Tucker’s AFC South Projections
Credit: Cooper Neill/Getty Images
By Tucker Harlin
The AFC South is a division that has featured some of the worst teams in the league over the last five seasons, mainly the Houston Texans from 2020-2022 and the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2019-2021.
The division took a step forward in 2023 as the worst team was the Tennessee Titans at 6-11 while everyone else was contending for a playoff berth.
2024 is shaping up to be an even hotter contest to reach the playoffs.
1. HOUSTON TEXANS
I’m a little boring with division winner projection, but Houston absolutely has the pieces to win the AFC South for the second year in a row.
C.J. Stroud is coming off an incredible rookie season. He already had good young pieces in Nico Collins and Tank Dell, but now he gets Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon via free agency.
They brought in a few more free agents on the defensive end, a handful of which were in Tennessee last season.
With a promising young coach in DeMeco Ryans, the Texans look poised for more playoff appearances.
2. TENNESSEE TITANS
This one may be surprising, but I like Tennessee for the same reason I like Houston: free agency signings.
Will Levis now has more options at receiver and more protection up front. Running backs may take a step back, but that’s to be expected when you lose a future hall of fame running back.
Edge rusher is the only position that may not improve on defense as free agency did the Titans favors at linebacker and in the secondary.
Everything now depends on Levis. He showed potential in a handful of the Titans’ wins, but his play is what makes the difference between another year of progress or playoff contention.
3. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
The reason I have Jacksonville in third is for one reason: they’re the Jaguars.
They’ll make one playoff appearance every six or seven seasons, and then they go down in the dumpster.
Trevor Lawrence didn’t have a great season in 2023, and they fumbled away a division title to a Titans team that had zero business winning that game.
After that blunder, the pressure is rising for Doug Pederson in Duval.
4. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
This has less to do with the fact that I don’t think the Colts can contend for the playoffs, but mainly because I don’t have a great idea of what the offense can do.
Anthony Richardson didn’t last but three and a quarter games last season due to a rotator cuff injury. Most of Indy’s success in 2023 came about with Gardner Minshew manning the controls.
Richardson showed potential in his limited action last year, and he absolutely has the weapons to make the Colts playoff contenders.
But I need to see it to believe it.
