The AFC South has always felt like the unwanted appendage of the NFL, probably because it hosts two of the league's youngest teams. No offense to the Jaguars and Texans — I mean, I'm personally a Texans fan, so for real, no offense! — but the division just doesn't have the history of the AFC North or NFC East.
What the AFC South does have, though, are question marks. After two seasons of the Texans dominating the division, can another team emerge as a true threat in 2025? Or will certain weaknesses hold those teams back from making a real run at the division crown?
Here are the biggest weaknesses for each AFC South team, as well as an attempt at how the team might fix those issues.
The Texans can't protect C.J. Stroud
Entering this offseason, Houston had one huge need: offensive line help.
Last season, the Texans had one of the league's worst lines. Per PlayerProfiler, C.J. Stroud ranked 36th among all NFL quarterbacks in protection rate and had the third-most pressured throws. Houston simply did an awful job giving Stroud a clean pocket to work from, which explains why his completion rate and touchdown rate dropped and his interception rate rose in his second NFL campaign.
Fixing the offensive line is a two-part process. The first part? Jettisoning the players responsible for the team's struggles. Houston did that, moving on from starters Laremy Tunsil, Kenyon Green and Shaq Mason.
The problem is that Houston didn't really do a lot to address the second part, which is bringing in talent to replace those guys. Free agent signings Cam Robinson and Laken Tomlinson are decent stopgap options on the left side of the line, but if the starters at center and on the right side are Jarrett Patterson, Tytus Howard and Blake Fisher, the team is still going to have all the same issues as last season.
Rookie second-round pick Aireontae Ersery might be part of the solution. Houston needs to hope he develops quickly into a starter, and the team also needs to be quick to give backups Ed Ingram and Trent Brown a chance as well. They might not be the answer, but trying whatever combinations it takes to find a decent starting five from this ragtag group is a must.
Solution: Experiment. Try different combinations. Hope Aireontae Ersery is able to make an immediate impact.
Colts don't know if Anthony Richardson is the answer at quarterback
Three AFC South teams seem good at quarterback. C.J. Stroud had a down 2024 season, but he has still led the Texans to the playoffs in both of his seasons. Trevor Lawrence probably won't live up to his draft hype, but he's still an above-average starting quarterback. Cam Ward was just drafted No. 1 overall less than two months ago.
That leaves Indianapolis, which is still crossing its fingers and hoping that Anthony Richardson is the answer despite evidence beginning to pile up that he isn't.
So, what's Indianapolis to do about Richardson? Well, as the saying goes, the only way through is through.
The Colts benched Richardson last season for two games and then saw him miss four more with injury. Obviously, there's nothing you can do about the injury part, but the team needs to just let Richardson work through things on the field.
Yes, the fact that Richardson only completed 47.7 percent of his passes last season is a glaring red flag, a pretty clear sign that he probably isn't going to work out in Indianapolis, as was the fact that he threw more interceptions than touchdowns.
But backup Daniel Jones isn't the answer. Sixth-round pick Riley Leonard is very likely not the answer. The best thing for Indianapolis ahead of a 2026 NFL Draft that should be heavy on solid quarterbacks is to just let Richardson work through things. If he figures them out, you're a competitive team going forward. If he doesn't, you can position yourself for a good quarterback in next year's draft. The Colts won't be bad enough — even if Richardson fails to improve — to get Arch Manning, but maybe they can land Garrett Nussmeier or Cade Klubnik, setting them up to compete in the AFC South in the future.
Solution: Give Richardson a long leash and treat 2025 as one long, final tryout.
Jaguars secondary is very dependent on rookie Travis Hunter
It's hard to know what to expect from Travis Hunter as he attempts to defy the odds and become a two-way star at the next level.
Jacksonville has need for Hunter at both wide receiver and cornerback, but the defensive secondary need feels more pressing at the moment. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that if Hunter is only used situationally as a defender, the Jags will be in trouble.
In 2024, the Jaguars allowed the most passing yards in the NFL while picking off the third-fewest passes. It was a huge weakness, one that was addressed by drafting Hunter.
The problem is that it wasn't really addressed much beyond Hunter.
The team signed safety Eric Murray. He was solid in Houston last year, but he's also a 31-year-old player who hadn't really been much of a factor since 2021. Was 2024 just an illusion?
There's upside with Tyson Campbell and Jarrian Jones, but overall, this secondary doesn't look notably better in 2025 outside of the Hunter addition. Jacksonville needs him to focus on defense.
Solution: Maybe at some point, Travis Hunter can be a two-way star, but right now the Jags need him on defense
Can the Titans get to the quarterback?
Tennessee fixed its quarterback situation in the draft by taking Miami's Cam Ward No. 1 overall. Now, the team has to figure out how it can attack the opponent's quarterback.
Tennessee recorded 32 sacks last season, tied for the third-lowest mark in the NFL. Additionally, the team had the second-lowest pressure percentage, getting pressure on the quarterback on just 16.7 percent of dropbacks.
The Titans secondary did a lot of good work, picking off 11 passes and allowing the second-fewest passing yards in the league. Credit to players like Amani Hooker and Jarvis Brownlee for that, and the addition of safety Xavier Woods makes that unit even better.
But the front seven has to help the secondary out.
Last season's sack leader, Harold Landry, is gone, as he signed in New England in free agency. Among players who were on the Titans roster last season and remain on it at the moment, Arden Key's 6.5 sacks last season are on top for the team.
Tennessee added linebackers Dre'Mont Jones and Cody Barton this offseason as well as defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, plus used a second-round pick on linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo. Someone in that group will need to step up and show they can get to the passer, because the players who were already on the roster haven't been able to prove they can be that guy.
Solution: See if the new acquisitions this offseason can be the answer. If not, be very aggressive in bringing players in who get cut in the preseason.