AFC EAST

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New England Patriots

2016: The Patriots won the Super Bowl, ending an agonising title drought for their fans, who had gone one entire season without seeing New England hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

2017: There's no reason to expect the Patriots to stop having a stranglehold on this division any time soon. Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in the history of American sports, and his star player Tom Brady is back for yet another season - nobody in the East will be able to get near them barring injury, and barely anyone in the AFC will either.

Prediction: 1st in AFC East

Miami Dolphins

2016: They scraped into the play-offs with a 10-6 record, before being trounced by the Steelers on Wild Card Weekend.

2017: The new season will begin much like the old one ended, with highly paid quarterback Ryan Tannehill sidelined by injury. Much maligned former Bears signal caller Jay Cutler comes into the fold, and honestly, he could well be an upgrade on Tannehill anyway. There's some nice pieces on this team but as long as the Brady/Belichick tandem exists, the best they can hope for is another wild card.

Prediction: 2nd in AFC East

Buffalo Bills

2016: Buffalo parted ways with coach Rex Ryan after a disappointing 7-9 season, as they continue to search for their first post-season berth since the 1999-2000 season.

Question mark: Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Photo: AP

2017: New head coach Sean McDermott arrives after a pretty successful tenure as the defensive co-ordinator of the Carolina Panthers, and that side of the ball should be pretty sturdy. There's still massive question marks over quarterback Tyrod Taylor, though, with the team refusing to commit to him long-term. They should finish around .500 once again.

Prediction: 3rd in AFC East

New York Jets

2016: They stumbled their way to a 5-11 season and were rewarded with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft.

2017: Yikes. There's not a lot to like on this roster, with lots of big names being shown the door, only to be replaced with bargain buys. Many fans are already speculating that this is a lost season, and it's difficult to see more than four or five wins on the schedule for the Jets. They could well end up with the first overall pick next year.

Prediction: 4th in AFC East

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh Steelers

2016: A division win and a deep play-off run before they were hammered by the Patriots in the AFC Championship game.

2017: Difficult to go past the Steelers again. They boast one of the scariest offences in the league. Ben Roethlisberger is nearing the end of his career and has played through more injuries than just about any player in any sport ever, and at this point it's tough to assume that he'll make it through an entire season unscathed, which could open the door for one of the other teams in this traditionally strong division.

Prediction: 1st in AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

2016: They lost a crunch game to their arch-rivals the Steelers in the penultimate game of the year, conceding a touchdown in the final seconds of the game in what was a must-win. Instead, they finished outside the play-offs for the third year of the four since they won the Super Bowl.

2017: Undoubtedly, they will be disappointed with how last season ended. They filled some needs in the secondary through the draft, and quarterback Joe Flacco is back from an injury scare just a few days before the season starts. If they can avoid injuries in key areas, something that has been hard for them in the last couple of years, they could go deep into the play-offs.

Prediction: 2nd in AFC North

Cincinnati Bengals

2016: A lost season for the Bengals, who won just six games and even managed to have their clash with Washington end in a tie.

2017: Will probably be tangling with the Ravens for a wild card spot, there's far too much talent on this team to be as bad as they were last year. Questions about the offensive line are legitimate, though, and that's too much of a weak spot for them to overcome.

Prediction: 3rd in AFC North

Cleveland Browns

2016: They won one game.

Sweet victory: Danny Shelton (55) and Jamie Meder (98) celebrate Cleveland's lone win last year. Photo: AP

2017: They will probably win more than one game - but is it bad that I can't say that with complete certainty? Last year they started more quarterbacks than they had wins, and that could well be the case again in 2017.

Prediction: 4th in AFC North

AFC SOUTH

Tennessee Titans

2016: A resurgent Titans missed the play-offs via tiebreakers, after finishing with the same 9-7 record as the Texans.

2017: You want a bold prediction? Here's a bold prediction; the Titans will be the breakout team of 2017, quarterback Marcus Mariota will make full use of some newly acquired weapons in the passing game and Tennessee will go all the way to the AFC Championship game.

Prediction: 1st in AFC South

Houston Texans

2016: They scraped into the play-offs thanks to a very good defensive unit who carried one of the worst offences in the league to nine wins.

2017: They got rid of the disastrous Brock Osweiler contract that was weighing down their books, JJ Watt is back and arguably the best player in the entire league ... but I can't look past just how murky the situation at quarterback is. Unless rookie Deshaun Watson is handed the keys to the car and takes the league by storm, I think they will win around eight or nine games again.

Prediction: 2nd in AFC South

Indianapolis Colts

2016: Indy finished with an 8-8 record before firing general manager Ryan Grigson - but somehow coach Chuck Pagano dodged the axe.

Injury cloud: Andrew Luck. Photo: AP

2017: The injury cloud hanging over star player Andrew Luck threatens to derail the season. He's already been ruled out of the season opener, and if he misses more than a handful of games, which could well happen, this team has no chance of making the post-season.

Prediction: 3rd in AFC South

Jacksonville Jaguars

2016: Once again, it was a season full of lowlights for the Jaguars, who won just three games last year.

2017: More coaching changes, more administrative changes and more changes to the roster, but there's still holes up and down this roster. Blake Bortles will once again begin the season at quarterback, despite a very uninspiring tenure as the team's starter.

Prediction: 4th in AFC South

AFC WEST

Kansas City Chiefs

2016: The Chiefs won the ultra-competitive AFC West last year, before flaming out in the play-offs.

2017: Strangely, Kansas City parted ways with GM Jack Dorsey despite being one of the better teams in the league in his four years at the helm. Even so, they still possess one of the best rosters in the league and a coach that players love to play for. Whether or not they can finally go on a deep play-off run though, is another question altogether.

Prediction: 1st in AFC West

Oakland Raiders

2016: Derek Carr enjoyed a breakout year at quarterback as Oakland also won 12 games, but finished in the wild card spot.

2017: The offensive line is one of the best in the league, they're fun to watch and have some real difference makers on defence. Still, I think the Chiefs are a more well-rounded team and this division more than any other goes the same way as it did last year.

Prediction: 2nd in AFC West

Denver Broncos

2016: A bit of a championship hangover after winning the Super Bowl the year before. They won nine games and beloved head coach Gary Kubiak retired due to health concerns.

2017: I'm excited to see how rookie head coach Vance Joseph goes, and there's no doubts that this defence will once again be among the scariest in the league. Still, it's difficult to see them scoring too many points.

Prediction: 3rd in AFC West

Solid defence: Dymonte Thomas celebrates his interception for a touchdown in the pre-season. Photo: AP

Los Angeles Chargers

2016: They lost a ton of close games, racked up one of the biggest injury lists in the NFL and suffered the ignominy of giving the Browns their only win. They also fired their head coach and announced the team was moving from San Diego to Los Angeles.

2017: Change can often be good, but there's a lot of new parts to process. This division is a murderer's row and they might not necessarily be a bad team, but it's hard to see them going past the teams above them.

Prediction: 4th in AFC West