To welcome in the 2018 season, the Pro Football Office of Last Word on Sports will be breaking down every division in the league, position-by-position. Every team has a strength, and every team has a weakness and we go through the best and the rest of the 2018 AFC South Breakdown.
2018 AFC South Breakdown: The Offense
2018 AFC South Breakdown: Defense and Special Teams
Defensive Line
The Best: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Rest: Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts
The Jacksonville Jaguars have an absolutely ferocious defensive line, ranking among the best in the league. Calais Campbell was a genuine defensive player of the year candidate, and Malik Jackson is one of the best pass rushing interior linemen in the league. The unit also boasts enviable depth in Abry Jones, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler, and Marcell Dareus, among others.
It’s hard to measure how good the Texans defensive line is without knowing how healthy J.J. Watt is. When he’s at his best, Watt is the most dominant defensive lineman in the league. However, he hasn’t been at his best in a while. Injuries have plagued Watt since 2016, causing him to play in just eight games in the past two seasons. The rest of the defensive line is fine without Watt, but Watt is what brings the unit to another level.
The Titans have a quietly good line, led by Jurrell Casey. Casey’s fantastic as both a pass and run defender, and is the best force on the Titans defensive line. Complemented by players like Derrick Morgan, Bennie Logan, and DaQuan Jones, Tennessee is more than capable of getting after the quarterback with just their front four.
And then there’s the Colts. Indy’s roster doesn’t have many strengths, and the defensive line is full of holes. Jabaal Sheard is a solid, if unspectacular, starter, while second-round rookie Kemoko Turay is slated to start on the opposite end. It’s a work in progress with Indianapolis right now.
Linebacker
The Best: Houston Texans
The Rest: Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts
For the sake of this exercise, Jadeveon Clowney is classified as a linebacker. The former first overall pick has overcome his early-career injuries woes to become one of the more consistent pass rushing linebackers in the league. Paired with the criminally underrated Benardrick McKinney, the Texans have a pair of great linebackers capable of getting to the passer and blowing up a play.
Just because they’re not the best linebacker core in the division does not mean the Jaguars don’t have one of the best linebacker units in the league. Led by the supremely talented Myles Jack, Jacksonville’s linebackers excel against both the run and the pass. They’re fast, strong, versatile, and one of the most complete groups in the league.
The ceiling of the Titans linebacker core will be determined by first-round pick Rashaan Evans. Evans was one of the most talented players to come out of the 2018 NFL Draft and is capable of doing just about everything you’d want out of a linebacker. He’s stout against the run and excels at going sideline-to-sideline and holding his own in pass coverage. Injuries have limited his early production, but once he gets healthy and acclimated with the defense, Evans can be a true number one linebacker.
The Colts defense is in the midst of a rebuild, and their linebacker core is no exception. The most interesting player on the depth chart is second-round rookie Darius Leonard. Leonard is currently battling for a starting spot in the Colts defense and should win it for the Week One opener. It will be interesting to see how the young rookie handles such an advanced workload this early in his career.
Cornerback
The Best: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Rest: Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts
The Jaguars have the best cornerback grouping in the league, and it’s not particularly close. Jalen Ramsey could make a strong claim for the best cornerback in football, and A.J. Bouye is in the top ten. Together, this duo led the best passing defense in the NFL during 2017, and that production should stick into 2018.
The Tennessee Titans are just building their team with former Patriots, and have now reunited cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler. While each player has their separate shortcomings, their strengths and weaknesses play very well off each other. This should be a difficult duo for opposing offenses to throw on.
The Houston Texans could use some help at cornerback. Johnathan Joseph is a good cornerback, but he’s not the player he once was. Kevin Johnson leaves a lot to be desired on the outside, Aaron Colvin is more of a slot cornerback, and Johnson Bademosi is exclusively a special teams player.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Indianapolis Colts have the worst defensive grouping in the division. Cornerback has always been an issue for the Colts, and they just lost their best player in Rashaan Melvin to free agency. How they will stop the pass is anyone’s guess.
Safety
The Best: Tennessee Titans
The Rest: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts
Kevin Byard won First-Team All-Pro honors in 2017, yet he’s somehow one of the most underrated players in the entire league. The former third-round pick broke out last season, collecting eight interceptions while recording 16 passes defended. He’s complemented by Kendrick Lewis and recent signee Kenny Vaccaro. This group has the potential to be one of the better units in the league.
If Tyrann Mathieu can stay healthy, the Texans can easily overtake the Titans for the top spot in the division. Mathieu is one of the most well-rounded and explosive players in football, capable of changing the game at a moments notice. However, health has been a serious issue for Mathieu, and nobody knows how much is left in his tank.
The Jaguars safety group isn’t anything special, but it doesn’t need to be when the rest of the defense is so stacked. Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson are both solid, serviceable players, but neither guy has superstar potential.
Malik Hooker showed the makings of a star during his rookie season last year, but he suffered a season-ending injury early in 2017. If he can pick up where he left off, he could easily be the best player in the Colts secondary.
Special Teams
The Best: Indianapolis Colts
The Rest: Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars
The presence of Adam Vinatieri, the ageless wonder, earns the Colts the top spot. The legendary kicker, now in his age-45 season, is probably the greatest kicker in football history. Synonymous with clutch kicking in the game’s biggest moments, Vinatieri is currently third all-time in league scoring. If anyone is afraid that age might slow down his production, Vinatieri put those doubts to rest last week.
Speaking of ageless wonders, 19th-year punter Shane Lechler is still in line to handle punting duties for the Houston Texans. The longtime Raiders and Texans punter isn’t the player he once was, but he’s still a great punter. Lechler averaged 49.0 yards per punt in 2017, one of the best marks of his career.
While the Titans added Dion Lewis for his offensive prowess, he can also make a big impact on special teams. Lewis had two kickoff returns for touchdowns in his Patriots tenure, including one against the Houston Texans in the 2016 AFC Divisional Round.
Coaching
The Best: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Rest: Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts
Doug Marrone made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game with Blake Bortles as his quarterback. He accomplished that in just his first full season at the helm, and he should continue to build this talented roster into a true Super Bowl contender.
Bill O’Brien had has a solid tenure in Houston, considering the constant quarterback carousel rotating through Texan. That said, he’s made more than a few questionable decisions over the years, and hasn’t been able to get the most out of his available talent. He’s a decent head coach, but he’s nothing special.
The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts are entering the season with a new coach at the helm, so it’s impossible to judge them right now.
2018 AFC South Breakdown: The Offense
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