With Training Camps in full swing across the league, we continue to overview each NFL Division.
We previously looked at:
NFC South
NFC East
NFC North
NFC West
AFC East
AFC South
2023 Standings
Houston 10-7
Jacksonville 9-8
Indianapolis 9-8
Tennessee 6-11
Houston demolished Cleveland 45-14 in the Wild Card Round, before losing to the Ravens 34-10 in the Divisional Round.
2024 Current Over / Under Projected Win Totals
Houston 9.5
Jacksonville 8.5
Indianapolis 8.5
Tennessee 6.5
Quick Hits
Texans – I liked CJ Stroud best of the ’23 Rookie QBs going into last year’s draft, but I didn’t anticipate him being a fringe MVP candidate as a Rookie. What a season he had. There were no expectations last year for Stroud and then 1st year Head Coach DeMeco Ryans. That’s not the case right now. A lot of people have Houston as a dark horse Super Bowl team. For whatever reason, last year was a down season for Stefon Diggs in Buffalo, but his historical production can’t be ignored. Will he be focused or a malcontent if every pass attempt isn’t going his way? Nico Collins had 1,300 yards receiving. Tank Dell came on down the stretch. Dalton Schultz is a good pass catching TE. In addition to adding Diggs, the Texans added RB Joe Mixon, formerly of the Bengals. He played all 17 games last year for Cincinnati. His 4 yards per carry, right in-line with his 4.1 ypc career average. He also had 52 receptions. He won’t be the focal point of the offense, but he will be a threat. 2nd round OT Blake Fisher adds to the O-Line. Defensively the Texans have several strong young pieces (Will Anderson, Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre), but overall the defense looks a little thin to me. I think the key to this defense is CB Jeff Okudah (2020 1st rounder) and 2024 2nd Round CB Kamari Lassiter stepping up.
Jaguars – Calvin Ridley and his 76 receptions are gone, replaced in-part by 1st round WR Brian Thomas. They also added former Bills WR Gabe Davis. The O-Line is said to be decent. Not above average, nor a liability. In his 2nd year with Jacksonville, TE Evan Engram had 114 receptions on 143 targets. Engram, Thomas, Davis; coupled with RB Travis Etienne, and WR Christian Kirk is a solid enough group of weapons. How good Jacksonville is or isn’t is largely about QB Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence got the 5 year $275M extension earlier this month. It’s understood that QBs are going to get their money. The former 1st overall selection is a 1x Pro Bowler, now entering year 4 of his career. He’s been good to very good the last two years. Does he reach another level? Defensively, I feel similar to them as I do with Houston. There a few pieces I like, but I don’t see enough overall. Josh Hines-Allen is a monster coming off a 17.5 sack season. Former #1 overall Travon Walker had 10 sacks. I liked 2022 1st rounder LB Devin Lloyd coming into that draft. Former Terp Darnell Savage was a good player for the Packers in his 5 years with Green Bay, but was limited to just 10 games last year. He can help if he stays on the field. 3rd round CB Jarrian Jones is apparently going to play a lot immediately.
Colts – Stroud was my favorite of the Rookie QB’s going into last year’s draft, and the Colts Anthony Richardson was my second favorite. Richardson only had 4 games in his Rookie year, before his season was ended to injury. I think he can be a productive NFL QB, and I think the accuracy concerns others had are overblown. The Colts are making clear he’s going to run the ball. Now we have to see if he can stay on the field. The O-Line is good. RB Jonathan Taylor is a threat, but he has played just 21 games the last two years. WR Michael Pittman had 109 receptions last year. Josh Downs had 68 receptions in his Rookie season. 2nd Rd WR Adoni Mitchell has all the requisite size and speed to be productive. I like the Colts Defensive Line. Kwity Paye (DE), DeForest Buckner (DT), and Samson Ebukam (DE), 9 combined for 25.5 sacks last year. This year they added 1st round EDGE Laiatu Latu to that mix. EJ Speed, and Zaire Franklin are pretty solid at LB. It’s Year 3 for former Terp Nick Cross at the Free Safety. Indianapolis could use him to take a step forward. The SS is Julian Blackmon who had a pretty good season in ’23. Former Raven – and defending NFL Comeback Player of the Year – Joe Flacco is the backup QB.
Titans – Tennessee’s new Head Coach is Brian Callahan. Brian brings his father Bill to coach the Offensive Line. The Titans 1st round pick (7th overall) was OT JC Latham. They added Center Lloyd Cushenberry in Free Agency. New Coaching, a couple of line improvements, and maybe the O-Line can creep towards being average instead of a massive liability? The aforementioned Ridley left Jacksonville for Tennessee. Ridley teams with DeAndre Hopkins to give the Titans two very solid WR’s. Behind them is Tyler Boyd, who leaves Cincinnati after 8 years. Callahan was the OC with Cincinnati, so obviously familiarity there. Boyd had 67 receptions last year. At TE is former Terp Chigoziem Okonkwo, who had 54 receptions last year, but saw his YPC drop considerably from his Rookie year. After 5 years in Dallas, Tony Pollard is now the starting RB for the Titans. Tyjae Spears will get carries. So an improving O-Line, with decent weapons. How good is 2nd year QB Will Levis? Dennard Wilson was the Ravens Secondary Coach, and left to become the Titans Defensive Coordinator.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.