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.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are still a bottom feeder in the AFC South and NFL in general, but they do have some talented, young players that the organization and fan base hope will help change things around. They were able to select several promising rookies in the most recent draft. Travon Walker was selected with the first-overall pick, adding a skilled player in the linebacking core. The Jaguars dipped into the linebacker well a few times in the draft adding Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma as well. However, these players haven’t proven enough yet to be one of the Jaguars’ best starters.
Trevor Lawrence would be the logical next step here. A decent rookie season was met with hope for the future. In year two, Lawrence is expected to produce more. Jacksonville invested in the receiving core this offseason setting the wide receiver market by signing Christian Kirk (who *spoiler* isn’t the best starter). They also added Zay Jones and Evan Engram to give Lawrence more targets. However, until he shows he can use his targets Lawrence is not the best starter. One of his weapons has the chance to, and that’s Travis Etienne Jr. After missing his rookie season with a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot Etienne Jr. looks to bounce back strong this season. However, until he proves this he can’t be named the best starter either.
That leads us to look back at the defensive side of the ball. Although Shaquill Griffin was an added boost to the secondary last season, the best starter on the Jaguars this season has to be Josh Allen. Not only does he share a namesake with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he ranks as one of the best linebackers in the game. According to PFF, last season Allen ranked 18th out of 110 linebackers. Last season he was tied for 32nd in the league with 7.5 sacks. From the gate, Allen had a great start to his NFL career.
He was named to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season, despite only starting four games. He recorded 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and 44 tackles. 11 of these tackles went for a loss and he hit the quarterback 23 times. This stat, as well as his sacks and forced fumbles, are the best of his career thus far.
In 2020, he only played eight games after suffering injuries. Last season he rebounded well starting 15 of 16 games and recording one interception, one forced fumble, 7.5 sacks, and 71 tackles. These were the most tackles of his career. He also got more involved in pass defense with the interception in addition to four pass deflections. He will be a leader not only on the defense but the team in general as the Jaguars look to reset with their youth and hopefully one day compete in the AFC South.
Tennessee Titans
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Before Jonathan Taylor dominated for the Colts, the title of the best player in the AFC South belonged to Derrick Henry. Teams know exactly what he is going to do each game but they can’t stop him. The man is built like a tank, bowling over his opponents with straight-up trucks or momentous stiff arms. Taylor balling out and Henry suffering an injury last season knocked him down in the rankings. The workhorse was finally starting to show signs of wear and tear.
Despite the setback Henry still is the best player on the Titans when healthy. After only playing eight games last season, Henry rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns on 219 attempts. This ranked 9th, tied for 6th, and 10th in the league respectively. According to PFF, Henry ranked 17th out of 62 running backs even with his limited playing time. Mind you this was in comparison to guys who played a full season. Henry will enter his seventh season in the league but has already been named to the Pro Bowl twice, an All-Pro once, and the AP Offensive Player of the Year once.
Everyone, especially frustrated Colts fans, is waiting for the other shoe to drop with Henry. For the past two seasons, people have been saying he has to slow down, but he doesn’t. Despite the heavy workload Henry continues to put the team on his back and put up incredible numbers. When he was out last season you could see how much the team depends on him.
An honorable mention for the Titans is Jeffery Simmons. Despite only being in the league for three seasons Simmons has stood out as one of the best defensive linemen not only in the AFC South but in the NFL. He put together the best season of his career last year setting career bests in pass deflections (6), sacks (8.5), tackles (54), tackles for loss (12), and quarterback hits (16). He was rewarded for his efforts with his first Pro Bowl bid. He is a menace to contend with on the line as many Colts fans know. When Henry was out, he was the center of attention.
Tennessee’s defense in general has a lot of bright spots including Harold Landry III, Denico Autry, Bud Dupree, and Kevin Byard. An interesting side note, according to PFF, last season the safety duo of Byard and Amani Hooker ranked first and third respectively out of 92 safeties. Some of these guys can make an argument about being the best in their position in the AFC South. It seems to always come down to the Colts and Titans in the end and it’s easy to see why. Both teams draft and develop good talent and put together contending rosters. However, the Titans’ success this season will depend largely on how well Henry bounces back from the first real injury of his NFL career.
What Colts players would make an All-AFC South Team?
Pulling players from the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in order to build one dominant AFC South team roster.