AFC South
Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-9
If there’s one team that i really am buying as a challenger to the Houston Texans in the AFC South this year, it’s going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’ve always liked Trevor Lawrence, and the Jaguars have so many intriguing young playmakers offensively that it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think they could make some noise this year. With that in mind, there’s a lot stacked against them because of how much is new, so we’re keeping it relatively conservative. But I wouldn’t be shocked if they won 10 games.
Tennessee Titans: 5-12
The Titans might show a little something this year with Cam Ward under center, but this roster is very much a work in progress. General manager Mike Borgonzi knows that, and they’re putting a lot on Ward to make lemonade out of the lemons he’s surrounded with. The Titans are probably at least another couple of years away from being true contenders, but as we saw with the Commanders last year, you never know when a young quarterback is going to emerge as a star and accelerate the rebuild.
Indianapolis Colts: 6-11
If not for the quarterback situation being such a rough one, the Colts might be everyone’s surprise pick in the AFC. And heck, if Daniel Jones can pull off something similar to what we saw last year from the Vikings with Sam Darnold, you just never know. But this is a guy who has, over a rather large sample, been a turnover machine in the NFL. And that’s been difficult for him to shake. The Colts might be in for a long year unless Shane Steichen can work his magic, and then what happens?
Houston Texans: 10-7
I’ve cooled off on the Houston Texans pretty considerably in recent weeks. I don’t know what it is. Call it a gut feeling, and maybe by the end of the season, we’ll be able to call it a bad one. Everything is there for the Texans to be a tough team in the AFC, but I was buying what they were selling last year, and they were not nearly as great as everyone hoped they could be. The Texans have the right QB, they have pass rushers, and they have playmakers in the secondary. But there are genuine concerns on the offensive line.