By: Andy Davies

The AFC South has been won by the Tennessee Titans, but the addition of Matt Ryan by the Indianapolis Colts and the loss of A.J. Brown for the Titans means the division is as usual, very wide open.

Since 2013, all four teams in the AFC South have won the division. However, who has the best quarterback?

In our final quarterback ranking list, here are your AFC South quarterback rankings.

1. Matt Ryan (Indianapolis Colts)

The only MVP winner in this list, Ryan joined the Colts this offseason after over ten years with the Atlanta Falcons.

In 2021, he still managed to throw for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.  Unless injury strikes, Ryan will reach the 60,000 career passing yards mark, currently being 265 away. Only seven players have previously reached the 60,000 mark and Ryan , who is currently eighth on the list for most career passing yards, can eclipse Phillip Rivers into sixth place on the list should he throw at least 3,705 yards or more.

A really good season, where he throws at least 33 touchdowns will also allow Ryan to reach 400 career passing touchdowns. He would become just the eighth player in NFL history to reach the 60,000

Whilst he showed signs of ageing last season, he still makes it as the best quarterback in this list, in what is a bad bunch.

2. Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee Titans)

Tannehill was an eighth overall pick in 2013, when he was selected by the Miami Dolphins. However, injuries and inconsistent play (as well as bad coaching) saw him eventually traded to the Titans in 2018.

He came in for Marcus Mariota mid-season and ended up winning Comeback Player of the Year. Over the course of his career, he has thrown for over 30,000 passing yards, 199 touchdowns and 102 interceptions. Despite this, he has shown signs of decline in the past twelve months. 

In 2021, he threw for 3,734 touchdowns, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. This is a stark contrast to the 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions he threw in 2022.

His position as the Titans’ starter is also in question, with the team choosing to draft Liberty QB Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He showed his potential in Thursday night’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 6 of his 11 passes for 107 yards  as well as a 7-yard touchdown run.

Tannehill has proved to be a good quarterback for Tennessee, excelling in particular when using RPO plays. However, he has yet to prove he can be the guy to take the Titans to the next level. 

This was proved in their Divisional Round when the number one seed Titans lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, despite Joe Burrow being sacked nine times. Tannehill threw three costly interceptions, and his future has been questioned ever since.

Despite having running back Derrick Henry and a brilliant head coach in Mike Vrabel, the loss of A.J. Brown could end up being the final nail in the Ryan Tannehill Titans coffin.

3. Davis Mills (Houston Texans)

Houston could be a realistic destination for Tannehill should the team decide they don’t want to pursue long term with their current starter Davis Mills. 

Mills was drafted 67^th overall out of Stanford and actually had a solid first NFL season in 2021. He was arguably the second-best rookie quarterback in a class that albeit did not exactly light up the league. In 13 games, he threw for 2,665 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. 

These are neither outstanding nor terrible stats. He did a solid job in a season of turmoil, with everything that went on off the field. 

Solid is exactly why Mills is third on this list. He wasn’t terrible but also hasn’t quite done enough to break into the top two.

4. Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)

The 2021 first overall pick had a torrid rookie year but is now free from a dysfunctional Urban Meyer. He threw for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.

However, he can no longer use the Meyer excuse with new head coach Doug Pederson. Should Lawrence have another bad year, there will be more and more usage of the word “bust”. 

Right now, it is hard to put him anywhere but the bottom of this list. Despite this, should he fulfill the potential that we all saw in Clemson, then he will certainly be a lot higher than fourth.

The post Ranking the AFC South Quarterbacks right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Trenton Roberts (Twitter: @TRobertsNFL)

The Indianapolis Colts went into the 2021 offseason as a team in flux. After losing their starting quarterback and left tackle to retirement following the season, the team needed to fill some holes, and fast. Fast forward a few months, and the team is situated well to win the division, and should the cards fall right, they’re a young team with championship potential.

So, what happened? What makes the Colts the early favorites to hoist the AFC South Championship banner this season? Let’s dive into three reasons why Indy is poised to potentially make waves in 2021.

Which Wentz Will Arrive in Indy?

After an early offseason trade with the Philadelphia Eagles which netted Indianapolis former second overall pick Carson Wentz in exchange for a third and a future second/first, Indy solved the problem of who would be under center for the team for 2021.

The question that remains, however, is if the Colts will get pre-2020 Wentz, or the Wentz that played last season as arguably the worst quarterback in the league.

Prior to his fall in 2020, Wentz was a rising quarterback, having played at an MVP level during the Eagles 2017 Super Bowl season and overcoming injuries and poor offensive help to perform well in 2018 and 2019. The wheels suddenly fell off in 2020, however, as Wentz struggled horribly, throwing 15 interceptions in just 12 games and getting benched for 2020 second rounder Jalen Hurts halfway through their Week 13 matchup with Green Bay.

If the Colts can get an earlier version of Carson Wentz, they have the offensive line and weapons to field a top 5 offense. If he struggles again, the team could fall apart entirely.

Defensive Dominance

The 2020 Colts defense was a pleasant surprise, going from a subpar/bad unit to one of the league’s best. With the acquisition of DeForest Buckner playing a pivotal role in the improvements of the front 7, the team finally was able to field its first top-10 defense since 2007.

In the 2021 draft, Ballard improved the unit further, adding Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo in the first and second rounds, respectively. While Dayo might not see the field until the latter half of the season, Paye should come in as an impact player right away, pairing with Buckner to overcome the loss of Justin Houston in the offseason.

While the defense did perform extremely well in 2020, there is even more room for improvements in 2021. If the newcomers can make an impact early, the defense could be championship-caliber.

A New Left Tackle

After the draft had come and gone, Colts fans were upset that the team had failed to fill the massive hole left on the left side of the line by Anthony Castonzo. Free agents Sam Tevi and Julien Davenport were nothing more than backup-level players, and the team failed to draft an offensive lineman until the final round of the draft.

On Monday, May 10^th, the Colts finally filled the position.

Long-time Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher, a former first-overall pick, hit free agency with one big issue holding him back: an Achilles injury suffered during the Chiefs victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game.

With most projections expecting the tackle to be out for the start to the season, fans of the Colts shouldn’t immediately expect the left tackle position to be set. Instead, it will likely be one of Tevi or Davenport holding the position down for a few weeks until Fisher is ready to go.

Once he does check out as healthy, though, the team shouldn’t have any issues from a left side of the line comprised of Fisher, All-Pro Quenton Nelson, and Pro-Bowler Ryan Kelly.

Closing Thoughts

With so many questions surrounding the AFC South in 2021, the Colts seem like the team best situated to take advantage of the issues surrounding their divisional rivals. The Jaguars seem to be a year away from competing, with first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence and rookie head coach Urban Meyers likely to need time to acclimate. The Texans seem to be having issue after issue, headlined by the allegations surrounding their franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Titans, likely to be the one team with a chance to challenge the Colts, got worse in the offseason, losing many key defenders.

With the door wide open in the AFC South, the Colts are the best bet right now to lead the way in 2021.

The post Why the Indianapolis Colts are AFC South favorites appeared first on Pro Football Mania.