AFC South
The Texans and Colts have owned the AFC South the last decade, winning nine out of the ten years and it looks like more of the same this season. It looks like these two teams will battle it out once again, but don’t be surprised if the Jaguars and Titans at least make it interesting.
Houston Texans
You have to always be on your toes when Bill O’Brien is your coach. In a stunning, but not so stunning move, Houston let D’Onta Freeman walk leaving Lamar Miller basically the team’s only starting running back on the roster. O’Brien has long criticized Freeman for his work ethic and didn’t mention him when speaking about running back depth on the team.
This is where things could get interesting. The Texans are in need of a running back and have a lot of cap space available. There is also a running back in Los Angeles who is currently holding out and looking for a trade and a new contract. It probably won’t happen, but imagine adding Melvin Gordon to an offense that already has Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans would instantly become favorites in the division and maybe even in the conference.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are hoping to build off of last season’s strong finish. Unfortunately, Andrew Luck is currently sidelined with a calf injury. The injury is not serious and he is only being sidelined out of an abundance of caution. Luck expects himself to be ready for Indy’s week one match up against the Chargers. He will be protected by one of the best young guards in the league in Quenton Nelson; something Luck has to be thankful for after years of taking so many hits. To compliment the offense, the team added Devin Funchess as a number two option to T.Y. Hilton.
In his first season as defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus completely transformed this defense. Indy went from 30th overall in defense to eleventh last season. The team is hoping to build on last season as they now understand the playbook and have a familiarity with Eberflus and his system. Rookie stud Darius Leonard is entering his second season and has been working this offseason on improving missed tackles that turned into missed opportunities. The team also added Justin Houston, another big body that will get after the quarterback.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Blake Bortles era is over. The Jaguars finally made the decision to dump Bortles and acquired former Super Bowl MVP QB Nick Foles. Foles will absolutely elevate Jacksonville’s offense and compliment Leonard Fournette who had a rocky year last season. If Fournette can stay healthy all season, the Jaguars could have a better offense than many expect. Even Jalen Ramsey who has criticism of every NFL quarterback is a fan.
On the other side of the ball, Tom Coughlin and company made the decision to draft Josh Allen one pick after his former team decided to pass on him and take Daniel Jones. Allen should boost an already solid Jacksonville defense that is made up of Ramsey and Calais Campbell.
Tennessee Titans
It is the final season on Marcus Mariota’s rookie contract and a lot of attention will be on what to do for the team’s future. They brought in Ryan Tannehill, but that is not their future. Tannehill is just a safety net in case Mariota gets hurt because he is their guy. Mariota will be without left tackle Taylor Lewan for the first four games of the season. Lewan made an emotional video telling fans that he was suspended for failing a drug test.
During camp, running back Derrick Henry suffered a lower leg injury. NFL insider Adam Schefter said it was a strained calf and it should only keep him out for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, Henry can get ready for the regular season because last season was a big breakout year for him.
The team has had three straight 9-7 seasons which isn’t bad, but also isn’t good. It’s just in the middle and not a great indicator of where the team needs improvement.
