The Houston Texans are the overwhelming favorites to win the AFC South this year after spending last season as the “dark horses” in the conference. The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars will be trying to bring Houston back to ground level after a spectacular last season while the Tennessee Titans have officially began their reconstruction period.
C.J. Stroud is expected to be one of the biggest conference rivals for Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The 22 year old quarterback took the Texans to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs, but this year people will have Houston on the map. This is a division that has had three different winners over the last three years. The Titans won it in 2021, the Jags in 2022 and the Texans last year. There may be a clear cut favorite, but this division has four young, hungry quarterbacks so Houston won’t have it easy.
Offensive Star
C.J. Stroud (QB)
22 years old
Ohio State
Defensive Star
Danielle Hunter (DE)
29 years old
LSU
After losing 34-10 to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs, Stroud and his team know what it takes to take the next step. The next step would be the AFC Championship, but the Houston Texans have bigger and better dreams. It doesn’t seem out of reach considering they brought in one of the best WRs in the league, Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills and Joe Mixon who had a 1,000 yard season rushing with the Cincinnati Bengals last year. DeMeco Ryans has an even better team than he had last season, and will be eyeing a Super Bowl run in year two on the sidelines in Houston.
ATTACK. Stroud was the surprise of last season. The quarterback won Offensive Rookie of the Year after finishing the season with 4,108 yards and 23 passing touchdowns. It wasn’t just his stats, he led Houston to the playoffs in his rookie year and earned the franchise their fifth playoff win ever with a 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns who had the best defense in the league. Stroud threw for 274 yards and 3 TDs against the Browns in his first playoff game ever, proving that he was ready for the big stage.
DEFENSE. One of the Texans most important offseason additions came on the defensive side of the ball. Danielle Hunter comes to Houston after spending eight years as Minnesota Viking. The pass rusher has had five different seasons with 10+ sacks and is coming off a career year in which he dropped the QB 16.5 times and had 83 tackles.
BillsWeek 5
@CowboysWeek 11
DolphinsWeek 15
@ChiefsWeek 16
RavensWeek 17
Offensive Star
Jonathan Taylor (RB)
25 years old
Wisconsin
Defensive Star
DeForest Buckner (DT)
30 years old
Oregon
Somehow, the Indianapolis Colts were a game away from making it to the playoffs after losing their last game to the Houston Texans. This year they get Anthony Richardson back under center and bring in Joe Flacco as their emergency QB. Indy knows the objective this season is going to be getting back to the playoffs whether that be by winning the division or getting a Wild Card spot. With a handful of weapons around him, Richardson will have a chance to shine in his first full season under Shane Steichen.
ATTACK. Everything is going to revolve around Jonathan Taylor this season. Richardson’s success depends on Taylor’s ability to run the ball and open up the secondary for his sophomore QB. Despite coming off his worst rushing season in his career, with 741 yards, he has shown that he can be one of the league’s best running backs. He is just two years removed from leading the league with 1,811 yards and 18 TDs. Richardson and the Colts will be hoping to recover that version of Taylor this year.
DEFENSE. Buckner is the leader of the defense in Indy. He had eight sacks last season, and is back for the Colts in year nine in the league. In his first eight seasons he had 61 sacks split between his time as a 49er and a Colt, and now he is the anchor of the defensive line for Indy.
SteelersWeek 4
@TexansWeek 8
BillsWeek 10
@JetsWeek 11
@PatriotsWeek 13
Offensive Star
Trevor Lawrence (QB)
24 years old
Clemson
Defensive Star
Joshua Hines-Allen (LB)
27 years old
Kentucky
At just 24 years old, Trevor Lawrence signed a contract extension that makes him tied with Joe Burrow for the highest paid quarterback in the league. Now it’s time to pay back that confidence with by leading Doug Pederson’s side on a return trip to the playoffs. They are coming off a 9-8 season in which they suffered a historic late season collapse that was finished off by a loss to the Titans which opened the door for the Steelers to take the last Wild Card spot. Coach Pederson has already won a Super Bowl with the Eagles, but hasn’t had as much success in Jacksonville... yet.
ATTACK. Lawrence is coming off of a disappointing season in which the Jags fell just short of a postseason appearance. Despite the playoff let down, you can’t argue with his numbers. He’s thrown for 4,000+ yards in two of his three years in the league and had 21 passing TDs last year. If he can keep his turnovers down, then he can become one of the premier passers in the league. Last year he threw 14 interceptions and fumbled the ball five times.
DEFENSE. No not that Josh Allen. If you don’t know this Josh Allen, you haven’t been watching enough football. He is one of the best pass rushers in the league, and he is just entering his prime. The Jags linebacker, who shares the same name as the Bills QB, had 17.5 sacks last year, good enough for second best in the league tied with Trey Hendrickson. He gave QBs headaches all of last year, and this year gunslingers are going to need more than just aspirin when they meet the Jags D.
@DolphinsWeek 1
@BillsWeek 3
BearsWeek 6
PackersWeek 8
@EaglesWeek 9
Offensive Star
DeAndre Hopkins (WR)
32 years old
Clemson
Defensive Star
L’Jarius Sneed (CB)
27 years old
Louisiana Tech
The rebuilding process is underway in Nashville. The unbelievable firing of Mike Vrable is just the beginning of the new era for the Titans looking forward. Derrick Henry has also moved on from the only team he’s ever known joining Baltimore on his quest for his first Super Bowl. Now it’s all up to second year QB Will Levis who will be given the keys to the car while former Dallas Cowboy leads the rushing attack in Tennessee. Brian Callahan is just the sixth coach in the history of the franchise, and he will be hoping to start his era in Nashville off on the right foot.
ATTACK. The departure of Derrick Henry means the veteran figure on the offensive side of the ball will be DeAndre Hopkins. He will be the No. 1 receiving target for his young quarterback, but is going to miss the preseason after straining his knee in late July. Hopkins had 1,057 yards receiving and had 7 TDs, and finally looked like the receiver he used to be before a miserable couple years in Arizona.
DEFENSE. With an offense under construction, the defense is going to have to be the unit that leads this team to wins. The front office knew that, and that’s why they went out and brought in L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs. He was one of the best players on KC’s Super Bowl winning defensive unit, and now the physical ball hawk of a cornerback is going to bring a different edge to this defense the Titans fans haven’t seen for quite some time.
JetsWeek 2
PackersWeek 3
@DolphinsWeek 4
@BillsWeek 7
BengalsWeek 15
