The AFC South has seen the Houston Texans win back-to-back years, though this past year, they came close to giving up a big lead due to a late-season collapse.

The Texans' late-season struggles seem to have given the rest of the AFC South the impression that this year, anyone could walk away with the division crown. The Indianapolis Colts made some eyebrow-raising moves in free agency. And the division also added the top two picks of the 2025 NFL Draft, with the Tennessee Titans making Cam Ward the number one overall pick and the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up to the second pick to select the two-way phenom Travis Hunter. 

With intrigue surrounding the AFC South seeming to be at an all-time high, our two AFC South beat writers, Destin Adams and Easton Freeze, decided to weigh in on how each position group grades out on paper heading into the 2025 season. This two-part series will look at offenses and defense. Below, you will find the offensive side of the ball, which has caused some heated debate. 

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AFC South Positional Rankings: Offense 

Quarterback

Destin: 
1. Texans
2. Jaguars
3. Titans
4. Colts

Easton: 
1. Texans
2. Jaguars
3. Titans
4. Colts

There’s no question that heading into 2025, CJ Stroud is in his own tier atop the division. Despite a 2024 campaign that was mildly disappointing at times after the incredibly high bar he set for himself as a rookie, it’s still clear he’s one of the top passers in the league. Behind him, we agreed that Trevor Lawrence is ahead of Cam Ward. Both are 1st overall picks, and no one will be surprised if Ward flips this perception in short order, but until we see him in the NFL, Lawrence has the edge.

Coming as no surprise, the Colts are a distant last place at the QB position. With news today that Anthony Richardson is being sidelined once again with shoulder soreness, Daniel Jones is looking more and more like the man who we’ll see leading Indianapolis in 2025. The Richardson experiment is feeling closer to finished by the day, and nobody expects Jones to emerge as the future of a franchise at this point. The Colts remain adrift at the most important position in football. – Easton Freeze 

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Running Back

Destin:
1. Colts
2. Jaguars
3. Titans
4. Texans

Easton:
1. Colts
2. Titans
3. Jaguars
4. Texans

The top back in the AFC South is undeniably Jonathan Taylor. He is coming off a fantastic season, during which he rushed for 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished the year fourth in rushing yards and had the third most rushing yards per game with 102.2, only behind Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. In second I have the Jaguars due to the trio of Travis Etienne Jr., Tank Bigsby, and rookie Bhayshul Tuten. I think this trio complements each other very well and will offer the Jaguars a backup for just about any situation. I also think Liam Coen's offense will put Etienne Jr. in a better situation to succeed than we saw last season, which will help him bounce back after a down year. 

Titans come in at third due to their RB room being led by Tony Pollard, with Tyjae Spears also set to take on some of the load to help keep Pollard fresh throughout the season. If we were just ranking RBs off of last year, Pollard would top Etienne, but he would still fall third due to Joe Mixon outperforming him. Which brings me to the final team on my ranking, which is the Texans with Joe Mixon. Mixon started 2024 very strong by rushing for over 100 yards eight times in the first 13 weeks, but he also ended with eight 100-yard games. His highest rushing total in the final four weeks was 57 yards. And I think those late-season struggles will roll over into the start of 2025. – Destin Adams 

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I don’t really see it with this Jaguars RB room at all, except for the potential that Bhayshul Tuten has, which I think the fantasy community has inflated a bit beyond the reality of the situation so far. If he doesn’t hit immediately, I don’t see the juice here. I’m close to all the way out on the Travis Ettienne and Tank Bigsby tandem. I think the Titans have the strongest RB room behind the top back, Jonathan Taylor, in the division. Tony Pollard showed his high-end ability as well as his durability last season, and I think a season that puts less unreasonable workload on his shoulders, which is the plan, will unlock him even further. And while Tyjae Spears has proven unreliable in the health department so far, he and Pollard constitute one of the best receiving tandems of backs in the league. Used the right way, Spears is a dangerous player.

The Texans come in at third for me simply because in a head-to-head, I’m taking Pollard over Mixon. And behind Mixon, the Texans don’t have any lieutenants I find interesting (oh, what could have been, Dameon Pierce). – Easton Freeze 

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Wide Receiver

Destin:
1. Texans
2. Jaguars
3. Colts
4. Titans

Easton:
1. Texans
2. Jaguars
3. Colts 
4. Titans

This was the easiest position group for both Destin and I to rank. There isn’t anything resembling an argument here, at least not yet. We’ll see how some of these pivotal young players pan out, as they’re the only avenues to this list changing in any way this year. At first, by a very comfortable margin, are the Texans. They have serious questions at a couple of crucial positions that we’ll point out further down in the article, but not at receiver. Nico Collins is a bona fide top-10 receiver in the league at this point, and their depth is outrageous. Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are the standout rookies who join Tank Dell, Christian Kirk, and John Metchie III.

