Best starter on each of Colts’ AFC South rivals
The AFC South may not be the best division in the league, but the Indianapolis Colts and the other three teams are home to some of the league’s best players.
The NFL recently published their Top 100 list and the Indianapolis Colts found themselves with five players on that list. Jonathan Taylor was ranked fifth; the highest for the Colts and the AFC South. He was also the highest-ranked running back in the NFL. Although the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans failed to put a player on this list, the Tennessee Titans fielded three players.
Let’s do some math. There are eight divisions in the league so 100 divided by eight is roughly 13 players if you round up. Despite having two teams not field a player, this division produced eight of their averaged 13 players on the list. Not the best division in the league but also not the worse. We all know the Colts have several great starters, but let’s take a look at their AFC South rivals’ best starters.
Houston Texans
This was tough…and not because they have a lot of good players to pick from. The Texans go back and forth with the Jaguars for the worst team in the division, if not the league. Although they have some bright spots it was hard to nail down their best starter. As of late, Dameon Pierce’s stock has been on the rise.
The rookie was taken in the fourth round (107th overall) out of Florida. Relatively under the radar, Pierce has been turning heads. So much so that the Texans released former Colt Marlon Mack to hit the 53-man limit. This gave Pierce full control of the backfield with only veteran Rex Burkhead taking away passing-down opportunities. However, if he continues his stellar play into the regular season he could have complete control of the backfield. That’s just it though. We have not seen Pierce in the regular season against premiere talent to know if he is the real deal yet. Until then, he has a lot of promise but he is not the best player on the Texans.
A close second on this roster would be Brandin Cooks. Entering his ninth season in the league, Cooks has been the veteran presence on the offensive side of the ball. He’s bounced around the league after being drafted by the Saints in 2014. He spent three seasons there before joining the Patriots for a year. After a two-year stint with the Rams, he found his home in Houston. In every season he’s been with the Texans, two, he has recorded over 1,000 receiving yards, 80 receptions, and 115 targets. He also led the team in each of these three categories in those seasons. According to PFF, Cooks was their highest-graded player last season. However, he hasn’t had the personal or team accolades that you look for in the best player on a team.
That brings us to Laremy Tunsil. The anchor of not only the offensive line but the offense in general…actually, scratch that, the team in total. After being drafted by the Dolphins in 2016 with their first-round pick, 13th overall, Tunsil appeared in every game for Miami in his three seasons with them. In 2019 he was traded to the Texans along with Kenny Stills, a 2020 fourth-round pick, and a 2021 sixth-round pick in return for a 2020 first-round pick (what would become Jordan Love but was traded away), a 2021 first-round pick (what would become Trey Lance but was traded away), a 2021 second-round pick (in which the Dolphins selected Jevon Holland), Johnson Bademosi, and Julie’n Davenport. What a haul for Tunsil.
Since joining the Texans he has been selected to the Pro Bowl twice in the first two of his three seasons in Houston. Last season, he played five games before being sidelined with a thumb injury that required surgery. He is set to make his return this season to anchor the line again. He has the potential to record another Pro Bowl bid if he can protect David Mills and create holes for Pierce. In his three seasons in Houston, he has only allowed five sacks which aren’t great but obviously not the worst on the team. If Tunsil is not the best left tackle in the AFC South he is a close second to Taylor Lewan on the Titans.