Inside AFC South: Studs & Duds

Eight weeks into the NFL regular season is enough of a sample size to determine which players have impressed or disappointed.

There’s a short list for each of the AFC South Division teams, although how the team has fared factors into the number of players. Writers for the Sports Illustrated-powered sites on the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans share their thoughts.

Houston Texans

Anthony Wood/Texans Daily

Stud: Offensive tackles Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard are quickly becoming one of the more formidable NFL pairings at the position. The Texans had to spend big, essentially three first-round picks, to acquire them but it’s looking like a good investment. They have allowed only one sack combined through seven games, despite playing the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens.

Another player worth mentioning is wide receiver Will Fuller V. The subject of heavy trade speculation prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Texans have decided to keep the former first-rounder, who is in a contract year. Fuller has stepped up following the departure of DeAndre Hopkins with 490 receiving yards and five touchdowns, both putting him on track for a career year.

The final player worth mentioning is, of course, defensive end J.J. Watt. The only member of this defense that has come out of the first seven games with some credibility, Watt has been back to his best at times, hampered only by having to carry the majority of Houston's defense on his back. He may have just three sacks and six quarterback hits, but no game summarizes his season better than Week 6 against the Titans where he had a sack, forced fumble, tackle for loss, and a defended pass.

Dud: Houston's cornerbacks have been an issue for a few years, but 2020 has been the worst group to date. Bradley Roby has had some nice plays and rookie John Reid looks promising as a backup, but Phillip Gaines and Vernon Hargreaves have been nothing shy of appalling. Hargreaves has missed eight tackles and allowed 28 completions for 360 yards and a touchdown. Gaines has allowed seven completions on just 10 targets for 149 yards and three TDs.

Sticking with the secondary, free-agency acquisition Eric Murray has been a big disappointment. The $18 million safety was slated as the long-term answer alongside Justin Reid, but has fallen short of the mark. His average quarterback rating when targeted is 141.5, ninth-highest in the league. He’s missed seven tackles and allowed 335 passing yards and three touchdowns. It wouldn't be a surprise if the next general manager looks to move on from Murray and his hefty price tag after 2020.

Another disappointment has been linebacker Zach Cunningham, who signed an enormous $58-million contract extension prior to this season but currently ranks fourth in the league in missed tackles (10) and seventh in passer rating allowed when targeted (142.4).

A final mention has to be running back David Johnson. Acquired in the now notorious trade involving Hopkins, Johnson has yet to find his feet in this offense. Without a single 100-yard rushing game, Johnson has been run into the ground by offensive play-caller Tim Kelly in a desperate attempt to establish a run game. Sub-par blocking has made life extremely hard, but his seeming lack of pace and agility has been tough to watch. Costing the team $10.2 million in base salary this year was always going to be hard to live up to, but 553 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in seven games is simply disappointing.

Indianapolis Colts

Phillip B. Wilson/AllColts

Studs: Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has been what the Colts expected as a three-technique cornerstone. His 13 quarterback hits are more than twice as much as any other player on the roster and he’s made foes pay when not drawing double-team blocks. That’s why Colts general manager said dealing a 2020 first-round draft choice to San Francisco for Buckner in March was “a no-brainer.” That’s also why the Colts gave the All-Pro standout a four-year, $84-million extension.

Another obvious stud has been All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, who missed two starts and half a game due to a groin injury, but returned in Sunday’s win at Detroit with a team-high nine total tackles and a strip-sack fumble that the Colts recovered. Leonard has 36 total tackles, four shy of the team lead because of his absence. But based on how often he makes plays, it’s merely a matter of time before he’s back on top of that list, presuming he stays healthy.

