5 reasons Malik Jackson to the Jacksonville Jaguars makes sense
By John Buhler
2. AFC South
To win a Super Bowl, a team has to make the playoffs. Since 2002’s realignment, there has not been a division that has underwhelmed more than the AFC South. While the Indianapolis Colts have won the division all but three years since its creation, the Houston Texans have won it three times in five years after getting destroyed as a former expansion team.
All the while, both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans have spent the last decade in the basement of the AFC after being strong organizations in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That said, this division (with the exception of Tennessee) is about to become more competitive than it ever has, and the Jaguars will play a huge part in that.
Indianapolis has Andrew Luck at quarterback but has to put together a strong supporting cast for him to have long term success in the AFC. Houston has a strong defense but a mediocre offense at best under head coach Bill O’Brien.
With Malik Jackson choosing to come to the Jaguars, this decision could stand as a huge turning point for Jacksonville to become the most balanced team in the AFC South and thus a favorite to contend for the playoffs annually as soon as 2016.
Jackson leaves behind an AFC West that has another great team toward the top of the division in the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as another up-and-coming team in the Oakland Raiders. Like Oakland, Jacksonville feels like an organization that is about to go from awful to great in a short window of time. Jackson will leave a declining Denver for a rising Jacksonville while breaking the bank.
Next: 1. A contending team on the rise