The Patriots are the favorites to win everything this season. And we mean everything.

Fresh off the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title and a blowout victory over the competition in the offseason (Brandin Cooks, Stephon Gilmore, Mike Gillislee, Kony Ealy are just a few of the team’s talent acquisitions), the Patriots are in solid position to capture their ninth straight AFC East title, reach their seventh straight AFC title game, and win their third Super Bowl in four seasons.

Nothing’s written in stone however, and there are some potential roadblocks (back-to-back games in Denver and Mexico City) and pitfalls (five of the final six games are division tilts — with the Steelers thrown in) on the way to Minneapolis.

The first goal always is the AFC East, but with the backloaded schedule, that can’t be wrapped up until right around when Santa will be double-checking his lists.

Here’s a way-too-early look at how things might go in the AFC East, where the Patriots have won 14 of the last 16 titles.

1. NEW ENGLAND

The Patriots are pretty stacked at every position — the offseason depth building was impressive — and Tom Brady, who will turn 40 about a week into camp, has shown no sign of slowing.

With Brady running the offense and Dont’a Hightower running the defense (the signing of David Harris helps keep the miles down on Hightower), this team is in excellent hands.

The most important hands, however, belong to Bill Belichick, a master at preparation and in-game management. Belichick has great trust in coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia and only tight ends coach Brian Daboll (Alabama) isn’t back from last year’s staff.

Biggest addition: WR Brandin Cooks.

Biggest subtraction: CB Logan Ryan.

Prediction: 14-2.

Best-case scenario: The Patriots run the table and capture their sixth Super Bowl with a win over the Giants in Minneapolis.

Worst-case scenario: Injuries take their toll and New England stumbles down the stretch during the most difficult portion of its schedule.

2. MIAMI

The Dolphins floundered out of gates last season (1-4) but went full steam ahead thereafter, winning 9 of their last 11 and reaching the playoffs, where they lost in Pittsburgh.

What made Adam Gase’s first year in South Florida more impressive was his team overcame a rash of injuries (most notably to Ryan Tannehill) and remained competitive.

Jay Ajayi’s emergence as a Pro Bowl tailback (1,272 yards) was huge and he’ll be leaned on heavily again. Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills form a great receiving trio. Lawrence Timmons brings an intimidating, veteran presence to an improving defense.

Biggest addition: Timmons.

Biggest subtraction: Jelani Jenkins.

Prediction: 10-6.

Best-case scenario: Ndamukong Suh finally grows up and develops into a legit leader, and solidifies a defense that needs to jell quickly.

Worst-case scenario: The Dolphins travel three times in the first four weeks (including to Los Angeles and London) and never recover from jet lag.

3. BUFFALO

The Bills were riding high with an early season four-game winning streak (the highlight being a shutout in Foxborough) before the wheels came off Rex Ryan’s wagon and they lost 7 of their final 10.

Ryan’s gone now and Sean McDermott is the new sheriff in town and he’ll instill discipline and install a tough, hard-nosed 4-3 defense led by bulldog Kyle Williams and the massive Marcell Dareus.

Tyrod Taylor has quick feet and a big arm but the seventh-year QB is as streaky as streaky can be. With Cardale Jones as the backup, Taylor likely will be given a long leash. Talented tailback LeSean McCoy takes a lot of the pressure off with his running and receiving skills. Sammy Watkins is a dangerous receiver.

Biggest addition: McDermott.

Biggest subtraction: Zach Brown.

Prediction: 8-8.

Best-case scenario: Rookie QB Nathan Peterman plays his way into contention during camp and McDermott has his signal-caller of the future.

Worst-case scenario: The players have trouble adjusting to the regime change and by the time they find their bearings they’re missing the playoffs for the 18th straight year.

4.) NEW YORK JETS

This is an M-E-S-S, mess, mess, mess.

New York is coming off a 5-11 season and if it matches that it will be a minor miracle. Eight starters are gone from last year’s squad that lost six of its last eight.Todd Bowles is a good coach but he has his work cut out for him.

The offense is in shambles with 15-year veteran retread Josh McCown slated to be the starter at QB. He’ll be backed up by unprovens Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. Will either of these two ever be given a legitimate shot to be the leader? The receiving corps is underwhelming outside of Quincy Enunwa. Running backs Bilal Powell (he’s a bull) and Matt Forte (there’s a ton of miles here) will have to carry a lot of the load.

The defense still has some recognizable names (Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Leonard Williams) but Harris, the heart and soul of this unit for eight years, now plays in Foxborough.

Biggest addition: McCown.

Biggest subtraction: Nick Folk.

Prediction: 4-12.

Best-case scenario: Rookie safeties Jamal Adams (first round) and Marcus Maye (second) can solidify the defense and rookie receivers ArDarius Stewart (third) and Chad Hansen (fourth) can inject life into the offense.

Worst-case scenario: Linebacker Darron Lee takes a step backward and this defense isn’t able to keep the team in games and help make up for a woeful offense.

FOLLOWING THE LEADER

Flowers taking on a mentoring role

It’s not unusual to see players stay late after a Patriots practice to get in a little extra work.

Often it’s Tom Brady setting the example by pulling a new receiver or tight end aside to work on timing and polish some patterns. Other times the quarterback is spotted solo, getting in some cardio or resistance training.

Brady’s tirelessness is part of the leadership the 18-year veteran brings to his team and more and more of his teammates are embracing and emulating his practice philosophy: Just because the final whistle has blown doesn’t mean you have to punch out if there’s still something to accomplish.

When the best player on your team — a guy with five Super Bowl rings — is willing to go the extra mile, younger players have no excuse not to follow suit.

