury prone Anthony Gonzalez, the Patriots are covering their bases at the position.

This, of course, is all in addition to Wes Welker. 

As of yet, it's hard to tell exactly what to expect from the group, but with so many options, the Patriots have only increased their chances of fielding a solid wide receiving corps in 2012.

2. Buffalo Bills

Stevie Johnson and David Nelson were the torch-bearers for the Bills' passing attack in 2011, and behind them, the depth is shady. Their lack of big-play receivers was one of many factors contributing to their collapse in 2011. That's why many expert mock drafts project Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd to be the team's first pick.

Nelson has proven himself solid but unspectacular in the first two years of his career. He's not a big-play guy, but he hauled in 61 passes in 2011 and was a favorite target for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Another year together should help the two build those bonds.

3. New York Jets

Santonio Holmes, Jeremy Kerley and Chaz Schilens comprise the only noteworthy wide receivers on the Jets roster at the moment, and the latter two are more hopefuls than sure-fire contributors at the position.

They sorely needed to find a big-bodied receiver to replace the departing Plaxico Burress, and Schilens looks to be a younger version. He never was able to put it together in Oakland and was limited by injuries in 2009 and 2010, while also suffering from less-than-stellar quarterback play.

But can Kerley and Schilens thrive in bigger roles? That will go a long way in determining whether quarterback Mark Sanchez is able to improve on his 2011 season, and whether the Jets are able to pick up the pieces after their three-game collapse.

4. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins traded away their best receiver, so it's easy to see why they're at the bottom of this list. The only other receiver that has inspired any level of confidence is Davone Bess, who has hauled in 206 passes for 2,115 yards and 10 touchdowns in the past three seasons (69 receptions for 705 yards and three touchdowns on average).

The Dolphins are as deep as a kiddie pool behind Bess, with just Brian Hartline to speak of among a cavalcade of also-rans.

There's some serious revamping to do for the Dolphins at wide receiver, but perhaps Joe Philbin's new West Coast offense could lend itself to the discovery of another solid contributor at the position.

Follow @ErikFrenz