Preseason All-AFC South Team
As some NFL players report for the start of training camp this week, every AFC South team has something to prove.
Can the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans make it back to the postseason and – if they do – go farther than they did last season? Can the Indianapolis Colts, with one season in the last five years, get back to being perennial postseason participants? Can the Jacksonville Jaguars, the last-place team in three of the last four years, return to relevance?
In an effort to determine which franchise has the best talent, the AFC South publishers of TheMaven/SI.com network voted to determine a 2020 Preseason All-AFC South team.
The Titans led the way with eight selections (four on offense, three on defense and one specialist). The Colts had seven while the Texans and Jaguars had five each. Interestingly, of the 12 players on the defense (there was a tie at one position), each team had three.
Likewise, the Titans topped the others in the number of unanimous selections with two of the five, running back Derrick Henry and safety Kevin Byard. The others were Indianapolis guard Quenton Nelson, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson and Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo.
The complete Preseason All-AFC South team, as determined by TheMaven/SI.com reporters who cover Tennessee, Houston, Indianapolis and Jacksonville.
OFFENSE
QB: * Deshaun Watson, Houston
RB: * Derrick Henry, Tennessee
WR: A.J. Brown, Tennessee
WR: DJ Chark, Jacksonville
WR: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis
TE: Jack Doyle, Indianapolis
OT: Laremy Tunsil, Houston
OT: Taylor Lewan, Tennessee
G: * Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis
G: Rodger Saffold, Tennessee
C: Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis
DEFENSE
Edge: J.J. Watt, Houston
Edge: Josh Allen, Jacksonville
IDL: DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis
IDL: DaQuan Jones, Tennessee
LB: Darius Leonard, Indianapolis
LB: Zach Cunningham, Houston
CB: Bradley Roby, Houston
CB: Adoree' Jackson, Tennessee
Slot: Tie -- D.J. Hayden, Jacksonville/ Kenny Moore, Indianapolis
FS: * Kevin Byard, Tennessee
SS: Ronnie Harrison, Jacksonville
SPECIALISTS
PK: * Josh Lambo, Jacksonville
P: Brett Kern, Tennessee
(* -- unanimous)
Observations on the selections:
• All four teams had a 1,000-yard rusher last season, but Henry had at least 388 more rushing yards than any of the others last season, and the other two who are still in the division (Leonard Fournette and Marlon Mack) combined for 11 rushing touchdowns, five fewer than Henry had on his own.
• The Titans ranked among the NFL’s top five in average yards per rush over left guard, left tackle and around left end, which has a lot to do with why the left side of their line (Lewan and Saffold) was chosen.
• Byard is the only NFL safety to record five or more interceptions twice in the last three years and he has more than twice as many interceptions as any safety in the division over that span. Of course, he was a unanimous choice.
• Brown was one of three wide receivers in the AFC South to top 1,000 yards receiving in 2019. One of the three, DeAndre Hopkins, was traded out of the division (and the conference). The others, Brown and Chark, made the list.
• Jones and Jackson are not stars on Tennessee’s defense, but both do what is asked within the scheme. That makes them reliable and useful performers.
• The only surprise related to Kern, a first-team All-Pro in 2019, is that he was not a unanimous selection. One of the votes went to Houston’s Bryan Anger.
