Not long after the 2024 season ended, the Jacksonville Jaguars were quick to dismiss Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke. To replace them with Liam Coen and James Glastone, respectively. Together, the duo wasted no time in giving the roster an overhaul.
There's no doubt that the Jags improved in free agency, but they won't truly know how good they are until they play meaningful games in September. Moreover, most of their AFC South foes also made an effort to get better.
On the other hand, Jacksonville has several intriguing building blocks in place and could make a playoff run if they nail the draft. This is feasible when you take into account that their division rivals also have several flaws of their own. With this in mind, here are every AFC South team's biggest weaknesses after free agency.
Indianapolis Colts: Revolving door at quarterback, dearth of leadership
An old adage in the NFL says that if you have two quarterbacks vying for a starting job, you truly have none. This rings true for the Indianapolis Colts, who brought * checks notes * former first-round bust Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson for the job behind center.
Sure, Richardson hasn't lived up to his draft billing, but it's hard to do so when the franchise that made the third overall selection in 2023 mismanages your development. Then again, the former Florida Gator will need to show that he can stay healthy, something he's failed to do the past two years, and if he cannot beat Jones — the bare minimum — he will prove that Indy made a mistake.
Of course, quarterback is far from the Colts' only concern heading into the 2025 season. Their defense lacked leadership, with Zaire Alexander and EJ Speed coming into the spotlight for failing to give full effort and trask talk when they weren't in a position to do it.
Speed is now gone, and the Colts revamped their secondary in free agency, signing cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Cam Bynum. Both are proven players but will need to gel for Indianapolis to have a shot at competing for the AFC crown in 2025.
Tennessee Titans, quarterback and the defensive front
Expectations are high for the Tennessee Titans after finishing with the worst record in the NFL last year. Surely, they have nowhere to go but up, and have lots of glaring holes throughout the roster, including the quarterback position. But unlike a Colts team that believes Anthony Richardson can still put it all together, Tennessee is starting from scratch at the position after giving up on Will Levis.
Working in their favor is that the Titans are in a position to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. And while there were rumors that they could trade down, they appear to be infatuated with Cam Ward. If the Tennessee brass believes he is their guy, they shouldn't hesitate to turn on the card with his name on Draft Day.
Having said that, quarterback is far from the Titans' only concern. Their front seven was one of the worst in the league last year, and their need for reinforcements was accentuated when they cut ties with long-time contributor Harold Landry III. Although Jeffery Simmons is still around, Tennessee will need to revamp its defensive trenches in the draft.
Houston Texans: Lack of identity on offense, offensive line
The Houston Texans are the reigning champions in the AFC South, but they're vulnerable, having shown flaws late in 2024. Not surprisingly, they were one and done. Looking back, it's not surprising to see them come crashing down. Their most glaring weakness was a porous offensive line that couldn't protect C.J. Stroud. The former Ohio State was brought down a concerning 52 times last year, which led the Texans to revamp their offensive trenches in the offseason.
But unlike the Jaguars, who have employed a methodical approach, Houston appears to be throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. They moved on from Kenyon Green, Kendrick Green, Laremy Tunsil, and Shaq Mason ahead of free agency. Nobody will deny that they needed to go. The issue was that the Texans brought in Cam Robinson, Trent Green, Ed Ingram, and Laken Tomlinson to replace them. All things considered, that's a group that doesn't inspire much confidence.
But even if the offensive line manages to get, offensive coordinator Nick Caley has his work cut out. His predecessor, Bobby Slowik, took the fall for his unit's underwhelming outing.
Caley will be tasked with the Stroud and the offense going, but he'll also need to have his unit with cohesion. There didn't seem to be consistent leadership on that side of the ball in Houston last year. That will need to change if they don't want to cede the division to someone like the Jaguars.
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