AFC South 2022 Recap

  • Jacksonville Jaguars

     

    Recap

    The Jaguars were one of the more surprising teams in the NFL this year, finishing the season atop the AFC South with a 9-8 record.  Their division title was far from an easy feat, after starting the season at 4-8, but rattled off a five-game win streak to close out the year, winning the win-and-get-in battle against the Titans in Week 18. The turnaround from a disastrous 2022 season was impressive and second-year QB Trevor Lawrence took major steps forward with all of the new weapons that the Jags acquired in the offseason.  The Jags were also able to pull off one of the all-time greatest comeback victories in NFL history in the opening round of the playoffs, trailing to the Chargers 27-0 at halftime before a game-winning kick at the end of regulation sealed the deal.  This team has a ton of youthful talent and should be in contention to repeat similar success next season.

     

    Fantasy Star

    There were a few very impressive fantasy stars on this team, but the winner had to be Christian Kirk.  Kirk was the WR7 through the first 10 weeks of the season, eventually sliding to the WR14 by the season’s end, averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game.  He transitioned smoothly from the Cardinals to the Jaguars this year and seemed to immediately become Lawrence’s go-to receiver on crucial downs.  Kirk finished inside the top-20 at his position on eight occasions this year and he only had three games this year where he was unable to surpass the 7.0 fantasy point threshold.  The speedster was able to haul in 84-of-133 targets this season, racking up 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.  Kirk was one of the best value picks of the fantasy season and he will very likely be scooped up in the middle rounds of redraft leagues next year. 

     

    Fantasy Letdown

    Travis Etienne Jr. was the biggest letdown for the Jaguars this season.  Although he finished as the RB18 in PPR formats this year, he was incredibly unreliable throughout the course of the season and outside of two weeks in the fantasy regular season, he was rather underwhelming. From Week 10 to Week 14, the most crucial weeks of the fantasy season where fantasy GMs are relying on their stud RBs to produce, ETN did the exact opposite.  He was the RB50 during that span, averaging 5.4 points per game in full PPR formats. During that stretch, he scored zero touchdowns and only caught six passes.  If Etienne was able to have found the endzone more than just five times, his fantasy success would have been much different because 1,125 yards for a “rookie” is a very impressive accomplishment. After having a full year of NFL play under his belt and being another year removed from his devastating injury, there is reason to believe that he will be a much more involved and dominant back for the Jaguars in 2023. 

     

    Burning Questions

    Although the Jaguars ended their season with a loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs, there are massive signs of greatness on the horizon.  The major question that needs to be answered is, will Lawrence be able to continue growing and maturing and take the next step to becoming an elite QB in the NFL? If he is able to take another sizable step forward next season, this Jaguars team will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come, putting their days of being a laughing stock long behind them. 

     

    Tennessee Titans

     

    Recap

    The Titans looked to be one of the league’s best teams early in the season.  After starting the season 0-2, they rattled off seven wins in eight weeks and were comfortably leading the AFC South with a 7-3 record.  Unfortunately, that Week 11 win against the Packers would be the last of their season, losing their next seven games and ultimately missing the playoffs as a result.  The A.J. Brown deal, in hindsight, looks like a tough pill to swallow as he has gone on to the Eagles and dominated there, while the Titans had uninspiring play from their WRs all season long.  There will be many issues to address for the Titans in the offseason through the draft and free agency, as there are many pivotal positions that could use a boost in talent.  After the season, the Titans quickly fired four assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Todd Downing. There is a high likelihood that this team looks much different next season. 

     

    Fantasy Star

    The one-and-only fantasy star for the Titans this season was quite obviously Derrick Henry.  The workhorse back continued his domination over opposing defenses, even after suffering a foot injury late in 2021.  Henry finished third in rushing yards with 1,429 and second in rush attempts with 319, while only trailing Jamaal Williams in rushing touchdowns with 13.  His passing game utilization also saw an impressive uptick this year as well, hauling in 32 passes for 379 yards.  Henry averaged 19.3 fantasy points per game and only had one game with less than 8.2 fantasy points this season.  His floor was among the safest at the position, while his season was also near the pinnacle for RBs. 

     

    Fantasy Letdown

    It’s difficult to pinpoint one single player on the Titans offense that was a letdown for fantasy GMs because all of their skill players outside of Henry were letdowns.  There were hopes for rookie Treylon Burks to step into Brown’s shoes immediately, but after his slow start, his season was destroyed by missing six games to injury.  Off-season acquisition Robert Woods was not the focal point of the offense that both the Titans and fantasy GMs were expecting, but the Titans offensive scheme and terrible play at quarterback played a major role in that lack of success. Rookie QB Malik Willis showed almost zero signs of life in his seven appearances, completing more than six passes in one single game.  Although all the players themselves were disappointing to their fantasy GMs, the true letdown of this offense was Todd Downing for his inability to properly draw up plays to the strength of his stars. 

