FanPost

Post-Draft Divisional Power Rankings

This may be all one big hot take but I’m excited to watch the Colts this year, especially the divisional games with 3 rookie QBs in play along with Trevor Lawrence plus I try to do my homework

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: I’ll start with Jacksonville because until the season plays out and shows otherwise, the Jags are the most complete team in the division and have the current best QB of the 4 teams. Doug Pederson has proven to be an excellent coaching hire for them as he turned Trevor Lawrence around from his awful rookie year and got them to the playoffs, losing a close game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs but they came back against the chargers the week prior to get a playoff win. The flaws on this team mainly center around the offensive line and defense. They drafted a tackle in the first round (Anton Harrison) that will likely be put on the blind side to start the season due to Cam Robinson’s 6 game suspension for PEDs. Robinson is a mid to above average tackle as it is but he’s not terrible on the left side. Collectively the Jags line is solid but not spectacular though Lawrence’s mobility helps the unit out. The same could be said about the defense. The strongest point of this team is definitely Lawrence and the weapons around him.

HOUSTON TEXANS: A big thank you is in order to Houston for trading up to 3 and letting the Colts draft Richardson. CJ Stroud has excellent college game tape, especially his CFP Semi game against Georgia. The two knocks on him are that OSU QBs haven’t panned out much in the NFL (Fields looks good tho) and the supporting cast in college he had was ridiculous (first round weapons, lots of good OLinemen). Can Stroud put up good numbers with Houston’s supporting cast? Only time will tell but I think he’ll be great. Like the Colts, this is a "let’s see what he can do" type of season with their draft class. Getting Stroud and Will Anderson as the faces of both sides of the ball was a huge accomplishment but the offense and defense need more pieces from next years draft to continue the rebuild which is going in the right direction. Due to the murderer’s row of QBs in the AFC, the Texans ceiling is likely winning 6-8 games and simply doing better than last season

TENNESSEE TITANS: Whereas the Texans and Colts will likely be sending their rookie QBs out in Week 1, the Titans have an established starter in Ryan Tannehill meaning Will Levis will only start if Tannehill is injured or it’s week 5 and Tennessee is 0-5 or 1-4 or something like that. The combination of Tannehill and Derrick Henry has and will continue to make the Titans a competitive team that can’t be counted out unless last season’s injury problems repeat this season. While Henry’s running style has predictably made him injury prone as his career has progressed, he’s still a threat. I really liked their drafting of Tyjae Spears as he will compliment Henry’s rushing style and relieve him so he isn’t being run into the ground as much. Last season, Tennessee had the worst offensive line in the division but just drafted Peter Skoronski at pick 11 who I think will be a beast at tackle or guard, wherever Tennessee puts him. In addition to some other young OL players that stand to improve from more playing time, Tennessee still has worst line but they shouldn’t be as bad as last year and could at least be a league average unit this season. The defense should be it’s usual self that Mike Vraebel has put out the past few seasons which is a good thing for the most part for them.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Wow, what a draft. Let me start by saying Richardson could fail as a passer this year and likely run for a ton of yardage and keep the Colts competitive that way. That being said, the Colts had the best draft out of the 4 teams in the division overall. The defense should perform much better by default this year as many of last years blown leads can be attributed to losing the time of possession battle with the offense going 3 and out multiple times. The defense was good enough to let Bobby Okereke walk in free agency due to the emergence of Zaire Franklin who broke Darius Leonard’s single season tackle record set in 2018. The Colts getting younger and deeper in the secondary is a big boost that can only have a higher ceiling if Yannick Ngakoue and Kwity Paye stay healthy as bookend pass rushers this season. As far as the offense goes, the OLine had a down year with Quenton Nelson and Braeden Smith having down years. Ryan Kelly had a down year as well but that can be attributed to losing his daughter the season prior which would throw even the best of us off our game mentally. Another possibility of the collective poor play was the lack of mobility from Matt Ryan which Richardson and even Gardner Minshew has plenty of which should cut down on sacks allowed. The emergence of Bernard Raimann gives the colts a solid left tackle going into this year. If Richardson develops as a passer long term, he certainly has the weapons to get there between Pierce, Taylor, Pittman, and Josh Downs who I thought was the best slot WR in the draft and an awesome replacement for TY Hilton.

Division Standings predictions:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-5)

2. Tennessee Titans (7-10 or 8-9, something like that)

3. Colts/Texans (6-11 or 7-10, complete coin toss between the teams)

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.