There are two things every NFL fan base can be excited and optimistic about when it comes to the offseason: Rookies and potential breakout players.
Some teams have more reason to be excited than others, but one division that has plenty of intrigue in terms of rookies and sophomores is the AFC South, which features the top two picks in last year's draft, the 4th overall pick in this year's draft, and plenty of other talented young players who could take the league by storm.
These NFL Power Rankings are going to take a look at a duo for each team in the AFC South that could be fueling optimism for the future of each team in the division. Which teams in the AFC South have the best rookie-sophomore duos, and what can we expect from them this year?
Let's dive in and rank each of the pairings worst to best for the 2026 season.
NFL Power Rankings: Top rookie-sophomore duos in the AFC South for 2026
4. Houston Texans: LT Aireontae Ersery & OL Keylan Rutledge
Over the past couple of offseasons, the Houston Texans have been working on revamping their offensive line, rebuilding the entire thing from scratch.
Two of the key pieces of the rebuild are 2025 2nd-round pick Aireontae Ersery -- the team's projected starting left tackle in the 2026 season -- and 2026 1st-round pick Keylan Rutledge, who figures to start for them at center.
The Texans obviously need to figure out a way to better protect quarterback CJ Stroud. He was sacked 90 times in his first two NFL seasons, and while he took fewer in 2025 (23), he also missed time due to a scary injury suffered against the Denver Broncos when he was escaping the pass rush and on the move.
Ersery obviously has a ton of pressure playing the most premium position, but Rutledge will also be expected to be a stud right away, considering he was one of the lowest players on the consensus boards taken in the 1st round of this year's draft. But he's nasty and physical.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: CB/WR Travis Hunter & TE Nate Boerkircher
Admittedly, Travis Hunter is doing the true heavy lifting here.
The Jaguars gave up a king's ransom in last year's draft to get Hunter, and an injury prevented him from really showing the rest of the NFL world why the Jags made that move. There were flashes, but that's really all we got in his 7 games.
Still, the future should be very bright for Hunter, who is in line to play more defense this season than we saw last year, and perhaps a bit more sporadically on offense with as strong as the Jaguars' receiver room is going into this season.
The idea of 2nd-round TE Nate Boerkircher making a substantial impact this season is a bit far-fetched, but wouldn't that be something? The Jaguars were obviously convinced that he could have an impact in their offense right away, considering he's one of the older rookies, and they didn't take him based on athletic traits.
2. Indianapolis Colts: TE Tyler Warren & LB CJ Allen
It felt like the Indianapolis Colts got a steal in last year's 1st round when they selected tight end Tyler Warren out of Penn State, and that turned out to absolutely be the case. He finished his rookie year with 76 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns.
Especially with Michael Pittman Jr. being shipped off to the Pittsburgh Steelers, you can rest assured knowing that Shane Steichen plans on really featuring Warren in his offense this season.
He'll be one of the most exciting 2nd-year players to watch league-wide, but the Colts also have one of the top steals -- potentially -- of the 2026 NFL Draft with 2nd-round pick CJ Allen. Allen was routinely going in the 1st round of mock draft predictions this past offseason, and felt like he landed in the perfect spot in the 2nd round with the Colts.
Allen is a little bit undersized, but he's instinctive and athletic. He will help the Colts immediately by replacing their former tackling machine Zaire Franklin on the inside.
1. Tennessee Titans: QB Cam Ward & WR Carnell Tate
The duo of Cam Ward and Carnell Tate was the inspiration for this post in the first place. That could be the most exciting rookie-sophomore duo around the entire league, much less just in the AFC South.
The Titans really believe they have a franchise player in quarterback Cam Ward, whose rookie season wasn't exactly a steady climb upward. But despite having pretty awful circumstances around him, Ward managed to show the types of traits that you look for in a player you build around at the game's most important position.
So that's what the Titans did.
Despite just about every mock draft saying the Titans were going to take the best defensive player available, they shocked the NFL world by taking wide receiver Carnell Tate with the 4th overall pick and giving their star quarterback prospect a new WR1.
The arrival of Tate -- with Brian Daboll calling the plays -- could help the Titans really take the next step as an offense in 2026.
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