The AFC South is filled with young talent. Andrew Luck, DeAndre Hopkins, Marcus Mariota, Blake Bortles and all of his wide receivers, T.Y. Hilton, the list could go on and on. This division has a chance to be very exciting this year with all of the young guns competing against each other. Let’s individually go through each team in the division.

Tennessee Titans

Key Additions: LB Brian Orakpo, WR Harry Douglas, CB Perrish Cox, QB Marcus Mariota (rookie first round pick), WR Dorial Green-Beckham (rookie second round pick), RB David Cobb (rookie fifth round pick)

Key Losses: WR Nate Washington, OT Michael Oher, S Bernard Pollard, LB Kamerion Wimbley, OT Michael Roos

The Tennessee Titans last season were one of the worst teams in the NFL, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders and AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars. They were awarded the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and opted to go for quarterback Marcus Mariota from Oregon. A lot of Tennessee’s potential success will be all on how Mariota performs in a more pro style of play with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. With failed quarterback projects in Jake Locker and Zach Mettenberger, Mariota will have a lot of weight on his shoulders to click in this system right away.

The Titans had several players, young and old, retire following the 2014 season. Of those who retired, the most notable players were outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and offensive tackle Michael Roos. Wimbley was a durable player and still had two years remaining on his five-year, $35 million deal. He appeared in all 16 games in 2012-13 and 13 games last season. Roos was a Titan his entire career and started all 148 games that he ever played in. He was a Pro Bowl tackle in 2008 and was All-Pro three times. His presence on the offensive line will definitely be missed and I’m sure Mariota will miss him even though they never played together.

Season Prediction: With all of these new faces for the Titans, I can’t imagine them having a great season just yet. They’ll definitely have to give it some time with this group. With a couple more solid upgrades on defense this team could be making some noise.

Record: 5-11

Houston Texans

Key Additions: DT Vince Wilfork, WR Cecil Shorts, CB Kevin Johnson (rookie first round pick), WR Jaelen Strong (rookie third round pick)

Key Losses: WR Andre Johnson, C Chris Myers, S D.J. Swearinger, LB Brooks Reed, S Kendrick Lewis

The Houston Texans are always one of those unpredictable teams in the NFL. They are one of the streakiest teams in the NFL, as they consistently win two games in a row and then lose two or three in a row. Because of this, they finished 2014 one game over .500 at 9-7.

2014 introduced some changes to the Houston Texans, including head coach Bill O’Brien, who coached at Penn State from 2012-13. They also had the number one overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, selecting defensive line monster Jadeveon Clowney from South Carolina. Unfortunately, his season was cut to just four games after tearing his meniscus. This was a huge disappointment for the Texans as Clowney is a disruptive force and was overall a big blow to the defense. Along with Clowney’s injury, running back Arian Foster was constantly banged up last season, although he still played in 13-of-16 games and ran for over 1,000 yards. But now he is set to be out for half of the season after having surgery on his groin. The Texans just can’t seem to stay consistent and healthy enough to actually be a threat to the rest of the AFC.

Season Prediction: The Texans defense should be much better this year now that Clowney is healthy alongside J.J. Watt and newly acquired defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. Their defensive line might be the best in the NFL now and I fully expect them to cause quarterback pressure all season, no matter what offensive line they are going up against. However, with the Foster injury and inconsistency at the quarterback position, the offense will have to rely on DeAndre Hopkins for at least half of the season.

Record: 8-8

Jacksonville Jaguars

Key Additions: TE Julius Thomas, RB T.J. Yeldon (rookie second round pick), DT Jared Odrick, OT Jermey Parnell, CB Davon House, OLB Dante Fowler Jr. (rookie first round pick)

Key Losses: WR Cecil Shorts, LB J.T. Thomas, DE Red Bryant, CB Teddy Williams

The Jaguars are a very exciting team to watch this upcoming season. It will be quarterback Blake Bortles’ second year with the team, along with receivers Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson. Now that tight end Julius Thomas is in town, Bortles must be ecstatic. Over the last two seasons, Thomas has 24 receiving touchdowns and 1,277 receiving yards. Of course, a large part of this had to do with Peyton Manning, but those are still monster numbers for a tight end, and Jaguar fans must be extremely happy to finally have a high-end tight end. Although Thomas was injured in his first preseason game, he is expected to be ready for Week 1.

One downside for the Jaguars this season happened very early on. Their first round draft selection, linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. from Florida, tore his ACL on the first day of mini-camp. This is a huge loss for not just the defense but to Fowler’s confidence moving forward with his pro career. This was a tragic injury and hopefully he can make a comeback next season and remain healthy.

Season Prediction: The additions made in the offseason by the Jaguars were very impressive. They improved positions that they needed to improve and added depth to their run game by picking T.J. Yeldon in the second round of this year’s draft. Last year they were 3-13. Unless Bortles or Thomas is injured for a long period of time, there is no way they repeat that this season.

Record: 6-10

Indianapolis Colts

Key Additions: WR Andre Johnson, RB Frank Gore, DE Kendall Langford, LB Trent Cole, S Dwight Lowery

Key Losses: S LaRon Landry, WR Reggie Wayne, LB Shaun Phillips, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, DE Cory Redding

This offseason, the Colts decided to get rid of a lot of their older players…and then brought in equally as old players. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to get rid of guys like Reggie Wayne and Ahmad Bradshaw and then bring in guys like Frank Gore and Andre Johnson to replace them. Sure they are still good players, but their time in the NFL is limited. These veterans will help out the team and help guide the younger players, but how long will these guys actually be with Indy?

Along with these odd signings, the Colts use their first round pick on wide receiver Phillip Dorsett from Miami (FL). This was another strange addition for the Colts as they don’t really need anymore receiving help. Johnson and T.Y. Hilton are two solidified star receivers, so selecting another receiver was a bit questionable for them. However, they did use five of their remaining seven draft selections to upgrade their defense, which has always been the Achilles heel for them.

Season Prediction: The Colts have won the division the last two years and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. With one of the best young quarterbacks in the league in Andrew Luck on this team, it’d be pretty challenging to not be consistently good every year. I’m taking the Colts by a landslide, primarily because of their easy schedule and because of Luck and the upgrades on the offense. I expect a big year from Indianapolis.

Record: 13-3