Has the AFC South Risen from the Cellar of the NFL

After a strong offseason full of big name acquisitions, a deep draft class, and continued development of young players the question must be asked, has the AFC South done enough to rise from the cellar of the NFL?

The AFC South, in recent years has been consistently viewed as one of the weakest divisions in the league. An eight win season in the south has seemingly either given the divisional crown or at the very least put you in the thick of things.

Holding the league’s current, longest super bowl draught, no team from the AFC South has gone on to win the Super Bowl since the Peyton Manning led Colts in 2006.

Since the ‘06 Colts, no team has won more than back-to-back divisional titles. Since 2008 in fact, no team not from Houston or Indianapolis has won the division; making this a two-team division.

But things may be on the up for the South. The division as a whole has gone through changes from top to bottom with an influx of young talent and new faces. The 2015 division winners Houston Texans are a team in transition right now as they were perhaps, one of the most active teams in free agency and the draft.

With a completely new offense the Texans will look for a boost from off-season acquisitions Lamar Miller and Brock Osweiler, and draft picks Will Fuller and quarterback turned receiver Braxton Miller.

The consensus favorites though have lived in Indianapolis. With a little bit of “luck” the Colts appear to be ready to get back in the thick of things. Perhaps the one team in the division in a clear “win now” mode as they have a roster full of stars on their last legs including Frank Gore, Trent Cole, and Mike Adams. Providing the bulk of star power the Texans and Colts appear as the teams to beat in the division as it stands.

The overlooked Jaguars and Titans have both made strides that soon could push them, not only onto the radar for the rest of the division, but the league as a whole. Under the tillage of the defensive minded Gus Bradley and with continued progression of Blake Bortles — going into Jacksonville is no longer viewed as a bye week to the opponent.

The Jaguars defense is perhaps one of the youngest and most talented in the league. With players such as Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., and Jalen Ramsey to create a formidable unit, the Jaguars can very well have the best defensive unit in the division (excluding J.J. Watt). Even the Tennessee Titans are on the up, after a full season of Marcus Mariota and a brand new running game Tennessee won’t knock anyone out of the park but they should very well have a competitive season at the very least.

What does this all mean though? The Texans have their much-improved offense, the Jaguars defense is on the rise, the Colts have all the talent yet aging veterans, while the Titans aim to run opponents over this season. The impact these moves will have aim to be seen but as it stands right now the AFC South is on the rise and very well can be taking the rest of the NFL by storm. While key pieces have moved on such as the Broncos losing both quarterbacks from their Super Bowl winning team, the south ultimately has improved internally.

The question remains, has the AFC South risen from the cellar of the NFL? Only time will tell.