After New England’s OTA practice concluded on June 14, there was Brady getting in some extra throws with Dwayne Allen. The new tight end had some drops during the previous week’s minicamp and had been pretty vocal in how disappointed he was in his performance.

Brady’s tutorial wasn’t the only one going on, however.

Deep on the back field, two linemen were honing their pass-rush skills, working on their quickness, footwork, and moves.

The sensei for this session was Trey Flowers, who despite his age (23) has emerged as leader on the defense and a mentor to New England’s youngsters. In this case, it was top draft pick Derek Rivers in the student’s role.

Flowers would demonstrate a move, Rivers would mimic it, and the two would confer. The cycle repeated for close to 30 minutes before the pair, drenched in sweat, walked and chatted as they headed toward the locker room.

“His technique, he’s one of the best,’’ said Rivers, when asked what he got out of the time spent with Flowers. “I just watch him on film and he’s awesome. An awesome dude, nice guy, and definitely somebody I can go to and ask questions.’’

Flowers earned the nickname “Technique’’ from his teammates, so it was no surprise Rivers employed that word when talking about the man who led the Patriots with seven sacks last season and added another 2.5 in Super Bowl LI.

“I watch everything — how he defends the run, just how precise his hands are, how accurate they are in the pass rush, how he gets his hips around — every little thing that helps you get to the QB or make plays,’’ said Rivers.

Flowers, who has the unique ability to apply pocket pressure from both the inside (with his impressive instincts and quickness) and the outside (with his impressive power), is more than happy to lend a hand.

“A lot of guys can be leaders. I’m just one of the guys that works hard and if I can help out here and there, I [will],’’ he said. “I’m one of the guys who have been in the scheme a little longer, so if they have questions, I can help them out.’’

ETC.

Pelini spotted Rivers’s potential

One person not surprised by Derek Rivers staying late is Bo Pelini, his coach at Youngstown State the last two seasons.

“He’s really a mature young man and really focused,’’ said Pelini. “I think he knows what he wants and I think he’ll represent that program from Day 1, the right way. He understands what’s ahead of him. Like I told him not long ago, ‘Now the real work begins.’ He understands that. On the field and off the field, he fits what the Patriots look for in a player.’’

Pelini said he wasn’t surprised the Patriots grabbed Rivers (third round, 83rd overall) because they started checking him out long ago.

“Bill [Belichick] and I talked about Derek over a year ago and you know, that’s the kind of homework Bill does. I mean, he was already thinking about [the 2017] draft over a year ago,’’ said Pelini. “I told him then I really thought I had a guy that fits what they do. At that point I make them aware of him and it’s up to them to decide, ‘Does he fit? Is he a guy they want to add?’

“I think when they did all their homework they found out that, No. 1, he has a lot of potential — you know, it takes time at that level — and No. 2, they found out that the kid is a tremendous character kid. He’s a leader and he has all the intangibles that make him a really good fit for the Patriots organization.’’

A couple of the qualities that really make Rivers stand out are versatility and intelligence, said Pelini.

“I think he’s one of those unique guys that can put his hand in the ground and play as a 4-3 defensive end but he also fits people who want to stand him up and play as a 3-4 outside backer,’’ said Pelini, who led Youngstown State to the Championship Subdivision championship game in 2016, just his second year at the school. “And, you know, there’s a lot of people who’ll talk about players and they’ll say, ‘He can play either one.’ But I think those guys are rare. I think Derek has those kinds of skills. So, he’s played standing up, but mainly with his hand down. But we stood him up behind the ball on the outside some and he’s played in multiple places and he’s very natural in all those areas plus he’s intelligent enough to be able to handle all that.’’

Pelini cites Rivers’s combination of quickness and strength as reasons he believes the 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pounder will be successful at the NFL level. Pelini’s scouting report on Rivers sounds a lot like how Flowers’s style of play could be described.

“He uses his hands very well. He can go power to speed very well,’’ Pelini said. “I think he can get down and play in the middle but he can beat blockers off the edge, too. For a tall guy, he can really dip and turn the corner. He can get low, too. He can get very low and bend and he’s very flexible and that’s always, in my experience, given those offensive tackles problems. He’s just not a finesse guy. He can go and be physical enough and strong enough that he can get down somebody’s middle and they have to respect that aspect of his game, too.’’

Pelini was a little surprised Rivers lasted as long as he did in the draft but he believes when all is said and done, Rivers will be one of the smartest choices.

“I think his best football is ahead of him,’’ the coach said. “He’s really talented and he’s versatile. He can do a lot of different things. He has really good pass-rush skills. He’s very athletic and I think they got a great value with this pick and I think he’ll be a hell of a player for them.’’

Extra points

Tom Brady has been conducting a little pre-camp summer camp out in Montana, working out with veteran receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. The trio, who did their best to be cryptic on social media, did some throwing and catching and a little dirt biking . . . Speaking of motorsports, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will drive the pace car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for NASCAR’s Cup series race July 16 . . . Former Patriots special teamer Dane Fletcher was also part of the Montana crew. Fletcher is a Treasure State native and played at Montana State . . . Less than 12 hours after it was announced, Brady’s book, “The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance,’’ reached No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list. It doesn’t come out until September . . . Don’t miss the video of Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch playing a little futbol and getting red carded. Classic Lynch . . . In case you missed it, basketball player/writer Gordon Hayward cited New England’s winning sports tradition as a big influence on his decision to join the Celtics. “There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,’’ he wrote. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins.’’ . . . Individual game tickets to see the Super Bowl champs go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster. No tickets at the Gillette Stadium box office . . . We’re just 20 days away from the first public practice at Fort Foxborough.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.