Predicting The Outcome Of Every Division - AFC South

To help pass the time between now and the start of training camp, I thought it would be fun to do a regular season and playoff simulation of the 2023-2024 NFL Season until a Super Bowl winner is crowned. I divided the teams into their respective divisions and I will be posting a new article each day for each division, plus each round of the playoffs. That amounts to 12 articles that I can milk out of one idea in the dead of the offseason, which makes my job so much easier. I’ll be sure to link my previous predictions below.

Previous Predictions

AFC East

NFC East

AFC West

NFC West

So without further ado, here are my predictions for every division. Continuing with...

The AFC South

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a young team that’s on the rise with a Super Bowl winning head coach. They even made it to the second round down 27-0 in the playoffs. That’s impressive. However, the Jags nearly missed the playoffs altogether before catching fire late in the season against a weakened AFC South. Make no mistake, the Jaguars have a great future ahead of them, but they need to learn how to be a bit more consistent. That will come with time.

Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans have done a nice job of kick-starting the Texans rebuild. They were able to get their franchise quarterback in C.J. Stroud and they traded up to the 3rd overall pick to select DE Will Anderson, who is the best defensive player in this year’s draft class. They even listened to Stroud by drafting WR Nathaniel “Tank” Dell, who he lobbied the Texans to get. While the roster as a whole still needs work, they could emerge as surprise wild-card contenders in a weak AFC South if C.J. Stroud plays well.

The Tennessee Titans are like the Jeff Fisher Rams. A team that’s content to finish 7-10 or 8-9 every year. Ryan Tannehill is still projected to be the starter, even though they drafted Will Levis this year and Malik Willis the year before. Nothing really came of the Derrick Henry trade rumors either, so he’s likely staying. Overall, the Titans didn’t do much of anything that will move the needle in 2023, and it would not shock me if they got less than the usual 7-8 wins this season.

The era of trading for washed up quarterbacks is over in Indianapolis. The Colts drafted Anthony Richardson with the 4th overall pick, who was one of, if not, the most athletic quarterback to ever test at the NFL Scouting Combine. Former Eagles OC Shane Steichen helped QB Jalen Hurts develop into an elite passer, and hopes to do the same with Richardson. Although, there’s questions on whether or not Richardson is ready to start, and if his game will even translate at the next level. The focus in Indy will be all about player development, which is why I don’t expect them to win a ton of games in 2023.

The Projected Standings

1. Jaguars: 11-6

2. Texans: 7-10

3. Titans: 4-13

4. Colts: 3-14

Next up: NFC South