Continuing the NFL Draft Need series, the attention shifts to the Southern divisions of the league, beginning with the AFC South.
The AFC South division has been controlled mainly by the passing dominance of the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts, who are winners of eight division titles since 2002. The other three teams have experienced their share of success throughout the years by either claiming the division outright or clinching a playoff spot. Both the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars benefited from playing smash-mouth football and the Houston Texans finally got over the hump to repeat as division champs (2011-2012) by implementing a complete brand of football on offense and defense.
Today, however, these four squads are in different eras of their franchises. In Indy, Andrew Luck is under center instead of Peyton. Also, the other teams are looking for fresh starts with newly-placed regimes. What players do these teams need in order to return to, or continue with, their winning ways?
1. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Team Needs: OL, Various Defensive Pieces, WR
After the atrocious, Manning-less campaign in 2011, the Colts quickly rebounded to take make the playoffs two consecutive seasons, led by two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck engineered the second-largest comeback in playoff history to help the Colts advance to the second round after being knocked out of the wild card game a season ago. The first half of Indy’s season was highlighted by a smash-mouth approach after they garnered impressive wins versus San Francisco, Seattle and Denver; they eventually opened up their offense by airing the ball down the field to their second-year gamebreaker, T.Y. “Welcome To The” Hilton.
The downfall for the Colts in 2013 was within the trenches, particularly on the offensive line. Indy’s front five was brutal to Andrew Luck’s body, allowing him to get hit 109 times this season (the third most in the league). To keep their signal-caller upright, they will need to address the interior of their o-line.
On defense, Indianapolis needs to improve in a few areas. They may have signed corner Vontae Davis to an extension to keep him in the secondary, but they lost safety Antoine Bethea. The defensive line should be the main focus based on its horrid performance against LeGarrette Blount in the playoffs. Newly-acquired Arthur Jones will be a significant upgrade, but adding more young bodies on the line would be ideal.
Although T.Y. Hilton is in place for the future, the wide receiver position may still come into question since Reggie Wayne is now in the twilight of his career and promising targets Da’Rick Rodgers and LaVon Brazill are relatively unproven. The Colts did sign Hakeem Nicks, but based on his last two injury-plagued seasons, his contract is on a one-year, “prove-it” basis.
2. TENNESSEE TITANS Team Needs: RB, QB, CB
The Tennessee Titans failed to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year after going 13-3 in 2008. Their season got off to an aspiring 3-1 start, but they lost eight of their last twelve games. The top highlights of the 2013 campaign were the season-ending injury of quarterback Jake Locker and the breakout season for cornerback Alterraun Verner, who made his first Pro Bowl and was granted a huge payday in Free Agency by the Buccaneers.
During their playoff campaign in 2008, the offense featured then-rookie running back Chris Johnson. With that said, the Titans need to address their backfield in the draft, especially since CJ2K’s future with the team is uncertain.
With Jake Locker’s durability and roster spot in question, scouting another quarterback would not be a bad idea.
As far as defense is concerned, the Titans should look to replace Verner in the secondary; his five interceptions on the league’s 11th-ranked pass defense will be greatly missed if they do not address this position.
3. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Team Needs: QB, OL, DB
Let’s put it this way: What don’t the Jaguars need? They were horrific on both sides of the football in the 2013 season. Outside of being projected to compete in the Johnny Manziel sweepstakes, the main topics of discussion for the Jags involved the amount of their games being blacked out and the rumors surrounding Tim Tebow coming home to play quarterback.
First and foremost, Jacksonville DESPERATELY needs to draft a quarterback to help rebuild their offense; Blaine Gabbert was a disappointment under center and as a result he was shipped to the Bay Area. The Jaguars need someone who can not only produce consistently, but also revitalize the fans and bring them back to EverBank Field. Also on offense, the Jags need to improve an offense line that surrendered 50 sacks in 2013, the second most in the NFL.
Defensively, the Jaguars have made some noise in Free Agency by signing veteran defensive linemen Chris Clemmons and Red Bryant; what these two guys have in common is that they both played under the current head coach of the Jags, Gus Bradley, when he was the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks’ fourth-ranked defense in 2012. Now that they have stability on the d-line, getting some secondary players will be a must to balance out the defensive side of the ball.
4. HOUSTON TEXANS Team Needs: DE, OLB, S
Around this time a year ago, analysts considered the Houston Texans to be the most complete team in football. In May, they will have the number one overall pick in the draft after going 2-14 in 2013. What a difference a year makes.
The Texans may have the most intriguing situation in the draft with the top pick. Some critics have sided with the Texans’ all-time great receiver, Andre Johnson, saying that they should trade the pick; others say they need to utilize the pick on a quarterback. This may come as surprising to most, but Houston would benefit greatly with drafting defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney.
Even though they had the league’s third best passing defense, think about this. The Texans already have J.J. Watt, a guy who has accumulated 36.5 sacks in three seasons. Add an athletic and versatile player like Clowney, who could also line up as a defensive tackle, could maybe help improve their 23rd-ranked run defense. Having Watt and Clowney on the same line would be deadly, especially since they lost veteran end Antonio Smith in Free Agency.
Other team needs include acquiring talent at the outside linebacker positions to assist their stud, yet injury-hampered inside backer, Brain Cushing. Another safety could help out since Daniel Manning is in his thirties and having Ed Reed on the roster did not go as planned.
Football observers nationwide argue that the quarterback position is a more essential need for the Texans, but since Bill O’Brien is the coach on the sideline, the person under center will be ensured. When a guy has coached Tom Brady, Matt McGloin (who threw over 3,000 yards and 24 TDs in 2012 at Penn State) and Christian Hackenberg (who threw 20 TDs with a 134.0 passer rating for the Nittany Lions in 2013), Case Keenum is in great hands moving forward.
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