off-season Grades for each nfl team: afc south
OK. Since I’m way behind on this task; I’m no longer calling this series “8 divisions in 8 days”. But brightside is that I’m halfway done and will hopefully get done before the HOF game in two weeks! Fingers crossed!
Jacksonville Jaguars: 13-4
What a difference a year makes huh? The 2024 Jaguars were 4-13. They fired HC Doug Pederson. The numbers were atrocious. A -115 points differential. All of their offensive and defensive ranks were in the bottom quarter of the league. They hired Liam Coen as the Head Coach. And his introductory press conference did not inspire much hope. But that’s why they play the game as Chris Berman used to say. A 9 game turn around and their offensive and defensive ranks were in the top half of the league. Including 6th in the league in points scored.
They let Travis Etienne leave to let Bhayshul Tuten get the starting gig at RB. And then proceeded to sign a couple new running backs to help that room. Re-signing TE Brenton Strange was a good deal. And they also re-signed Travon Walker the Edge Rusher they drafted over Aiden Hutchenson. He made it to his second contract, which is great for the team because they did draft him over Aiden.
As for the draft, they didn’t have a first round pick this year due to the move up last year to draft Travis Hunter. Their first pick didn’t come until pick #25 in the second round at which point they drafted TE Nate Boerkircher. With teams going more and more into 12 and 13 personnel, the pick makes sense. With the third round pick they took DT Albert Regis. Another pick that makes sense as a depth piece for the front four. The second third round pick was used on G Emmanuel Pregnon, who I feel will be a stud on the offensive line. Right now he is slotted as a backup. Fourth round pick, Edge rusher Wesley Williams, is a rotation piece but I believe he will have a decent impact.
Overall, the Jacksonville off-season was a matter of shoring up what they already had. And adding needed depth on both sides of the ball. Now, was last year’s good season an anomaly or the real deal?
Grade: B
Houston Texans: 12-5
What a difference a year makes Houston Texans edition. This one on the better play of CJ Stroud but that defense was intensely scary. Stroud still didn’t play like he did his rookie season. He was better than his second season even if the stats do not fully back that up. Stroud missed three games last year due to injury.
Houston did not sit on their laurels after last year. They brought back or acquired so many players in the off-season. The important players that they were able to sign to extensions are as followed; TE Dalton Schultz, Edge Will Anderson Jr., Edge Danielle Hunter, LB Azeez Al-Shahir, and their kicker Fairbairn. They also signed or re-signed OT Braden Smith, OG Ed Ingram, and Safety Reed Blankenship. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that they traded for RB David Montgomery which is a clear upgrade over what they had last year.
Picking G Keylan Rutledge was a nice get in the first round. The 4th pick in the second round was to grab DT Kayden McDonald. Another nice get. But then they made a curious pick with their other second round pick with TE Marlin Klein. TE wasn’t a need and, while they grabbed a Safety in the fifth, they could have grabbed Bud Clark with this pick. Klein may not see meaningful playing time for a few years while Clark would be able to make an impact on Special Teams at the very least.
I did not like their draft. But they did such a great job during free agency that this was a very successful off-season for Houston.
Grade: A
Indianapolis Colts: 8-9
The Colts didn’t make any coaching changes, but you have to wonder how long of a leash Shane Steichen has. This will be his fourth year as the Colts HC and he’s been a mid coach at best. 9-8 and then back to back 8-9 seasons. Last year started off great as the Colts started with an 8-2 record before losing 7 straight. They could blame the injury to Daniel Jones as the reason why they suddenly fell apart. But the fact is that the Colts fell to 8-4 before Jones went down to injury. They were already falling apart.
I don’t really understand what they were doing in free agency. I understand re-signing Daniel Jones. For 12 games, Daniel Jones played pretty well. But giving him a two year, $88 million dollar deal that can be worth as much as $100 million? Wow! And then they doubled down by giving Alec Pierce WR1 money when he hasn’t proven to be a WR1. Pierce is now 11th in the league in total contract value at the wide receiver position. They did make some good value signings on the defense though. Arden Key, Jerry Tillery, Cam Taylor-Britt, and Jonathan Owens are good depth pieces.
The Colts didn’t have a first round pick. I really like the choices with their first two picks in the second and third round respectively. LB CJ Allen and Safety AJ Haulcy. The rest of their draft was pretty mid.
They had to re-sign Daniel Jones and hope that he stays healthy and plays like he did the first 12 games. That’s just not a contract you give for uncertainty like that. And then giving a WR2, WR1 money is not smart either. If Pierce doesn’t get at least 100 catches on the year, it’s a failure.
Grade: C
Tennessee Titans: 3-14
The Titans made wholesale changes this off-season. New HC Robert Saleh is flanked by new OC Brian Daboll and new DC Gus Bradley. I don’t like the move to make Robert Saleh the HC. But let’s see how he does outside of the dysfunction of the New York Jets.
The Titans signed or re-signed 29(!) players. The two best signings were DT Jeffrey Simmons and WR Wan’dale Robinson. Re-signing Simmons was a huge move. Keeping a home grown talent the caliber of him is big. And then they needed to give Cam Ward more help offensively. They are still pretty deficient defensively but having a defensive minded HC will make a difference. And they are still in the middle of a rebuild which also takes time.
If you’re going to give your young QB some help, grabbing a receiver like Carnell Tate at pick #4 is the right move. Tate is the WR1 that this team needs. Then at the back end of the first round, the Titans drafted Keldric Faulk, the Edge out of Auburn. He gives them much needed help on the front line. I expect Anthony Hill Jr., the LB out of Texas, to be starting by the end of the year. The rest of the draft were just depth pieces.
This team is rebuilding and will have some growing pains. They might add a win or two from last year’s total. The key for them is the continuing progress of Cam Ward.
Grade: B