Tennessee Titans: AFC South one of the worst divisions in the league

With high expectations surrounding the Tennessee Titans, the AFC South will not have high expectations as they are ranked among the worst in the NFL.

The AFC South should be one of the more exciting divisions in the NFL this year, with the exception of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The division could go to the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, or Houston Texans this year. All three teams could be battling for a playoff spot if they don’t win the division.

The Titans should be the favorites heading into Week 1 after their run to the AFC Championship last season, but the Colts have made an argument why they should be the favorites after signing big-name players this free agency. One of those big-name players is Philip Rivers to be the Colts’ new quarterback.

Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey is back with another ranking as he’s ranked the best and worst divisions throughout the NFL this season.

Of the eight divisions in the NFL, the AFC South came in at a humble No. 6. There are some questions surrounding how good the Colts and Texans will be after this offseason, so they could be 12-4 teams or 4-12 teams.

I think that the Titans are the most consistent team in the AFC South. They made some changes this offseason, but none of those changes should affect how the overall team performs this fall.

"Average team win total: 7.93 (6th)Average team ELO ranking: 1493 (6th)“It would be a surprise if the Jacksonville Jaguars come out of the 2020 NFL season as AFC South champs, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if any of the other three teams did,” Linsey wrote.“The Tennessee Titans are the favorites after making a run to the 2019 AFC Championship Game. Ryan Tannehill will have to show that the 2019 season wasn’t a one-year mirage because it’s him — not Derrick Henry — who was the catalyst in their offensive improvement.“The Houston Texans are dealing with several notable losses, the biggest of which is DeAndre Hopkins, but they still have Deshaun Watson, and that gives them a chance. The impact of a healthy J.J. Watt also shouldn’t be discounted, as he showed early last season that he is still easily one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the NFL.“The team that I’m higher on than many, though, is the Indianapolis Colts. Opinions of the Colts were high running into the 2019 season, but Andrew Luck’s retirement and the ensuing shaky play from Jacoby Brissett put a halt to that optimism. Even if he doesn’t come out like the Philip Rivers we saw in 2018, this version of Rivers behind the Colts’ offensive line should be a nice upgrade. Defensively, the addition of DeForest Buckner will help along the defensive line, too.”"

The only divisions that finished behind the AFC South are the AFC East and NFC East. The top division in the league is the NFC West, according to Linsey. With the Seahawks and 49ers likely going to be battling for a top spot in the NFC this year, I’m not surprised.

As for the AFC South, the Jaguars will be the odd man out this season, and it looks like they’re going all-in on tanking this year after they’ve announced on Monday morning that they have released running back Leonard Fournette.

If the AFC South is going to be as bad as Linsey is predicting, I hope that the Titans are the best team in the division. If the Titans can’t win in one of the worst divisions in the league, then we could be in some trouble.