Inside AFC South: Overlooked Players
They don’t get paid the most, nor are recognized on a regular basis for their steady contributions, but every NFL team needs these kinds of players.
Consider them overlooked from a public perspective, although they aren’t underappreciated by their teams.
The writers for the Sports Illustrated-powered sites covering AFC South Division teams were asked to give some props to these players on the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.
Offensive tackle Tytus Howard has been steady in his second season.
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Houston Texans
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It’s easy to be overlooked when you’re 4-7, so finding a Texan who fits this bill isn’t tough.
Deshaun Watson and Will Fuller draw all the offensive plaudits, and rightly so particularly given their recent performances. However, one starter who has been consistent all season has been right tackle Tytus Howard. The second-year former first-round pick was an All-Rookie last year despite playing in just eight games before getting hurt. Returning to start this season, he’s played 99% of Houston’s offensive snaps, allowing just two sacks. He still has a ways to go if he’s to hit the heights of Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, but so far this season he has nullified the likes of Jadeveon Clowney and shown he can be relied upon in the long run.
On defense, linebacker Tyrell Adams started the year backing up Benardrick McKinney, but McKinney went on injured reserve after Week 4 and Adams got his chance. And he’s run with it. At 28, he’s been in the league since 2015 after going undrafted out of West Georgia. Bouncing around between the Seahawks, Chiefs, Raiders, Bills, Colts, 49ers, and Texans, he had made just 21 regular-season appearances prior to 2019. Now a starter alongside Zach Cunningham, Adams has compiled 79 total tackles, three defended passes, and a sack this year. Against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, he had two forced fumbles and a single-game, franchise record-tying 17 tackles. Houston will have a big decision to make after this season, having invested so heavily in both Cunningham and McKinney. Adams is making a solid case to become a long-term starter.
One final player who deserves a shoutout is fellow linebacker Nate Hall. An undrafted free agent who spent time with the Cowboys and Bills in 2019, he’s bounced back and forth from the practice squad to the active roster this season before being permanently signed during Week 11. For the first time in his career, he played defensive snaps tallying in the double-figures (11) against the Lions and it paid off enormously with two sacks and a forced fumble. He gives the Texans another linebacker option in the future.
The Colts' Grover Stewart tangles with the Titans' Derrick Henry.
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Indianapolis Colts
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Defensive tackle Grover Stewart sensed he needed to shape up before his fourth NFL season to improve his stamina and snap count. The 27-year-old Georgian shed 37 pounds to get down to 308. And the difference has been noticeable as he’s enjoyed his best season.
The 2017 fourth-round selection out of Albany State has 31 total tackles, including 20 solos, in 10 games. That’s already more than his previous best last season, when he amassed 27 total tackles in 16 games.
“I felt that if I lost weight that I could move quicker and still have my strength,” Stewart said recently. “I always want to move like a little guy – always consider myself small, so losing weight was a big thing for me. I gained muscle and dropped a lot of fat, so I really helped myself out in the long run.”
His emergence has proven to be lucrative — Stewart received a reported three-year, $30-million extension, including $20-million guaranteed, on Saturday.
Before the season, the Colts had several contract-year players that would need to be addressed. Stewart wasn’t high on that list. The Colts made Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly the highest-paid player at his position with a $50-million extension just before the regular season began. Since then, several Colts looking to get paid have fallen down the list, either due to season-ending injuries (running back Marlon Mack, safety Malik Hooker) or underwhelming production (wide receiver T.Y. Hilton).
Playing alongside All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in the NFL’s No. 2 defense, it might be easy to overlook the understated, hard-working Stewart. But he made people take notice.
Jaguars safety Jarrod Wilson has been a playmaker.
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Jacksonville Jaguars
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There have still been some bright spots on the Jacksonville defense with some players who are having good seasons but are overlooked due to their unit failing to meet expectations. Two players worth mentioning are the safety/cornerback tandem of Jarrod Wilson and Sidney Jones.
Wilson is in his second season as starting free safety, but 2020 has been quite different from his first year. He played every single defensive snap in 2019 and showed promise, but 2020 has seen him miss four games. Despite the injuries, Wilson has shown in his six games this year that he has taken the next step needed for him to go from average defender to defensive playmaker. He has just 30 tackles and one interception, but his play has far outshined his production. The tape shows he has been a versatile defender capable of making plays in the box or in space, something the Jaguars badly needed.
Jones is in his first season with the Jaguars. He bottomed out after three years with the Eagles, but the former second-round pick has adapted to the Jaguars' defensive scheme like a glove and has been the team’s best cornerback. He leads the team in interceptions and pass deflections and had one of the best performances of any cornerback in 2020 in Week 5 against Houston.
Jacksonville's defense is historically bad this season and, as a result, it can be easy to miss the good things some of their players are doing. Wilson and Jones are playing the best ball of their career and they should be recognized as such.
Guard Nate Davis (64) hasn't allowed a sack this year.
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Tennessee Titans
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Nate Davis deserves a nod because he is the Titans’ only Week 1 starter on the offensive line who has not dealt with some sort of injury issue this season.
The second-year right guard has done much more than show up for each of the 10 games to date. He has played well and – at times – has been dominant in the run game. Even more notable is the fact that, according to Pro Football Focus, he has not allowed a sack thus far in 2020. In 2019, opposing defenders beat him a team-high eight times to get to the quarterback.
Davis has uncommon quickness for a guy who is 6-foot-3, 318 pounds and has quickly settled in as a classic offensive lineman, a guy who nobody notices because the man he blocks does not often show up on the stat sheet.
Another who deserves mention is second-year safety Amani Hooker. He leads Tennessee with three interceptions despite the fact that he has played more than 25 snaps on defense just twice. He made his first career start on Sunday in place of injured Kenny Vaccaro.
Then there is Anthony Firkser, who has 29 receptions, fourth overall among the Titans and one fewer than fellow tight end Jonnu Smith, who has made his share of headlines this year. Among Tennessee players with at least 10 receptions, Firkser’s 74.4 catch percentage is tops, and his 19 first downs (65.5 percent of his catches) are third on the team.
