Big Cat Country
With the NFL Draft and the majority of offseason moves now complete, we took a look at the landscape of the AFC South to determine which position groups are primed to dominate the division in 2025.
In the coming weeks, the Jacksonville Jaguars, along with the rest of the AFC South, will report to their respective training camp locations to put the final touches on their 2025 offseason. With the rosters, for the most part, set, we take a look at which AFCS divisional position group, on paper, looks to be the most dominant heading into the 2025 season.
Quarterback
As much as many in Duval County would likely love to place Trevor Lawrence in this spot, if for no reason than recency bias, this has to go to Texans QB CJ Stroud. While Stroud may be coming off of a 3,727-yard, 20 touchdown, 12-interception “sophomore year regression” after his electric rookie season, he still edges out Lawrence, who ended his second consecutive season on injured reserve. However, Stroud’s 2024 season was eerily similar to Lawrence’s 2023 (with Stroud’s 2023 rookie season mirroring Lawrence’s first year under Doug Pederson). The gap in play between the two quarterbacks may not be as wide as most believe, nationally.
Running back
The Indianapolis Colts run away with the beat running back position group category, led by All-Pro RB Jonathan Taylor coming off his 1,431 yard, 11 touchdown, 2024 season. Backing him up are Khalil Herbert and rookie DJ Giddens. The production they have found on the ground, despite being below league average in run blocking, is a testament to Taylor’s ability and their scheme. The Texans, Titans, and Jaguars have a much tighter race for second place in the division with their backfields of Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce, and Woody Marks for Houston, Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, and Bhayshul Tuten for Jacksonville, or Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears for Tennessee.
Tight end
At the barren fantasy football tight end position, this would seem to come down to Jaguars TE Brenton Strange and Colts rookie TE Tyler Warren. As much as Texans fans might argue that Dalton Schultz belongs in the conversation, his putting up just 532 yards and two touchdowns on 85 targets with an injured receiver room just doesn’t place him in the conversation. Strange, while backing up Evan Engram for much of the year, put up similar numbers (411 yards and two touchdowns on 53 attempts) while being an extremely dominant blocker.
The depth behind each of these players is currently a coin flip, with Hunter Long seemingly being the primary pass catching backup TE in Jacksonville and Mo Alie-Cox and Jelani Woods as additional options in Indianapolis. While there’s an argument to be made that Strange alone may be a better option than rookie season Tyler Warren, the argument for the overall core would seem to lean to the Colts. Sight unseen, in the NFL, Warren, even as a rookie, will likely be able to produce similarly to...
