Another NFL Draft has come and gone. How did the teams in the AFC South do in the draft grades? Did they get all the players they needed? Were there some surprises? Get ready to find out how each team did in the 2023 NFL Draft!
2023 NFL Draft Grades: AFC South
Houston Texans: B+
Players Added: C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Jr., Juice Scruggs, Tank Dell, Dylan Horton, Henry To’oTo’o, Jarrett Patterson, Xavier Hutchinson, Brandon Hill
Overall, the Houston Texans did exceptionally well to get both C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. Throw in a couple of guys with the coolest and among the most unique names in the draft in Juice Scruggs, Tank Dell, and Henry To’oTo’o, and the Texans seemed to have a pretty solid draft.
The reason they did not get an “A” is that they came into the draft needing defensive linemen, and while they did draft two edges in Anderson Jr. and Dylan Horton, they did not draft any interior defensive linemen prospects, which may mean new head coach DeMeco Ryans and his staff may not be utilizing defensive schemes that necessitate excess defensive linemen (Example: 3-4).
Indianapolis Colts: A
Players Added: Anthony Richardson, Julius Brents, Josh Downs, Blake Freeland, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Darius Rush, Daniel Scott, Will Mallory, Asim Richards, Titus Leo, Jaylon Jones, Jake Witt
Of the four teams in the AFC South, two teams get an A in the draft grades and one of those teams is the Indianapolis Colts! The Colts came in needing an upgrade at quarterback, which they got when they drafted Florida’s Anthony Richardson, fourth overall. The Colts also needed offensive linemen, and used three of their 12 picks to draft offensive line prospects, Blake Freeland, Asim Richards, and Jake Witt. The Colts did the same thing at the cornerback position, drafting Julius Brents in round two, Darius Rush in round five, and Jaylon Jones in round seven. The Colts also added depth at tight end, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive tackle, and safety. The Colts got what they need and then some.
Jacksonville Jaguars: A
Players Added: Anton Harrison, Brenton Strange, Tank Bigsby, Ventrell Miller, Tyler Lacy, Yasir Abdullah, Antonio Johnson, Parker Washington, Christian Braswell, Erick Hallett II, Cooper Hodges, Raymond Vohasek, Derek Parish
The second team to get an “A”, from the AFC South are the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars surprised some folks with their first-round pick of Anton Harrison, but once it was found out that starting tackle Cam Robinson would be serving a suspension for performance-enhancing drug use, the pick made sense.
The Jaguars needed to bolster their secondary which they addressed by drafting Antonio Johnson in round five and safety Erick Hallett II, in round six. The Jaguars also added running back prospect Tank Bigsby in round three to complement and take some of the load off of Travis Etienne. The Jaguars also selected the heir apparent, potentially, to Evan Engram, when they took Brenton Strange in round two. In addition to fulfilling all their needs, the Jaguars were also able to add depth to the defensive tackle and linebacker, positions. They also added Parker Washington who is a wide receiver who will likely serve as the Jaguars punt return specialist while also adding depth to an already stocked receiver corps, next season.
Tennessee Titans: C-
Players Added: Peter Skoronski, Will Levis, Tyjae Spears, Josh Whyle, Jaelyn Duncan, Colton Dowell
Well, there had to be one team who did not do so well in each conference, and the AFC South’s version is none other than the Tennessee Titans. The Titans came in needing an offensive tackle, which they addressed by taking Peter Skoronski in round one and Jaelyn Duncan in round six.
They also needed an edge, however, they did not draft any edge prospects. On top of that, they needed to upgrade at wide receiver but waited until round seven to draft little-known local prospect, Colton Dowell out of Tennessee-Martin. Admittedly, 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis did not look great last season in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill and I get the Titans want to be prepared, just in case, but I did not think they needed to draft Will Levis in the beginning of the second round when they could have used that pick to get a potentially better edge or wide receiver prospect.
Going by the totally non-scientific means of looking at a college and seeing which quarterbacks they produced in the past, only Tim Couch, who was overhyped at best, and the late Jared Lorenzen, who was mainly known for being a 300-plus-pound quarterback, come to mind when thinking of quarterbacks from the University of Kentucky. Nothing personal to either Couch or Lorenzen, they were who they were and played how they played, but to say they had great NFL careers would be very misleading.
While Levis is not Couch nor Lorenzen, he does kind of give off that vibe (and not just because he puts mayonnaise in his coffee…gross!). A bright spot for the Titans may lie in non-power five prospect Tyjae Spears, who helped lead a Tulane football program to a top-ten ranking last season (seventh). Spears should complement power runner Derrick Henry nicely, next season.
