AFC South Division Preview
Houston Texans
I have confidence that the Texans will always win at least 6 games as long as Deshaun Watson is there. He reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson in the aspect that he has that winning mentality. He's one of my favorite quarterbacks in the entire league and he has that "it" factor. When it comes to coaching/management, I feel the Texans might be in the bottom three in the entire league. I think Bill O'Brien is just god awful and I have no clue what he was thinking when he traded Deandre Hopkins. No one in their right mind could have thought, "we just won this trade" after trading Nuk Hopkins. Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller, and Randall Cobb are all really good complimentary receivers, but the Texans don't have that true number one guy any more. David Johnson has the potential for a breakout season, but I'd take Deandre Hopkins over DJ and Brandin Cooks any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I predict Randall Cobb being their number one receiver in 2020. Defensively, there super star in 2020 is going to be Justin Reid. He's on the verge of breaking out, and I see this being his breakout season. I think JJ Watt is a great human being, I'm just not super high on him at 31 years old. After this season, I think Bill O'Brien is going to be on his way out and I see the Texans starting with a new coaching staff and front office. A guy who would be an awesome replacement would be Eric Bieniemy. I can only imagine Deshaun Watson in his offense, that would be real hot. For this season, I think the coaching will be an obvious problem and the lack of weapons will make it hard to win games.
Jacksonville Jaguars
I'm going to be straight up, I think the Jaguars will have one of the worst records in the NFL for the 2020 season. With the craziness of the offseason, this is one of the franchises who will struggle to adapt around COVID-19. There best pass rusher and starting running back don't want to be there, and I just don't have any faith in this team. I believe this will be Doug Marrone's final season as head coach in Duval county. I think Gardner Minshew is a really fascinating quarterback and I love his personality. I just think there are better options out there. I could see Jacksonville trading for a guy like Alex Smith, but I think this team needs to rebuild desperately. This team just needs new blood and new energy. If we're looking for the positives for Jacksonville, I think they crushed both of their first round picks. CJ Henderson's got a ton of swag and confidence, I see him being a big time presence in that defense. K'Lavon Chaisson is a perfect pairing with Josh Allen, another beast. If they are going to rebuild those are three pieces they can use as the foundation of their defense. DJ Chark is also super talented. He's one of the few guys who I think will be studs for their offense. After this season, Jacksonville is going too be in the conversation for Trey Lance or Trevor Lawrence.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are team who will be sneaky good this year and get some upset wins. This is one of the franchises that I have a lot of confidence in the way they handle the Corona Virus. They are a well ran team and Frank Reich is an awesome head coach. The best thing about this team is their offensive line and their running backs. This team is going to go back to the heavy running game and will pound the ball down your throats... I'm not complaining. I like both of their first picks in Michael Pittman and Jonathan Taylor. Pittman was my number five ranked receiver coming out of the draft and Taylor is going to be a perfect compliment to Marlon Mack. I think Pittman will take on a similar role to what DK Metcalf had last year and surpass TY Hilton as the number one receiver and have a Tyler Lockett role in the offense. The addition of Deforest Buckner was huge and it will help open the defense so Darius Leonard can run free. If this team has more wins than I project, Darius Leonard will be in the DPOY conversation. Kenny Moore is also an absolute baller and is going to be considered a super star after this season. The one big problem I have with the Colts is their quarterback situation. I don't think a 38 year old Philip Rivers will get it done. I know he had a bad offensive line last season, but he just didn't look like himself. He also doesn't have as good of a receiving core as he did in Los Angeles. This team is still a quarterback and a superstar away from being in the super bowl conversation. If they can get a big time free agent receiver or DB and draft a guy like Justin Fields, I'd be really excited for the Colts future.
Tennessee Titans
I thought the Tennessee Titans did a really nice job at keeping their pieces together this offseason. The two guys that they will miss are Jack Conklin and Jurrell Casey. However, Jon Robinson is a super smart guy and he does everything for a reason. Instead of paying Conklin, they were able to draft Isaiah Wilson who they were super high on and he'll be a lot cheaper. Instead of paying Jurrell Casey, they can bet on Jeffery Simmons who is going to be a beast this season. He is going to have a huge breakout year for the Titans in 2020. I have to talk about the Boys, the Titans might have the best offensive line in the NFL the only other teams in contention are the Colts and the Raiders. Derrick Henry is a top 3 running back in the NFL and he is in the prime of his career. What he's doing right now reminds me of what Adrian Peterson used to do for Minnesota. One of my bold predictions of the season is that AJ Brown will finish as a top 5 receiver. Two sleepers additions they made through the draft are adding Kristian Fulton and Darrynton Evans. You can never have enough good DBs in the NFL and this is a really good move in case of injury. Evans will be a really valuable role player for Tennessee and he'll get in the game as a receiving back on third down. This team looks really good and should be making another run in the playoffs in 2020.
Division Awards
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Michael Pittman Jr. WR Colts
Defensive Rookie of the Year: CJ Henderson CB Jaguars
Breakout Player of the Year: Jeffery Simmons DT Titans
New Division Member of the Year: Deforest Buckner DL Colts
Division Standings
1. Titans 11-5
2. Colts 7-9
3. Texans 6-10
4. Jaguars 2-14
