This season, the AFC South will have an interesting mix of starting quarterbacks taking snaps behind center. Of course, in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ case, rookie Trevor Lawrence will be the youngest starter, while Tyrod Taylor, Carson Wentz, and Ryan Tannehill will all bring at least five years of experience and 47 career starts to the table.
Even with such experience, though, the AFC South’s starting group of quarterbacks doesn’t compare to those of ultra-competitive divisions like the AFC and NFC West, both of whom could produce a Super Bowl champion. This was the thought process that reflected in CBS Sports’ divisional rankings by Cody Benjamin, where the AFC South’s group of starting signal-callers were ranked fifth in the NFL.
Tannehill has erased memories of an uneven start to his career with each and every Titans start, serving as the ever-steady hand of a bruising and underrated offense. Wentz stumbled all over himself on a bad Eagles team in 2020, but couple his physical skill set with a comforting change of scenery, and he’s bound to be a top 15 QB again. Lawrence has the makeup of a future star, but stuck in a Jacksonville rebuild, he may start slow. The Texans are the chief reason for the South ranking this low: Watson is a top-10 talent but remains intent on being traded regardless of whether his legal matters result in a suspension, so Taylor — the serviceable but overly conservative insurance plan — figures to open 2021 under center.
Clearly, if Deshaun Watson was in the mix the division would’ve ranked higher, but it’s almost certain that he’s seen his last days in a Houston Texans uniform, even if he can clear his name of the sexual assault allegations, which surfaced this offseason.
As for the rest of the division, it appears Tannehill is the most established quarterback and has all the skills needed to get the Tennessee Titans in the postseason again. That said, it will be on Lawrence and Wentz to live up to the hype of their draft statuses, and if they do, the AFC South’s group of signal-callers could move further up.
As for the rest of the rankings, the AFC and NFC West came in at the top two spots, respectively, while the AFC North (third) and NFC North (fourth) followed. Then coming in at the last three spots were the NFC South, AFC East, and NFC East, respectively.