In the divisional breakdown series Mase & SC will rank each offensive and defensive position per division for the 2024 NFL season. SC will speak about his top ranked player by position on the offensive side of the ball. On the other hand, Mase will speak about his top ranked player by position on the defensive side of the ball. On another note, they will rank every player per position that they believe can have some sort of fantasy relevance this season. They will discuss the AFC SOUTH in their first divisional breakdown.
AFC South Teams: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.
2023 Division Winner: Houston Texans
2023 Offensive Division MVP: Houston Texans, Quarterback, C.J. Stroud
2023 Defensive Division MVP: Jacksonville Jaguars, Linebacker, Foyesade Oluokun
Quarterbacks
- Houston Texans – C.J. Stroud
This should come as no surprise. During his rookie campaign Stroud led the AFC South in 6 point passing touchdown Super Flex leagues. The next closest AFC South player was 26.6 points behind him. If anybody did not believe the Texans were all in on C.J. Stroud then they should believe now. Stroud averaged 20.6 fantasy points per game through 15 weeks of play. To be honest, that number could have been higher had the Texans had a steady running game. That should change this season. The Texans did not have a 1,000 yard rusher last season, so they brought in veteran Joe Mixon. Adding a versatile back like Mixon should help take some pressure off Stroud. On another note, the Texans also brought in another pass catching weapon for the young quarterback. Last season Stroud helped wide receiver Nico Collins finish in the top 12 of his position. That did not deter the Texans from pursuing another talented receiver this off season. They brought in a wide receiver that has not had less than 1,100 yards receiving in the last 5 seasons. Stefon Diggs will help take the vertical offense to new heights. Nico Collins and Tank Dell were great weapons for Stroud last season. They will not just disappear, but Diggs will become the alpha of the team. The addition of Mixon and Diggs will only benefit Stroud further. It is possible that in 2024 Stroud surpasses his passing yards from his rookie season of 4,108. I expect Stroud to lead the AFC South in fantasy points again. - Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Lawrence
- Indianapolis Colts – Anthony Richardson
- Tennessee Titans – Will Levis
Running Backs
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Travis Etienne
Etienne averaged 1.33 rushing yards per carry less than his 2022 season. However, he obtained 23 more receptions for 160 more receiving yards. The downfall will be the receivers that the Jaguars added this off-season. They brought in field stretchers in Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. They are two receivers capable of taking targets away from Etienne. That could do a slight dent in his fantasy upside. But beyond that there is not much competition to Etienne in the running back room. This means he should still get north of 220 rushing attempts. If he can average 4.4 yards per carry (his average over the past 2 seasons) while having 235 rushing attempts, then he will have 1,044.6 yards. Plus, he will still be a threat in the receiving game. There is an opportunity for Travis Etienne to finish as a top 3 running back again in 2024. - Houston Texans – Joe Mixon
- Indianapolis Colts – Jonathan Taylor
- Tennessee Titans – Tony Pollard
- Tennessee Titans – Tyjae Spears
- Houston Texans – Dameon Pierce
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Tank Bigsby
- Indianapolis Colts – Evan Hull
- Houston Texans – Jawhar Jordan
- Jacksonville Jaguars – D’Ernest Johnson
Wide Receivers
- Houston Texans – Stefon Diggs
Last season Nico Collins led the Texans with 80 receptions and 1,279 yards. He did this on 109 targets. However, the Texans brought in Stefon Diggs from Buffalo who had 107 receptions off 160 targets for 1,183 yards. In fact, over the past 4 seasons in Buffalo Diggs has averaged 161 targets per season. He may not see as many targets in Houston, but the possibility of him receiving north of 130 targets exist. Diggs is a true alpha that demands the ball. Plus, he has not received less than 1,100 yards in the past 5 seasons. Stroud is no stranger to having a full wide receiver room. In 2021 at Ohio State he had Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The following season he had 2 wide receivers with over 71 receptions and over 1,100 yards. I have Stroud as my top quarterback in the AFC South, and having Stefon Diggs is a reason why. - Jacksonville Jaguars – Christian Kirk
- Indianapolis Colts – Michael Pittman
- Houston Texans – Tank Dell
- Tennessee Titans – Calvin Ridley
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Brian Thomas Jr.
