(Photo: MSN)
1. Houston Texans: They’re knocking at the door, but they aren’t quite there yet and that’s the best term I can use for them. They had an active off-season in 2024 acquiring Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills and signing Danielle Hunter to bolster up their defense. The injuries took a toll on this football team, and they felt it with Stefon tearing his ACL and Nico Collins missing a large chunk of time with injuries, also, they lost Tank Dell late in the season, and he will miss all of this upcoming season if I’m not mistaken. My two biggest gripes with the Houston Texans last year were the awful play of their Offensive Line, and they had C.J. Stroud running for his life most of the time, but I also noticed they had many immature moments such as committing unnecessary penalties. Did C.J. have a down year? By most standards, yes, but if you were running for your life most of the time, you’d struggle too. This defense under DeMeco Ryans will still remain one of the best in the league with Hunter and Will Anderson as a tandem.
2. Indianapolis Colts: They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2020 season when Philip Rivers was their starting Quarterback, and they haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 season and Andrew Luck was still an active player at the time. I still remember when Anthony Richardson stated he was tired during a game, then got benched for it and I supported the move 100 percent. This year, it’s a make-or-break year for the guy the Colts drafted fourth overall in 2023 to be their next franchise Quarterback. Jonathan Taylor returns and he is the guy that makes this entire offense go. One of my favorite draft picks was when they selected Tyler Warren from Penn State, and he will give the passing game a serviceable weapon down the field. The Colts defense wasn’t the greatest last year and they hired former Bengals Defensive Coordinator, Lou Anarumo to come in and fix things, but most importantly, teach aggressiveness.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: After getting hot and winning the AFC South in 2022, the expectations were high for them the following year, and they were in great shape to win another division title in 2023, but they unfortunately hit a losing streak to close out the season that year and last season, the wheels continued to fall off. I’m just going to come right out and say this: Trevor Lawrence only got paid for what he did at Clemson because he sure hasn’t done much since coming into the league. The Jaguars fired Doug Pedersen and hired former Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator, Liam Coen to be their next Head Coach. In the draft, they traded up with the Cleveland Browns and selected Travis Hunter with the second overall pick. I can’t wait to see what second-year Wide Receiver, Brian Thomas Jr does. Last year, this Jacksonville defense gave up many explosive plays, and they will have their work cut out for them in 2025 to improve.
4. Tennessee Titans: They are a mess, but that is to be expected when you’re in the midst of a rebuild. Brian Callahan is entering year two as a Head Coach, and we will see if he is the “Quarterback Guru” he was dubbed to be prior to the Titans hiring him. The team had the number one overall pick and as expected, they drafted Cam Ward, a Quarterback who played his college ball the previous year for the Miami Hurricanes. Cam grew during his college career and the Titans are hoping this will translate to the professional level as it did with Bo Nix. One move they made was adding the veteran Wide Receiver, Tyler Lockett who was released by the Seattle Seahawks. Their defense still has questions to be answered and they aren’t dynamic until they show everyone else otherwise. I remember when Jeffrey Simmons said nobody runs the ball on the Titans and they ended up allowing 133 yards per game to their opponents.
2025 Predictions
1. Texans (11-6)
2. Colts (6-11)
3. Jaguars (5-12)
4. Titans (3-14)
I’m picking the Houston Texans to win this division for the third consecutive year, and they should run away with it once again. I said this throughout the year last season and will say it again, the health of Nico Collins is instrumental to their success and every Quarterback has their top target, he happens to be just that for Stroud. Speaking of the Quarterback, C.J. enters year three and hopefully his Offensive Line will actually give him time to throw the football and keep him on his feet. In the last two seasons, the Texans have won a playoff game in the Wild Card round and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs where they have fallen short. Once again, their defense will thrive under Ryans and his leadership. I would love to see both sides of the ball remain consistent, and we may have something brewing here in Houston.