     

    Burning Questions

    With Downing out of the picture, the Titans will have an entirely new look with their offense next season.  Whoever they hire this offseason will need to step in and figure out a way to get the passing game working with any sort of competence. They have the foundation on offense with a strong defense to work around, they just need to put it all together.  They have a few areas to address this offseason by adding quality players through the draft and free agency. Will the Titans be able to regain their footing and push back on the surging Jaguars?

     

    Indianapolis Colts

     

    Recap

    The Colts had sky-high expectations heading into the season with Matt Ryan taking over under center and Jonathan Taylor fresh off being the runner-up for Offensive Player of the Year.  Unfortunately, the former MVP was lost on his new team, resulting in the Colts rotating a three-QB carousel throughout the majority of the season. Taylor battled injuries throughout most of 2022 but when he was healthy, teams were able to stack the box since they were not scared of the passing attack.  Those struggles, paired with a defense that allowed the third-most points per game, did not lead to much success for the Colts as they finished with a 4-12-1 record this season. There is an abundance of issues that need to be addressed for the Colts to become a competitive team on both sides of the ball and that all begins at QB.  

     

    Fantasy Star

    The fantasy star for the Colts this season was Michael Pittman.  He was able to somehow retain decent fantasy value on a struggling offense, finishing as the WR20 in PPR formats. Pittman finished just shy of a couple big WR thresholds, hauling in 99 receptions for 925 yards and was targeted 141 times. Every week fantasy GMs knew what they were getting out of Pittman with his consistent play, finishing between 7.9 and 19.1 fantasy points in all but four of his games.  He had two boom games with over 26.4 fantasy points and only two bust games with less than 5.2 fantasy points.  If Pittman is able to accomplish these numbers with, let’s be honest, terrible play from his QBs, imagine what he could do with an elite gunslinger. 

     

    Fantasy Letdown

    The biggest fantasy letdown from the Colts this season was easily Taylor.  JT came out strong with a 27.5 fantasy point and RB2 performance in Week 1, but it was a trap.  It was only one of two games this season where he finished inside the top-10, whereas he had three games finishing outside of the top-48 at his position. He only played 11 games this season, but gave his fantasy GMs hope heading into the fantasy playoffs with four consecutive games prior to the Week 14 bye with at least 13.3 fantasy points.  The Colts returned from their bye, heading into the first round of the fantasy playoffs, and Taylor got hurt very early in the game, finishing with 2.3 fantasy points and devastating his fantasy GMs.  Being the number one overall pick in redraft leagues last year while finishing as the RB30, anyone who selected Taylor did not have the powerhouse team they envisioned coming out of their drafts. 

     

    Burning Questions

    The major question for the Colts heading into the offseason is what on earth are they going to do to fix their massive problem under center?  Matt Ryan has an absolutely ridiculous contract that will set them back financially, but luckily for them they have the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. There is a strong likelihood that the Colts will draft a QB that Ryan can mentor (hopefully from the sidelines) and help get this team headed back in the right direction. 

     

    Houston Texans

     

    Recap

    Although there were minimal expectations for the Texans this year, they had some promise and momentum coming into the season after a relatively strong finish to the last season.  The Texans finished the year with a 3-13-1 record and looked incredibly uninspired on both sides of the ball, finishing in the bottom three for yards per game on offense and defense. There is not a lot to say about this Texans squad other than for them to get back to the drawing board this offseason after hiring a new head coach and to get to work for next year. 

     

    Fantasy Star

    The only glimmer of hope on the Texans offense came thanks to rookie sensation Dameon Pierce.  Although he missed the team’s final four games of the season, he looked great for the vast majority of games throughout the season on one of the league’s worst offenses. He was able to finish the season as the RB25, racking up 939 yards on the ground and hauled in 30 balls for 145 yards, combining for five touchdowns in 13 games.  If the young back would have been able to finish the season, he would have easily surpassed the 1,000 yard mark on the ground.  His true fantasy upside was limited to the lackluster offense and the lack of scoring but heading into next season, Pierce will be a quality mid-round RB2 or a strong RB1 on a zero-RB team.  

     

    Fantasy Letdown

    The biggest fantasy letdown for the Texans was easily Brandin Cooks, who finished as the WR51 this season.  He showed flashes of the Cooks from year’s past, but only a few times during the course of the year did he look like he cared about playing for this team. Remarkably in nine out of his 11 games this season, he finished outside the top-39 WRs, making him out of the startable range for his position each week. He had zero top-12 performances and two top-24 games, matching his total for games outside of the top-69 at the position.  It will be very difficult to look his way during drafts next season, but it would not be surprising to see him suiting up for another team. 

     

    Burning Questions

    The Texans have some glaring issues to address in order to remove themselves from being the laughing stock of the NFL.  Davis Mills did not turn out to be the QB they were hoping for him to be after a strong rookie campaign, so will the Texans take a quarterback with their second overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft?  Or will they move forward with Mills and look to rebuild their team around him by working on some of their other prominent needs

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