- Tennessee Titans – DeAndre Hopkins
- Houston Texans – Nico Collins
- Indianapolis Colts – Josh Downs
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Gabe Davis
- Indianapolis Colts – Adonai Mitchell
- Tennessee Titans – Treylon Burks
Tight End
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Evan Engram
Engram had great success last season finishing as the TE2 overall. Engram saw 54.1% of snaps from the slot position in 2023. However, I think the Jaguars realized that Christian Kirk thrives from that position. Hence them bringing in two wide receivers to play outside. This will hurt Engram if Kirk becomes their main slot weapon. Nonetheless, over the past 2 seasons Engram has become a favorite target for Trevor Lawrence. He will likely see more snaps as an interior tight end that beats linebackers up the middle. An area that he found more success in 2022. That season Engram still came away with 73 receptions for 766 yards. Plus, he saw 41% of snaps from the slot. This allowed Engram to finish as TE6 that year. As long as Engram is tied to Trevor Lawrence he should be considered a top 10 tight end for fantasy. Because of this connection he should still lead the AFC South tight end group again. - Houston Texans –Dalton Schultz
- Tennessee Titans – Chigoziem Okonkwo
- Houston Texans – Cade Stover
- Indianapolis Colts – Jelani Woods
Defensive Line
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Josh Allen
Will the real Josh Allen please stand up? Not to be confused with the Bills All-Pro QB1, the edge rusher Josh Allen is a fierce pass-rusher who is a two-time pro bowler. In 2023, Allen was tied for second in the NFL in sacks, finishing with 17.5, several sacks more than any other year in his five-year career. He finished 2023 with the sixth most pressures (90) in the NFL. In FantasyPros, IDP scoring Allen finished third overall in points last season with 208.8 FPTS. Josh Allen normally gets anywhere between 70-80% of defensive snaps. Normally Allen is a true pass-rusher, but he has started to pop out a little more in coverage over the past two seasons. This generates more opportunity to be around the ball bringing more points to your fantasy teams. Allen recently signed a five-year $141 million dollar contract, so whether in redraft or dynasty formats Allen will be at the top of IDP rankings for the next few seasons. - Houston Texans – Will Anderson Jr.
- Houston Texans – Danielle Hunter
- Indianapolis Colts – DeForest Buckner
- Tennessee Titans – Harold Landry III
- Tennessee Titans – Jeffery Simmons
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Travon Walker
- Indianapolis Colts – Laiatu Latu
Linebackers
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Foyesade Oluokun
Another position group, yet again, we are discussing another elite IDP Jaguar. Foyesade Oluokun also recently signed a contract extension, making him a Jaguar until the end of the 2027 season (potential out before the 2026 season). For those in IDP, you know that Oluokun has been the king of tackles for the past three seasons. He has led the NFL in tackles in two of the past three seasons. Over that three-year span he has finished every season with 100+ solo tackles, 55+ assisted tackles, and 2+ sacks. The definition of efficiency should read Foyesade Oluokun. In FantasyPros linebacker scoring he has finished first in two of the past three seasons. The season he was not first, he was second. The choice for the #1 linebacker was clear in this division, and it is possible it stays the same the next few seasons. With that said, there are some good linebackers in this division. I believe the top three players could serve as a manager LB1 and receive potential top-10 fantasy point production on any given week. - Indianapolis Colts – Zaire Franklin
- Houston Texans – Azeez Al-Shaair
- Indianapolis Colts – E.J. Speed
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Devin Lloyd
- Tennessee Titans – Kenneth Murray
- Houston Texans – Christian Harris
- Tennessee Titans – Cedric Gray
Defensive Backs
- Indianapolis Colts – Julian Blackmon
Your first thought might be, “Why is Jalen Pitre second on the list?” I will say this, yes, Pitre had an elite rookie season and finished as FantasyPros DB1 (238 FPTS) in 2022. However, in his second season, Pitre slid down to DB52 (137 FPTS). Pitre had 5 interceptions in 2022 and zero in 2023. Plus, his combined tackles were nearly cut in half during 2023. On another note, Pitre has been missing tackles left and right. Through 2 seasons he has 52 missed tackles. But enough of my second ranked defensive back in the AFC South. Julian Blackmon has been with the Colts since he was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In his first three seasons he was utilized more as deeper safety, and rarely utilized in the run defense. However, last year Blackmon was pulled into the heart of the defense more often. In fact, 486 of his 987 snaps were in the box in 2023. This gave Blackmon more opportunity to score fantasy points by bringing down the ball carrier. In dynasty, I would beware as Julian Blackmon just resigned with the Colts on a one-year deal. He becomes a free agent in 2025, assuming the Colts do not give him an extension. - Houston Texans – Jalen Pitre
- Indianapolis Colts – Kenny Moore II
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Antonio Johnson
- Tennessee Titans – Amani Hooker
- Tennessee Titans – Roger McCreary
- Indianapolis Colts – Nick Cross
- Tennessee Titans – L’Jarius Sneed
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Andre Cisco
- Tennessee Titans – Kamari Lassiter
Thanks for reading our breakdown for the AFC South.
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