Inside AFC South: No. 1 Camp Battles
As NFL teams condition in training camp with one week to go before padded practices, what are the key position battles in the AFC South Division?
The Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans each have a starting spot up for grabs with more than one candidate vying for snaps.
The Jaguars and Titans are looking at offensive tackle positions, the Texans have four options at tight end, and the Colts will be sorting out a rotation at defensive end.
Here's what editors of the respective Sports Illustrated-powered sites think about each camp battle.
Texans tight end Darren Fells (87) seems assured of a roster spot, but Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas, and Kahale Warring are each pushing for offensive snaps.
Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
Houston Texans
Patrick D. Starr, State of The Texans
The Texans are heading to camp with plenty of positions sorted out, but a point of emphasis will be at tight end, with four players vying for snaps.
Top tight ends Darren Fells and Jordan Akins return. Jordan Thomas had an eight-yard reception in five games, then was sidelined the rest of 2019. Kahale Warring, a 2019 third-round selection, spent his rookie year on injured reserve.
Each brings something different to the table. Fells is the best in-line blocker. Akins has been quiet and reliable. Warring and Thomas just need a chance to prove they can stay healthy and make plays.
If all four make it to cut day, the Texans could have a tough situation. Fells seems assured of a roster spot, but the rest of the group is up for grabs.
The Colts are expected to shift defensive tackle Denico Autry to defensive end, but he will be pushed for playing time at the position by four other players.
Matt Kryger/USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis Colts
Phillip B. Wilson, AllColts
The free-agent departure of ninth-year defensive end Jabaal Sheard translates to an open starting spot with five Colts candidates vying for snaps: Denico Autry, Kemoko Turay, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Ben Banogu, and Tyquan Lewis.
When padded practices begin at training camp next week, the Colts have roughly one month to sort this out. The hunch is Autry will slide outside from defensive tackle on run downs because the Colts traded for All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to play the three-technique position and will want a run-stuffing nose tackle next to the newcomer.
Autry, who has had 12.5 of his career 23 sacks in the past two seasons with the Colts, would then move inside in pass-rush situations to allow Turay, Muhammad, Banogu, or Lewis to be edge rushers. Turay is the most accomplished pass rusher of the four, although he suffered a broken ankle in Week 5 last year and is on the injury list for now. How quickly the third-year pro heals will factor into how this rotation plays out.
Muhammad had three sacks last season, the first of his three-year career, and he played in all 16 games with four starts. The 2017 sixth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints is the classic overachiever, whose continual progression has been rewarded with snaps. He’s found a way to get on the field.
Banogu, a 2019 second-round selection, had 2.5 sacks and just 11 tackles as a rookie. The expectation is for him to make a marked improvement in year two, a must if he’s going to earn the playing time needed to prove himself worthy of the lofty draft choice.
Lewis has been unable to stay healthy for two seasons with 15 games missed due to injuries. The 2018 second-round pick could be on the bubble for making the final 53-man roster if he doesn’t show something.
The good news is everyone will get a chance for the next month. At the very least, a player has to earn a spot in the position rotation or else. Muhammad has experience backing up defensive end Justin Houston, so he’s probably a safe bet to keep that role, too.
Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson has a lot to prove as he enters a contract year.
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
Jacksonville Jaguars
John Shipley, JaguarReport
With one of the league's youngest rosters entering the 2020 season, the Jaguars have a number of positions that will have fierce competition for snaps. Can wide receiver Chris Conley fend off Laviska Shenault? Who will be the backup quarterback? Will DaVon Hamilton or Abry Jones start at nose tackle?
But the most important position battle is at left tackle. Jacksonville has faced inconsistency at the position since the days of Eugene Monroe, and the two latest attempts to find a long-term solution at the blind side are fourth-year pro Cam Robinson and third-year veteran Will Richardson.
Robinson played a big role in Jacksonville's run to the AFC Championship in 2017, starting 15 games at left tackle and helping pave the way for one of the league's best rushing attacks and red-zone offenses. But in 2018, Robinson tore his ACL in Week 3. Robinson returned in Week 3 in 2019 and started the rest of the year, but he had more struggles than bright spots.
In an effort to push Robinson, the Jaguars have moved Richardson from right guard to left tackle. Richardson started two games at the position in 2019 and impressed in his limited snaps, but he has spent most of his football career playing elsewhere on the offensive line.
The odds are Robinson will win the job early on, but it remains to be seen who takes control of the position and holds onto it for the rest of 2020. It truly could go either way.
The Titans drafted Georgia offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson with the 29th overall selection. He's competing at right tackle against veteran Dennis Kelly.
Bryan Kelly/USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee Titans
David Boclair, AllTitans
There is no question there will come a time when first-round draft selection Isaiah Wilson is the Titans’ starting right tackle. The question is whether that time is now.
If the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft — a 6-foot-6, 350-pound mountain of a man — is to claim the job, he will have to get past Dennis Kelly, an eighth-year backup who — at 6-foot-8, 321 pounds — occupies quite a bit of space in his own right. Kelly has been a versatile, valuable backup for virtually all of his career, including the past three seasons with the Titans.
Kelly agreed to a three-year, $17.25 million extension in March with the idea that he would replace free-agent departure Jack Conklin at right tackle. The deal, however, is constructed so that the team can cut him after one season. After the draft, it became clear that re-signing Kelly was a hedge against the possibility that Wilson did not last until Tennessee picked and immediately general manager Jon Robinson declared the two “will battle it out” this year.
It is clear that Wilson has significant upside, but at 21 years old, he is still relatively young. Kelly, at 30, is who he is as an NFL player. It remains to be seen whether that is enough for him to be a starter – for one year, at least.
(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
