Tennessee Titans: Head coach Ken Whisenhunt has been hard at work turning the Titans around, now it appears that he is on the cusp of something special. The Titans have added the other big name quarterback in the 2015 NFL draft Marcus Mariota. Mariota looks to be the Titans new franchise quarterback, and this budding superstar could take the Titans pretty far.
The Titans however are headed for a camp battle whether they like it or not between Mariota and incumbent Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger. The Titans last year allowed 50 sacks and had an incredibly terrible rushing attack led by Bishop Sankey's 569 yards. The Titans brought in former Redskins defensive standout Brian Orakpo and drafted troubled but talented wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to help bring a spark to both sides of the ball. Their third round pick was spent on the offensive line drafting Jeremiah Poutasi, and grabbed an insurance running back in the talented David Cobb in the fifth.
The main causes of the Titan's woes have to be their inadequate offensive line which continually fails protecting the passer as well as the running backs. The Titans will never get any better without protecting the valuable pieces of the offensive side of the ball.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars got the most dreaded news any NFL team could face when their first round pick Dante Fowler JR tore his ACL a few days after the draft. Fowler looked to be a key piece of the Jaguars defense however fans will have to wait until 2016 to see what he can do. The 2nd round pick of the Jaguars was T.J. Yeldon who should make an immediate impact over Toby Gerhart and Denard Robinson.
They drafted offensive lineman A.J. Cann to help protect the running and passing game. Bortle's 2014 was forgetful to say the least but he is starting for arguably the worst team in the NFL. Bortles was -6 in turnover differential and this is predominantly because he had no one to throw to.
This problem has been solved by the Jaguars stealing Julius Thomas from the Broncos in free agency, now Bortles has a huge target to throw too and the offense has someone to help draw away some coverage. The Jaguars also added former Cowboys lineman Jeremy Parnell but this line is still woefully lacking the talent needed to protect Bortles effectively.
Indianapolis Colts: The Colts may have not impressed many with their selections in the 2015 NFL draft but they did manage to find Andrew Luck another weapon. Phillip Dorsett looks to be some TY Hilton insurance just in case the Colts don't have to cap space to sign the speedster after the 2015 season. They also added Andre Johnson and Frank Gore giving their offense a level of depth they just did not have last season. This season the offense has added a multitude of weapons for Andrew Luck so their offense is absolutely in lets win a Super Bowl mode.
The defense has some serious question marks that were not dealt with in the draft or free agency. The Colts defense lacked any real substance last season and often times cost them the game. The problem is the lack of pressure the Colts can generate this destroys the chance for their secondary to cover anyone. The Colts did little to alleviate this, and because of that their defense will remain in limbo.
Houston Texans: Breathe easy Texans fans as long as you have JJ Watt the Texans have a chance to do just about anything. The Texans have one of the most impressive defenses in the NFL. The additions of Kevin Johnson and Benardrick McKinney in the draft has just bolstered their defense on a whole new level. Johnson will be lining up next to Jonathan Joseph, Rahim Moore, and Kareem Jackson which immediately makes them a top 5 secondary in the NFL.
The defensive line now consists of JJ Watt, Vince Wilfork, Brian Cushing, Jadeveon Clowney, and Benardrick McKinney a scary group of defenders with the ability to bring constant pressure to a quarterback. The Texans defense is poised to take over the Seahawks top spot as best defense in the NFL but can the offense handle their part of the equation. It is looking like Brian Hoyer is going to get the starting job but the loss of Andre Johnson hurts any new quarterback that comes into the fold. The division should come down to the Colts vs the Texans a pure offense vs defense matchup, expect there to be fireworks.
