Post-Super Bowl AFC South quarterback ranking: Where does Trevor Lawrence land?

1. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Credit where credit's due and the Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud deserve lots of praise for becoming the team to beat in the AFC South. It stings to admit it but the Texans are currently a better team than Jacksonville right now. You could argue that the Jaguars' roster is in much better shape right now, but even if it were true, they didn't ultimately make the playoffs while Houston advanced to the divisional round.

Maybe the Texans would've still reached the postseason without Stroud. After all, first-year head coach Demeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio played a huge role in the turnaround. However, Stroud was also a big piece in their rebuild, helping them compete right out of the gate.

Looking back, Stroud showed he belonged right away. Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik didn't hold him back and built the game plan around him instead of taking a conservative approach. It paid off, as Stroud helped Houston win more than 10 games in a season for the first time in 2021 and he did so while playing at a high level, completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,1082 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

Just like Trevor Lawrence, there's a chance Stroud will eventually regress but he's talented enough that the Texans will be contenders for years to come. That's bad news for the rest of the AFC South but it will most certainly make things more interesting in the upcoming years. Now, it will be up to the Jaguars to show Houston and Stroud that they're not the only team that deserves the spotlight.

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