THREE OFFSEASON
MOVES FOR EACH AFC SOUTH TEAM
Now that the
offseason is in full swing, front offices of all 32 NFL teams have begun to
assess priorities for the coming months. What areas should each team address? I
try my hand at general manager and identifies three areas each team should
tackle this offseason. Today, I examine
the AFC South:
HOUSTON TEXANS
J.J. Watt and Jadeveon
Clowney form one of the best pass-rush duos in the league, but
decisions must be made on Clowney, who's due to hit the market this offseason.
I know some will disagree with me, but I would not pay top dollar for Clowney
when the Texans could
use those funds to address two glaring needs on their win-now roster: offensive
line and secondary. Clowney is a fantastic player, and if they can figure out a
way to sign him to a team-friendly long-term deal, then I'm all for it. But
the Texans still
have Whitney
Mercilus and Watt to rush the passer, so I think they can
afford to let him walk to pay for more pressing priorities.
1) Remake the offensive line. This is a
no-brainer. After years of searching for a capable quarterback, they found one
in Deshaun
Watson. Unfortunately, Watson was sacked a league-high 62 times last
season. Houston can find quite a few options in free agency and the draft. In
my first mock
draft of the year I project Houston to pick offensive
tackle Greg Little,
who could provide a building block for the unit.
2) Bolster the secondary. Kareem
Jackson, Kayvon
Webster, Shareece
Wright and Tyrann
Mathieu are set to hit free agency in March. Not to
mention, Johnathan
Joseph will be 35 at the start of next season and 2015
first-round pick Kevin Johnson has
been a near no-show after a promising rookie campaign. Even if one or two of
these guys are re-signed, Houston still must add depth in free agency -- this
year's draft isn't deep with defensive backs.
3) Bring in playmakers at tight end and running back. After
addressing the O-line situation, Houston must find weapons for Watson.
The Texans need
a pass catcher who can go over the middle -- and take some attention
off DeAndre
Hopkins -- and an every-down running back who can provide a
consistent ground game. Lamar Miller and D'Onta
Foreman have had good games but they haven't provided the
consistency Watson and this offense need.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
GM Chris Ballard took a team that looked pretty bleak in
2017 to the Divisional Round this past season. First and foremost, he deserves
a ton of credit for bulking up the offensive line to keep a rejuvenated Andrew Luck upright.
Now that the Colts have
a foundation and Frank Reich as their respected leader, there are some odds and
ends to address.
1) Shore up the pass rush. In the Colts'
Cover 2 scheme, they need players who can consistently get to the quarterback
on the edge or inside. Luckily for them, the draft is overflowing with
pass-rush talent. Time to load up.
2) Find T.Y. Hilton's
complement. Ballard struck gold with tight ends in 2018, getting a
career performance out of Eric Ebron and
high-caliber outings from plenty of others. Now, it's time to find a receiver
to put opposite Hilton, someone who can attract attention and become a
playmaker downfield.
3) Make THE move of the offseason and get Le'Veon Bell. I
recently wrote that Marlon Mack's stock is up after
proving himself to be a viable back in 2018. However, Bell is the type of
player that can take the offense, especially one headed by Luck and a solid
offensive line, to new heights. Bell could be the reason the Colts book
a perennial spot at the top of the division.
JACKSONVILLE
JAGUARS
The Jags already made the mistake of not hiring Gary Kubiak,
who landed in Minnesota. He's known for quickly putting together an offense to
complement a good defense, and he could have done big things with a quarterback
like Joe Flacco,
who the Jags should have traded for if they had Kubiak. But
enough of shoulda, coulda, woulda. Since that's no longer an option this
season, here are the next steps.
1) Get new OC John DeFilippo a quarterback. Flip
was Nick Foles'
QB coach during the Eagles' Super Bowl run, so they could be a perfect
match in Jacksonville. Foles runs the spread offense well and wouldn't skip a
beat despite being with a new team. If Foles isn't Jacksonville's guy,
Missouri's Drew Lock or Oklahoma's Kyler Murray could
also thrive in Flip's offense. If it's me, I'm going after Murray because we've
seen how dynamic he can be.
2) Establish better veteran leadership in the locker
room. Over the last calendar year, the Jaguars have
lost a good amount of veterans, including Paul Posluszny (retired), Barry Church (released
in December) and Marcedes
Lewis (released last offseason). Calais
Campbell is the oldest starter on the current roster at 32
years old. The Jags shouldn't just sign older guys in free agency for the heck
of it. They need the right guys who can hold others
accountable. (For starters, I would sign Frank Gore.)
They need a veteran presence or Jacksonville could turn into the Wild West
before we know it.
3) Sign playmakers at tight end and running back. The
defense is solid. Now it's time to bring in some playmakers on the offensive
side of the ball. The Jags need a tight end who can be an inline blocker and
receiving threat, and there are several options in the draft, including Iowa's
Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson. And like it or not, they must bring in another
versatile running back, most likely in the draft, to spell Leonard
Fournette. They need a guy who they're comfortable with when Fournette
is unavailable, which is often, and they can't rely on Carlos Hyde alone
in that role.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Titans have
either advanced to or just missed the playoffs the last three seasons. They
must continue to build around a good, young nucleus and help Marcus
Mariota as much as possible as he enters the most important
year of his professional career.
1) Get a big receiving target. Corey Davis is
improving, but the Titans need
another legitimate big-bodied receiving target for Mariota. The pass game
struggled without the injured Delanie
Walker, who will be 35 years old at the start of next season, so
it's time to bring in another receiver and/or tight end to bring balance to
this run-first offense.
2) Improve the pass rush. The secondary is the
most well-rounded unit of the defense, so I'm looking at the front seven.
The Titans already
lost outside linebacker Brian Orakpo to retirement (and
cupcakes) this offseason, yet there are plenty of good replacement options in
free agency and the draft. This defense needs pass rushers to pressure
division-rival QBs Andrew Luck and Deshaun
Watson.
3) Get a backup for injury-prone QB. Mariota has
struggled to stay healthy -- he's yet to play a full 16-game, regular-season
slate as he enters Year 5. Blaine
Gabbert played well at times in relief of Mariota, but
Tennessee needs a backup who emulates its franchise QB -- like Baltimore had
with Lamar Jackson
and Robert
Griffin III. The best option is to take a mid-to-late-round
quarterback in the draft.
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