Tennessee Titans
One Thing to Love: Well-Balanced Offense
Even with Arthur Smith packing his bags and heading to Atlanta I do not see much change for this high-powered Titans offense. The dynamic trio of Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and AJ Brown boasted a top-3 offense and an OPOY in Henry. With OT Taylor Lewan coming back next season the OLine looks to be healthy again and continue to improve under Mike Vrabel. With Corey Davis' breakout season and free agency showcase, he may be on the move along with TE Jonnu Smith so the Titans will have to be shopping for pass catchers to take a load off of Henry. Look to the likes of free agents like TE Hunter Henry and WR Curtis Samuel and other TEs and WR2s if they end up losing out on their offensive pieces.
One Thing to Hate: Pass Rush
The Titans need to be drafting and looking for defensive personnel this offseason. Their pass defense was terrible and was in the bottom quarter of the league in Sacks, Pressures, and Hurries and this is a problem that sells their team short. Past signings of EDGE Jadeveon Clowney and LB Vic Beasley fell flat and are the two strikes on their Super Bowl window, expect them to go after stars like EDGE J.J. Watt and EDGE Von Miller (if available), but if that doesn't work out Tennessee may be on the road back to mediocrity.
Jacksonville Jaguars
One Thing to Love: Changeover
New General Manager, new Head Coach, new Trevor Lawrence, what more can I say? The Jaguars enter 2021 with a brand new staff, $82 million in cap space (most), and 11 draft picks (most). This is enough to just buy a whole new team, plenty of changeover in 2021 can easily turn the Jags from dumpster-fire to playoff-hopefuls in just one season.
One Thing to Hate: Where To Start?
The Jags have A LOT of holes on their roster, but they also have a lot of capital to change that. They have one weapon in James Robinson on offense and they completely purged their 2017 AFC Championship defensive roster. Jacksonville has gone full scorched-earth and is down to the wireframe that holds them together. They will have to be big players in the free-agent market and try to grab top talents such as former Jag Allen Robinson and big-name defensive players such as Matt Judon and Leonard Williams. Although unlikely, anything is possible in this league, the Jags could fix most of their problems in one season, but they could also fail.....badly.
Indianapolis Colts
One Thing to Love: Win-Now Roster
The Colts are built to win now. They narrowly missed out on winning the division and narrowly lost in the wildcard round, but that's what you are to expect with Philip Rivers behind Center. In reality, Rivers had a great last stand in the final season of the storied career, if you had asked me a few weeks ago what their biggest problem is, it would have been how to follow up at QB after Rivers' retirement. The Colts traded for former second-overall pick Carson Wentz last month with hopes that Head Coach Frank Reich can fix him. Reich was one of the masterminds that crafted the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles that had Wentz in the driver's seat for the MVP-race prior to his injury. The Colts taking a risk with Wentz but with their loaded roster, they will again be in play for the AFC South crown and a virtual lock for the AFC Playoffs.
One Thing to Hate: Timing
The Colts busted open their super bowl window this past season, however, so have many other AFC teams looking for a chance at a ring. The AFC has become the big brother in the NFL with powerhouses such as the Chiefs and Bills and rising teams like the Ravens, Titans, and Browns, the Colts have big competition for a shot to play in February. This team reminds me of mid-2010s Bengals and Cardinals teams that were consistently good and always in the conversation, but somehow their Super Bowl dreams never came to fruition. If only this team had a little Luck, really makes you think...
Houston Texans
One Thing to Love: Trade Compensation for Watson
It was hard to figure out something to love for the worst run franchise in the NFL right now. Deshaun Watson wants out and teams are willing to pay outrageous prices for this superstar quarterback. The Texans need to sell to the highest bidder no matter who it is. Many believe that the Texans want to go outside the conference to avoid seeing Watson during the season, but that should not matter when upwards of four first-round picks are involved. These picks can help to rebuild the Texans in the Almighty Easterby's vision. Getting a high pick to grab a ZachWilson or Justin Fields this season should be a priority and fill in other roster spots with later picks.
One Thing to Hate: EVERYTHING
I could have labeled this one hundred things to hate and this still would have been the easiest post to write. The Texans have lost every valuable player on their roster and no longer have an identity. Recently, Houston has announced that they are reluctant to trade Watson and have stopped answering trade calls. What are they thinking? I would say "I wonder what idiot is running this organization?" but we all know that Cal McNair and Jack Easterby are putting Bill O'Brien to shame in terms of ruining the Texans. I genuinely feel bad for Texans fans like Brett Kollman who constantly have to try to explain what's going on and why their team is in ruins. The NFL needs to force McNair to sell if the Texans are going to ever be relevant again. There is no bright spot for this team, they mortgaged their future for a tackle and now they have nothing and David Johnson. David freaking Johnson. Like come on now, my Madden '12 team was better managed than this.
by Brandon McCann
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