1. Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel won Coach of the Year in 2021. Even without his best player, he was able to guide the Titans to a division title and the one seed in the AFC Playoffs. The Titans were the talk of the Summer as the season was approaching last year. Remember when they traded for Julio Jones from the Atlanta Falcons? Everyone was excited to see a trio of Derrick Henry, Julio and A.J. Brown. Fast forward to now. Derrick is back and looking to show why he’s still elite. A.J. has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and Julio was released. What a difference a year makes. A new era is also on the horizon in Nashville. The Titans drafted quarterback Malik Willis out of Liberty. This could be Ryan Tannehill’s final season with the team.
2. Indianapolis Colts: They had a clear path to the playoffs and collapsed when it mattered most. Since Andrew Luck retired, the Colts have had several starting quarterbacks. In 2020, it was Philip Rivers and last season, they had Carson Wentz under center. Now, it’s Matt Ryan. The Colts traded for him during the off-season. Former Colts wide receiver and current receivers coach Reggie Wayne says Matt had many similarities to Peyton Manning. A change of scenery will do him well I feel. He’ll have an offensive line protecting him, a consistent running game to lean on and a defense to get him the ball in crucial moments of the game. I look for Michael Pittman to have a big year this season. The Colts will build this offense around him and Jonathan Taylor.
3. Houston Texans: They did better than a lot of people expected from them in 2021. First, it was the wild off-season with Deshaun Watson. Give now-former head coach David Culley some credit because he worked with what he had and he actually did a nice job of developing Davis Mills into an average quarterback. The Texans fired Culley after one season and promoted Lovie Smith to be their next head coach. This is a team that’s still trying to build their foundation. Don’t expect much from them in 2022. One move I liked that they made was drafting Derek Stingley Jr., the cornerback from LSU.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: It was another rough year in Florida last season. The Jaguars thought they hit jackpot with the hiring of Urban Meyer. Little did they know it would be a nightmare. There were rumors of Urban mistreating his players and after 13 games, the Jaguars fired him. Now, they’ve hired Doug Pederson as their next head coach. I like this move because they bought in a guy with experience. Sometimes that makes all the difference. Trevor Lawrence should improve in 2022, but I don’t see the Jaguars sniffing a .500 record this season.
2022 Predictions
1. Colts (11-6)
2. Titans (9-8)
3. Jaguars (5-12)
4. Texans (4-13)
The AFC South is a two-team race. I’m giving the edge to the more talented team and right now, that’s the Colts. The Titans lost both receivers from last year and I simply don’t trust Ryan Tannehill to take a game over with his arm. The Colts offense will show balance and I’m expecting some big things from Matt Ryan. So many are writing him off and I like for him to prove people wrong. He might be older, but he’s said himself he has a few more years left in the tank.
