The AFC South has been weird through the first four weeks of the season. The two-time defending champion Houston Texans sit at 1-3, while the Colts went from preseason zeroes after what seemed like the saddest quarterback competition of all time into division favorites because the surprise winner of that competition has actually been good.
Jacksonville is a surprising 3-1 as well, fueled by a defense that's picked off the most passes in the league. Probably the only thing that isn't a shock is that the Titans sit at 0-4. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward has had his ups and downs, but the overall lack of talent on the roster has doomed the team.
One month into the season, let's take a look ahead at what the AFC South teams should do in the 2026 NFL Draft to fix their biggest concerns.
Houston Texans: Offensive line
Y'all, let's roll the tape.
Jeffery Simmons sacked C.J. Stroud in 2.09 seconds, the fastest sack league wide over the last two seasons.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 28, 2025
Simmons crossed the line of scrimmage 0.32 seconds after the snap, the fastest get-off time by a DT this season.#TENvsHOU | #TitanUppic.twitter.com/xVgPSgYHUC
Yes, C.J. Stroud isn't playing as well as he did two years ago, or even as well as he did last season. He deserves some of the blame for that. But Houston can't be thinking about replacing Stroud yet. Instead, the team has to go into the 2026 offseason with a plan to keep the pass rush from getting to him over and over and over again, and that plan can't just be "tell him to throw faster."
The only player on the current line who you can probably assume is a long-term piece in Houston is tackle Aireontae Ersery. The team can use its first-round pick on a tackle like Alabama's Kadyn Proctor or Miami's Francis Mauigoa, then could look at Auburn's Connor Lew or Florida's Jake Slaughter in the second round to help out the interior of the line. Yes, Houston should go O-line with its first two picks.
Indianapolis Colts: Defensive secondary
The premise of this article is "biggest draft need after the first month of NFL action," and based on the first month of the season, the Colts are going to be drafting fairly late in the first round and will probably want to re-sign Daniel Jones. Now, there's still a lot of football left to be played, so Jones could turn back into a pumpkin and the Colts could be in the quarterback market this offseason, but at the moment, it looks like escaping from Brian Daboll was all it took to unlock the former first-round pick.
So with that in mind, we turn to the Colts' defensive secondary.
The pass defense isn't awful, but it does feature a couple of corners who've been around the block for a while in Charvarius Ward and Xavien Howard. The team should take this chance to add youth to the secondary, perhaps in the form of Clemson corner Avieon Terrell or LSU corner Mansoor Delane.
(Or, just take a quarterback in what looks like a deep quarterback draft and don't make the mistake of giving Jones a big extension. If we revisit this topic in two months, that'll likely be my answer.)
Jacksonville Jaguars: Pass rush
I really, really wanted to say "quarterback" here, but the Jaguars are locked into Trevor Lawrence after extending him, with no real path to getting out of his deal until 2029, when they can move up with no cap hit. I've become increasingly convinced that Lawrence isn't the answer, but the Jaguars can't afford to draft a quarterback early when they have at least three more seasons of Lawrence after 2025.
Instead, let's pivot and try to find pass-rushing help. With the secondary playing well, adding someone to get to the quarterback should be a priority, but the Jaguars also don't own their own first-round pick after the Travis Hunter trade.
Instead, they'll need to wait for the second round, where they might be able to grab a player like Texas A&M's Cashius Howell or Ohio State's Arvell Reese. Maybe those aren't immediate impact guys, but they could provide Jacksonville with key depth now with the potential to be high-end players down the line.
Tennessee Titans: Wide receivers
Cam Ward needs people to throw the ball to. The fact that fourth-round pick Elic Ayomanor is the team's leading receiver through four games also helps explain why the Titans are 0-4 through four games.
Calvin Ridley was supposed to be the guy to help guide Ward through this first NFL season, but that connection just hasn't developed.
Unfortunately, this isn't the greatest draft as far as wide receivers go, but Tennessee could trade down a few spots and grab Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson, or they could trade up into the bottom of the first round and try to get someone like Ohio State's Carnell Tate or USC's Makai Lemon, though those guys feel more like No. 2 options than true No. 1s. Leaving the 2026 draft with Tyson on the roster should be the top priority for Tennessee if the team wants Ward to be successful.