Projecting AFC South hierarchy for 2024 NFL season: Who will win rising division? Strengths/weaknesses?
Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks knows the ins and outs of this league, providing keen insight in his notebook. In today’s installment, he examines a previously dull division that is oozing with intrigue heading into the 2024 season …
As the NFL ushers in a new era with young quarterbacks taking center stage, the AFC South has emerged as a fascinating division on the rise. All four teams offer inarguable allure at the game’s most important position.
C.J. Stroud took the league by storm last season, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors following one of the most transcendent debut campaigns for a quarterback in NFL history. With Stroud leading the way, the Texans went from worst to first in the AFC South and logged a spectacular playoff win. Meanwhile, Trevor Lawrence suffered through an injury-riddled 2023, but he’s only one season removed from a breakout year of his own. In the 2022 campaign, Lawrence made his first Pro Bowl, guided the Jaguars to the top of the division and directed one of the greatest postseason comebacks ever. Lastly, don’t forget about traitsy second-year signal-callers Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, who are generating plenty of excitement around the Colts and Titans, respectively.
Now, in the interest of transparency, I’d like to remind/inform everyone that I am employed as a Jaguars sideline reporter during the season. But that job gives me the opportunity to focus on Jacksonville and the division as a whole. It is an enchanting assignment these days. While the AFC South might have left something to be desired in the recent past, that is certainly not the case as we head toward the 2024 season. This is a compelling quartet of teams, with rivalries already heating up months before kickoff. Stroud just clapped back at some hostile comments from Colts linebackers Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed: “Indy hates me already, and I love it.”
Three of the four AFC South teams (Houston, Indianapolis and Tennessee) completed mandatory minicamp this week, while Jacksonville will check that box this coming Monday through Wednesday. So, this feels like a perfect time to explore the divisional hierarchy heading into the summer.
- Odds to win AFC South: +100
- Last division title: 2023
WHY HOUSTON COULD WIN THE AFC SOUTH: The Texans took everyone by surprise last season, but that won’t be the case this fall. Last year’s upstart darlings will head into the 2024 campaign with high expectations, and rightfully so. With 22-year-old star C.J. Stroud entrenched as the franchise quarterback for an offense loaded with premier talent on the perimeter, Houston has enough firepower to win a shootout against any squad in the league. As the defense continues to progress under DeMeco Ryans’ leadership and tactics, the Texans could cement themselves as an emerging superpower in the AFC.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON ADDITION: A trio of accomplished veterans. The Texans added three decorated vets with big-game experience in WR Stefon Diggs, RB Joe Mixon and DE Danielle Hunter. Not only does each player boost the roster at a marquee spot, but they all provide the kind of seasoned savvy that this young team needed in order to build on last season’s trip to the Divisional Round.
POTENTIAL ACHILLES’ HEEL: The hype around the Texans could disrupt the chemistry of a rising team attempting to take the next step after a breakthrough season. With a locker room full of big personalities and young stars looking to make their mark as blue-chip players, Ryans must guard against complacency and keep everyone pulling in the same direction.
BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSS: Jonathan Greenard, defensive end. The breakout star’s departure in free agency could alter the chemistry of a defensive front that produced a respectable 46 sacks in 2023. Greenard paced the squad with 12.5 sacks, displaying outstanding quickness, power and explosiveness as a relentless pursuer off the edge. Without the homegrown pass rusher in the fold, the Texans will need their veteran D-linemen (Hunter, Denico Autry and Derek Barnett) to complement second-year stud Will Anderson Jr. in the pass rush.
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