Another player worthy of honorable mention is cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who has played consistently well after a shaky season opener. The Colts paid him $3 million to prove he can be the All-Pro cornerback that shined in Minnesota in 2017. Rhodes has been rated by Pro Football Focus among the top cornerbacks, based on passer rating allowed. He has a team-high eight passes defended with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

Duds: The list has to start with wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who despite being targeted a team-high 39 times has just 22 receptions for 251 yards and no touchdowns. His longest catch has been 28 yards, would be the shortest number of his career if it holds. Six other Colts have longer receptions. Hilton, 30, entered a contract year saying he wanted to remain “a Colt for life.” That seems unlikely unless he has a strong second half or is willing to take a significant pay cut. Hilton is being paid $14.54 million this season.

Defensive end Ben Banogu, a 2019 second-round draft choice, has failed to show any improvement from a disappointing rookie year. If anything, he’s worse, with just six total tackles, two solos, and no sacks in seven games. The only time his name was called came after an encroachment penalty. It will be interesting to see if Ballard gives up on Banogu after this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

John Shipley/JaguarReport

Studs: The obvious highlight of Jacksonville's season has been rookie running back James Robinson. Stepping into the lead back role once the Jaguars ended the Leonard Fournette era, Robinson has been Jacksonville's best offensive player, which is made even more impressive by the fact that he is an undrafted rookie. He’s one of just four running backs who have accounted for 40% of their offense's touches, with Robinson touching the ball on 41.1% of Jacksonville's plays. He has paid the Jaguars back for the investment and faith in him by having the second-highest rushing and total yards of all rookie backs, while also leading the rookie class with six touchdowns.

Defensively, linebacker Myles Jack has had his best season after the Jaguars moved him from middle linebacker to weakside linebacker. He has dealt with an ankle injury in recent weeks, but when on the field he’s typically the team's best player. One of the NFL's best linebackers, Jack is third on the team in tackles (41), while also recording a sack, an interception, and two tackles for loss. Jack missed Week 5 with an ankle injury and left Week 6 with the injury, but he has been dominant when healthy.

Duds: Jawaan Taylor had a great start to his career as a rookie. He was arguably the best offensive lineman of the 2019 draft class last season, but 2020 has been much rougher for the former second-round right tackle. Sports Info Solutions has Taylor down for 13 missed blocks in pass protection, tied for the second-most in the league among tackles and tied for the second-most sacks allowed among tackles with seven. Pro Football Focus has him with 29 pressures allowed, second-most among all offensive tackles.

On defense, there hasn't been a bigger disappointment than defensive tackle Taven Bryan. Bryan looked like he was flipping the switch after making big strides in 2019, but he has failed to show up to the same degree in 2020. He has just a half sack and rarely generates consistent pressure. He has a few tackles for loss against the run, but his inability to consistently anchor has come up and caused problems as well.

Tennessee Titans

David Boclair/AllTitans

Stud: Jeffery Simmons, defensive tackle. The 2019 first-round pick has been a consistent force for a defense that has been far too inconsistent through the first seven weeks. Simmons leads the Titans with two sacks, is second with 10 quarterback pressures, and has even broken up a couple passes – and he has made a lot of those plays at critical times.

Even when he doesn’t add to his stats, he tends to have an impact. For example, he has spearheaded a couple of goal-line stands and batted down a pass on a two-point conversion attempt that would have given Houston a nine-point lead with 1:50 to play (the Titans eventually won in overtime). According to ESPN, he leads all NFL defensive tackles in run stop win rate at 52 percent and is the only player at his position above 50 percent.

Dud: Vic Beasley, outside linebacker. The one-time NFL sack champion who joined the Titans on a one-year, $9.5 million (fully guaranteed) contract this offseason was such a dud that franchise officials released him this week.

All the franchise wanted from him was to beef up the pass rush, either by racking up quarterback sacks on his own or by drawing the attention of opposing offenses so Harold Landry and/or Jadeveon Clowney could have an easier time getting sacks. Beasley, who did not make his Titans debut until Week 3, played just a little more than 25 percent of the snaps for Tennessee’s defense. He did not record a sack, and the Titans entered Week 9 with just seven as a team, tied for second-fewest in the NFL.

(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.)

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