I would say that three of the four AFC South teams had good offseasons. The Houston Texans fixed some holes. The Tennessee Titans found their quarterback of the future. The Jacksonville Jaguars look like they've found their head coach. The Indianapolis Colts ... well, they had a quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, and everyone got some exercise.
But of course, that's not to say the three non-Colts teams had perfect offseasons. Mistakes were made. Holes went unfilled. Not every move made every team better!
Here's the biggest mistake each AFC South team made this offseason.
Houston Texans: Trading up for Graham Mertz
I actually really loved what the Texans did this offseason, especially when it comes to how GM Nick Caserio completely revamped the team's offensive line. Sure, the way he pieced that line together could wind up being a disaster by midseason, but anything would've been better than running last year's unit back, and there's reason for optimism despite not donating huge resources there.
I also feel good about how he brought in C.J. Gardner-Johnson to beef up the secondary, and about the moves to surround quarterback C.J. Stroud with more weapons. But one thing stands out like a sore thumb: trading up for Florida quarterback Graham Mertz.
I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with drafting a quarterback late. Davis Mills is in the final year of his contract, so adding a future backup for Stroud is a good move. But Houston traded two picks to move up for Mertz, a guy who didn't seem to be on anyone's draft boards. And because they traded up for him, Houston probably felt pressured to go with three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, even though they probably don't need three.
Mertz is holding a roster spot that could be better used elsewhere. The Texans only had two tight ends on their initial roster, for example, though in between the time I started and finished this sentence, they reportedly brought back Harrison Bryant. It's also possible that in between the time I submit this and you, reader, read it, the Texans will have waived Mertz to make room for signing back Bryant, which would open up another avenue to critique this pick: You traded up for a guy who's just going to end up on the practice squad?
Indianapolis Colts: Not going with Anthony Richardson as the quarterback
The Colts feel like a team pathologically committed to doing whatever it can to win eight or nine games. That includes the decision to name Daniel Jones the starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson.
NFL teams need to be less afraid to fail.
Anthony Richardson is probably a bad quarterback. Like, this is a guy who completed just 47.7 percent of his pass attempts last season, throwing eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 11 games. It is very, very possible that the Colts made a horrible mistake by drafting him with the No. 4 overall pick. I'd say it's almost a certainty that winds up being the case.
But replacing him with Jones solves nothing. In fact, it anti-solves things! The Colts have a higher ceiling and lower floor with Richardson, because either he magically puts it all together and proves he can be the guy or he completely falls apart and puts you in great shape to draft another quarterback next year.
Jones pushes the Colts more toward the middle, which makes them a team that probably comes within a couple of games of the playoffs but ultimately misses out. Who does that help? What are you learning from that?
Jacksonville Jaguars: Not finding ways to generate turnovers
Yes, the Jaguars spent a first-round pick on a player who'll play cornerback, but that player — Heisman winner Travis Hunter — is also going to be playing wide receiver, so don't expect him to be the full-time answer at corner.
The Jaguars brought in safety Eric Murray and corner Jourdan Lewis to the secondary, but it's just tough to see either of those guys making the kind of impact needed to fix a defensive backfield that really struggled in 2024. Jacksonville allowed the most passing yards in the league last year and only picked off six passes; it was just a disaster. Only 4.4 percent of opponent drives ended in turnovers, the lowest rate in the league.
Lewis hasn't had multiple picks in a year since 2021. Murray has just three career interceptions. Most of the other defensive additions to the roster were just depth pieces. It's a fairly rough spot for the Jaguars, despite reasons for offensive optimism.
Tennessee Titans: Not giving Cam Ward more weapons
Maybe "more" is the wrong word here. The Titans brought in four new wide receivers this year for their rookie quarterback, but it's hard to really see those guys as game changers. Tyler Lockett is quickly approaching "washed" territory. Van Jefferson is decent. Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor were fourth-round picks. It's just tough to think that this is the best Tennessee could have done to set Cam Ward up for success.
Calvin Ridley is great to have as the team's No. 1 receiver, but I'm slightly concerned there as well. Ridley still feels young, but he turns 31 in December. He also just posted the lowest catch rate of his career.
Tennessee should have tried to bring in a more reliable veteran receiver. They didn't need to spend on a Davante Adams or Stefon Diggs, but Cooper Kupp, Darius Slayton or Keenan Allen would have been gettable. Or, instead of waiting until the fourth round to take a pair of receivers, why not use their second on Tre Harris, or even trade down and grab someone in the Kyle Williams/Isaac TeSlaa/Pat Bryant tier?