Inside AFC South: Top Targets
As training camps shift from individual drills to padded workouts next week, NFL teams will ramp up workloads to prepare for the regular season.
Specifically, that means quarterbacks and wide receivers will be toiling to ensure they’re on the same page, which begs the question: which pass-catchers will be the No. 1 targets for their respective AFC South Division teams?
Here’s who the editors of the respective Sports Illustrated-powered AFC South sites see as the No. 1 guys for each team.
The Texans acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks to fill the void of traded DeAndre Hopkins.
Scott Galvin/USA TODAY Sports
Houston Texans
Phillip B. Wilson
The Texans’ stunning offseason trade of All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to Arizona for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round selection, and 2021 fourth-round pick leaves an immense void in Houston’s pass-catching group.
The plan is to make up for Hopkins’ gaudy contributions — 632 receptions for 8,602 yards and 54 TDs in seven seasons — by a committee that includes journeyman Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller V, and Kenny Stills. But that sure seems easier said than done, when considering quarterback Deshaun Watson’s favorite target has been a First-Team All-Pro star the past three years and selected to four Pro Bowls.
Last season, Hopkins had 104 receptions for 1,165 yards and seven TDs. The Texans’ No. 2 receiver was fourth-year pro Will Fuller V, who had 49 catches for 670 yards and three TDs in 11 games. While Fuller would seem to be the most likely beneficiary of subtracting Hopkins, he’s had trouble with drops as well as staying healthy — he’s already missed 22 games.
That’s why the Texans traded a 2020 second-round choice to acquire Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round pick. In six seasons, Cooks has 402 receptions for 5,730 yards and 34 TDs. But he’s coming off a career-low 42 receptions for 583 yards and two TDs in 14 games with the L.A. Rams. That’s why he became expendable and is joining his fourth team.
While Stills should also play a more prominent role after catching 40 passes for 561 yards and four TDs in his first season with the Texans, his best year in seven seasons was 63 catches for 931 yards and three TDs with New Orleans in 2014.
Despite bouncing around so much, Cooks had a career-high 84 receptions with the Saints in 2015 and career-best 1,204 receiving yards with the Rams in 2018. The Texans need Cooks to have a bounce-back year and lead this challenging endeavor of replacing Hopkins by committee.
Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton missed six games due to a calf injury in 2019.
Jenna Watson/USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis Colts
Phillip B. Wilson, AllColts
A series of offseason moves have raised Colts expectations for this season, but if this team is going to be a legitimate playoff team, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton has to stay healthy and put up the numbers that have made him a four-time Pro Bowl star and one of the NFL’s speediest deep threats.
The Colts expect others to share the pass-catching workload — most notably drafting wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second round and signing free-agent tight end Trey Burton — but Hilton is still the key. Since his third-round selection in 2012, the Colts are 1-9 when Hilton has been sidelined by injuries.
He missed six games due to a calf injury in 2019. The Colts lost five of them. Hilton had a career-low 501 receiving yards and tied his previous low of 50 receptions, previously set in his rookie year when he started only once.
The 30-year-old wide receiver is entering a contract year and says this next deal will be his last, and that he would like to be a “Colt for life.” General manager Chris Ballard is expected to ante up if Hilton is himself again, that is, a player who before last season had season-long catches ranging between 63 and 87 yards. He’s caught 45 career TD passes, including five last season despite being hurt. He has 552 career receptions for 8,598 yards in the regular season, and 45 receptions for 749 yards and three TDs in eight playoff games.
There’s no question Hilton needs to be the Colts’ No. 1 target. And Hilton needs to be to ensure he gets paid and stays put.
Jaguars wide receiver DJ Chark made his first Pro Bowl in a breakout 2019 season.
Douglas DeFelice/USA TODAY Sports
Jacksonville Jaguars
John Shipley, JaguarReport
The answer of who will be Jacksonville's top passing-game target this season is clear for the first time in several years. It’s obvious from the jump that DJ Chark is “the man.”
As a Pro Bowler last year, Chark recorded 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns, all career-highs for the 2018 second-round draft pick. Chark displayed the ability to win as a downfield threat against tight coverage, in the middle of the field, and in the red zone. He was truly Jacksonville's best offensive player by a long-shot, and it would be surprising if this didn't replicate itself in 2020.
While Chark has plenty of talented wide receivers in the receiver room, his role shouldn't be expected to diminish. Chris Conley, Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook, Laviska Shenault, and Collin Johnson will likely take snaps from one another, but not from Chark — Chark is simply the most talented offensive player the Jaguars have, and new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has already commented on the type of weapon he has become.
Add in the fact that Chark led all Jaguars' receivers in targets with 118 last year despite dealing with an ankle injury over the last quarter of the season, and it is hard to imagine he doesn't continue his tenure as the Jaguars' top wide receiver.
Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown emerged after Ryan Tannehill became the quarterback.
Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee Titans
David Boclair, AllTitans
It is not just that A.J. Brown led the Titans in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in 2019 that make him the most likely to do so in 2020. It is how he got to the top of those lists that make a repeat seem inevitable.
From Week 7 on, when Ryan Tannehill took over as Tennessee’s starting quarterback, Brown was one of the NFL’s most productive receivers. He caught 38 passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns in those final 10 games. He ranked seventh in the NFL for yards, tied for seventh in touchdown catches, and averaged better than 20 yards per reception over that span.
In short, Tannehill helped bring out the best in the rookie wide receiver. The quarterback got a big contract extension during the offseason and is unquestionably the man in charge for 2020, which is good news for Brown, a 2019 second-round pick out of Ole Miss.
Brown was targeted 61 times in the 10 games Tannehill started, which was 19 more than any of his teammates. He had more than twice as many receiving yards as anyone else on the offense as well as more receptions and more touchdown catches.
Now that Brown and Tannehill have a full offseason and training camp (such as they have been in the year of COVID-19) to work together, there is no telling what they might accomplish over 16 games of a regular season. It is safe to say, however, that there is no one more likely to be the Titans’ top target in the passing game than Brown.
(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.)
