How to Fix the AFC South Part Two

I'm embarking on a four-part journey to fix the AFC South. Currently, this division is not looking so hot. The Colts have historically dominated this division (I wrote about them yesterday), and look favored to win the division again (though that outlook gets murkier every week). The Colts are a playoff team, their division rivals, the Texans, Titans, and Jaguars, are not. So there's a lot more to fix. Part two takes us to Jacksonville, Florida where we meet the Jaguars, a team that I actually like.  

Bortles' team

This team currently isn't very good. But I love watching Blake Bortles hurl the pigskin. This is my favorite bad team to watch (of course, not counting my hometown boys who, never cease to be bad). It's funny how many quick reactions we've already made of the quarterback class of 2014. People went from anointing Teddy Bridgewater as best of the bunch at the end of 2014, jumped on the Derek Carr train and are now trending back to Bortles (Johnny Manziel gets no love?). Physically, he's the most impressive of the bunch. He's bigger, faster and has a stronger arm than any other sophomore quarterback. It's why he was drafted with the third overall pick. 

He's slowly starting to earn his lofty draft position. He finished 2014 with 11 TDs and 17 INTs. Not exactly a good start to his career. Through seven games this season, he's already thrown 18 TDs to go with 8 picks. He might finish with a high interception count again, but it looks a lot better next to 30 touchdowns as opposed to 11. He's improving and should continue to do so.     

Be patient

The Jaguars are building up a stockpile of versatile weapons around him. He's got the second year Allen Bros. (Robinson and Hurns) on the outside who have combined for more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in the first seven weeks. Marquise Lee was also added in that 2014 draft, and while he hasn't performed as quickly as the other two, that makes for a really talented wide receiver corps. constructed in just one year. Remember, Lee cleaned up trophies at USC, and was once a Heisman finalist. It's too soon to give up on him after just one and a half seasons. 

In the offseason the Jags spent good money on tight end Julius Thomas and then had to wait five weeks to see what he would be like without Peyton Manning. It took Thomas just two weeks to out-gain Owen Daniels' (his replacement in Denver) season totals. Thomas is the oldest target at a seasoned age of 27. Rookie running back TJ Yeldon hasn't found much space to run but he has shown what he can do when the offensive line opens up holes, as seen in his first touchdown run in London last week. This offense is putting up numbers now and looks poised to explode in 2016. 

Of course the passing game looks so good this year because the Jaguars are always playing from behind. Bortles is third in the NFL in passing attempts, trailing fellow always-behind QBs Sam Bradford and Phillip Rivers.  On Sunday's game across the pond against the Bills, the Jags skyrocketed out to a 27-0 lead. And they didn't know what to do for the rest of the game (let's run Toby Gerhart four times in a row at the one yard line!). They blew the lead and Bortles had to lead the offense back for a last minute go-ahead touchdown with a Roethlisbergian evasion and 31-yard strike to Hurns. Clearly, game management is his next progression. 

Improve the defense

The defense is a different story. They have a few interesting pieces currently on hand. Their defensive line was very good at rushing the passer in 2014. Particularly through getting pressure on the inside via Sen'Derrick Marks and his 8.5 sacks. He's been hurt to start this year, and the line has suffered without him. Aaron Colvin, their starting defensive back leads the team in sacks right now. Andre Branch and Jonathan Cyprien are the Jags' only draft picks that are starting on that defense. They've put up numbers but haven't turned into stars. 

The good news is, with their current trajectory in 2015, it looks like they are set to draft in the top ten again. Here they can add a defensive star. Most draft rankings have pass-rushing end Joey Bosa, run-stuffing tackle Robert Nkemdiche, linebacker Jaylon Smith, and shutdown corners Vernon Hargreaves and Jalen Ramsey all listed as some of the ten best talents. Any of these selections would be a good move and should improve their defense. 

And don't forget Dante Fowler Jr., who was supposed to be their pass-rushing linebacker until the No. 3 overall pick tore his ACL just weeks after the draft. They could enter 2016 with essentially two new top defensive prospects, and a potential league-high $45 million in cap space to bring in some well-chosen vets. For reference, half of the league is currently spending less than $45 million on their entire defense. They started this strategy last year by signing defensive end Jared Odrick and corner back Davon House to long term deals. Those two aren't exactly game changers but they are starters in their prime. The Jaguars could add three or four more good pieces to this unit and supplement that with Fowler and another defense-heavy draft class.  

I'm expecting big things from the Jaguars in 2016. I've seen some great progress from Bortles this year. And that's really all that matters. As long as he fulfills the promise of the No. 3 pick in the draft, Jacksonville is on the upswing. And it's not like their competition is doing that much better. Depending how their offseason plays out (and what decisions the Colts make), they look like AFC South favorites next year.

Come back next week for Parts 3 and 4 of this blog series on the AFC South.