Next are the Jaguars, who sit at 2nd on this list by a very comfortable margin as well. They lack depth, but Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter could end up being a top-5 tandem in the league by the end of the 2025. Those two on the field together are a scary, scary proposition. Then, the Colts and Titans make up the hope and prayers portion of this list. The Colts are a clear 3rd because they’re more established. Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Alex Peirce, and Adonai Mitchell are a solid room, but each has questions and/or limitations. And, do they actually have a true WR1?

Which leaves just Tennessee, where you find Calvin Ridley needing a stronger 2nd year and a laundry list of unproven receivers the Titans hope will come break out quickly. Some combination of Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, and Xavier Restrepo will need to burst onto the scene in a big way to make this room a true strength. – Easton Freeze

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Tight End

Destin:
1. Colts
2. Texans
3. Jaguars
4. Titans

Easton:
1. Colts
2. Texans
3. Titans 
4. Jaguars

The Colts decided to use their 2025 first-round pick on TE Tyler Warren. Rookie TEs typically struggle out of the gate, but the TE situation in the AFC South is so bad that it's hard to argue any player in the division over Warren at this moment. And with how bad Indianapolis' TEs were last season, it's safe to say they will be throwing him directly into the fire as a starter.

After that, the Texans have the only other proven option at TE in Dalton Schultz, which gives them the clear edge for the second placement. I have the Jaguars third due to how good I think Brenton Strange is going to be now that he is the top TE in the room with Evan Engram now in Denver. I think Liam Coen is going to utilize his skill set perfectly, and I expect a big year out of the young TE. That leaves the Titans last with Chigoziem Okonkwo leading the room with rookie Gunnar Helm joining the ranks, but I have my doubts on Helm becoming a consistent receiving threat at the NFL level. –Destin Adams

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I don’t see any argument for the Jaguars ahead of the Titans on this list after the draft, frankly. Brenton Strange is a promising young player who seems to be ascending, it’s true. But beyond him, the Jags have a pair of uninspiring, dirty-work free agent signings: Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long. There’s no alpha in this room, and no real potential for one to emerge as the top option. I don’t see an impressive ceiling for Strange.

The Titans have a pair of tight ends that I find far more interesting. Chig Okonkwo may very well be what he is at this point, but what he is is a streaky player who gives you a real weapon half the time. His ability after the catch, in particular, makes him dangerous anytime the ball goes his way. And in drafting the 2024 Texas Longhorns’ #1 receiving threat, Gunnar Helm, I see a ceiling for him that clears both Okonkwo and Strange. I don’t be surprised to see him take over the mantle of this room as a rookie. I think the Titans' tight end room is closer to competing with the Texans at number 2 on this list than the Jaguars at number 4. – Easton Freeze

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Offensive Line

Destin:
1. Colts
2. Titans
3. Jaguars
4. Texans 

Easton:
1. Colts 
2. Titans
3. Jaguars 
4. Texans

The Colts' offensive line lost two starters this offseason, but still seems far and away the best group in the AFC South. They will be returning three high-end starters in Quenton Nelson, Bernhard Raimann, and Braden Smith. And until some of the young players on the Titans or Jaguars take that next step, you could make the argument that those are the top 3 linemen in the entire division. After that, the Titans have the edge for the second spot by a solid margin. A young group added some stable veteran presences in Kevin Zeitler and Dan Moore which should raise the floor of the room tremendously as well as projecting a jump in production from JT Latham who is moving back to right tackle and Peter Skoronski.

The Jaguars and Texans come in at third and fourth, and while the Jags have multiple question marks, they at least have some high upside options to hope that could shock people this year, like Anton Harrison and 2025 3rd round pick Wyatt Milum. The Texans watched the offensive line derail any chance they had at becoming a contender in the AFC last season. And their response to this was to trade their clear top lineman, Laremy Tunsil, to the Washington Commanders and only add one lineman in the 2025 NFL Draft. A truly puzzling decision on their part that, on paper, has their already bad offensive line worse. – Destin Adams 

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