The Fantasy Points staff recently welcomed NFL Films legend Greg Cosell and NFL Insider Adam Caplan to talk about the AFC South as part of our Virtual Town Hall Series. I highly encourage you to check out the entire conversation by accessing our Livestream archives.
Greg and Adam joined John Hansen and company to break down the AFC South from front to back to help us get a deeper understanding of every roster heading into the summer. John has been holding these closed-door meetings with Greg and Adam for the last 15+ years. The Fantasy Points staff is proud to let the public peek behind the curtain during these exclusive Livestreams! Here are the notes we compiled from the AFC South meeting
Houston Texans
Greg Cosell (GC): Davis Mills played well last year given the circumstances he was in playing on a team that was bad on both sides of the ball. He showed a lot of poise and composure for a rookie quarterback. He’s never going to be a mobile, second-reaction player but he has functional mobility, and they upgraded the offensive line for him.
Adam Caplan (AC): OC Pep Hamilton has done a good job with the Colts, Stanford, and last year with Mills. They’re going to be very patient with Mills since they don’t have a lot behind him.
GC: They drafted John Metchie in the second round, who was one of Greg’s favorites. The first player who came to his mind when watching Metchie was Robert Woods. Nico Collins is long and can run, and he’s going to get the opportunity to play a lot. The question is if he can become a volume receiver or is he just a vertical threat. Brevin Jordan doesn’t have the ideal length of a #1 TE, but he’s a really good receiver. He expects him to be more of a volume receiver than Collins.
AC: Brandin Cooks is basically on a two-year deal since the Texans can get out of his contract easily starting in 2024. These young WRs will have a chance to emerge here.
GC: The Texans have a pretty good collection of backs who can do a lot of different things between Dameon Pierce, Marlon Mack, and Rex Burkhead. Greg went back and forth on Pierce being a feature back. He’s compact and built low to the ground, and he’s a professional runner with a natural feel for the position. Pierce is more of a toughness runner than an elusive back, and Greg calls him a lower-case Javonte Williams
AC: Pierce will eventually take the job and he should be a pretty big piece of the offense.
Indianapolis Colts
GC: Greg didn’t see a significant difference between Alec Pierce and Drake London. Pierce is long and athletic, he has some nuance to his route running, and he’s great in contested-catch situations. Pierce also has a red-zone element to his game as he’ll go up and get the ball at 6’3”.
AC: Pierce went from being a third-round pick to a second-round pick with his on-field performance at the Combine. He’d have to fall on his face to not see significant snaps on the outside.
AC: They have some issues along their offensive line, especially at left tackle. They don’t have a starter right now with Dennis Kelly and Matt Pryor in the mix. Third-round pick Bernhard Raimann is a project but he has some athleticism.
GC: Wentz doesn’t like to check it down, Hines should be more involved after his down season
AC: Jelani Woods is a little bit of a project but he was one of the more intriguing guys in the draft. He has unique size (6’7”) and length for a TE, but it’s very possible that he’s a non-factor this year with Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson in front of him.
AC: Undrafted RB D’Vonte Price out of FIU back has some size (6’2”, 215 pounds) and it was a little surprising he lasted through the Draft. There’s a chance he could be the handcuff for Jonathan Taylor — the Colts signed Phillip Lindsay shortly after our call. Nyheim Hines doesn’t have the size to be used as a feature back. Joe adds that Hines should be more involved as a receiver this season because Carson Wentz doesn’t check it down to his RBs.
GC: Matt Ryan is a play-action quarterback at this point. He needs space to throw the ball. They could have some issues in pass protection but Jonathan Taylor and the running game will help him.
Jacksonville Jaguars
AC: The approach will be heavy 11 personnel with Doug Pederson in charge. He played that way in Philadelphia until they had to play more 12 personnel when they drafted Dallas Goedert. Christian Kirk will be the top target in this offense just based on his big contract. Zay Jones is making $8 million a year and Marvin Jones is in the final year of his contract. They’ll likely be the top three WRs and they have Evan Engram, who can move, and Travis Etienne is a good receiver.
GC: Kirk is an inside-outside guy and a lot of their guys are inside-outside guys. He’s likely to be a volume receiver in this offense.
AC: Etienne has been running since around the Combine so he’s good to go. They had a significant role in mind for him as a receiver last season, and Pederson has used his backs in the passing game in the past.
GC: The Jaguars will split Etienne out wide and use him at receiver. The question is how much running volume can he handle. He ran more like a feature back in his final year at Clemson.
GC: Trevor Lawrence needs to be protected, and he’s a strider so he needs room to throw. The interior of the offensive line needs to control the depth of the pass rush to give him space to throw. The Jaguars signed Brandon Scherff and they drafted Luke Fortner in the third round. Fortner is massive (6’6”) for a center and Greg thinks he’ll be a good player.
Tennessee Titans
GC: The Titans could have some offensive line issues. Taylor Lewan hasn’t been nearly as good as he was in recent seasons. Ben Jones is solid but getting older at center, and they have significant questions at right tackle. Dillon Radunz isn’t an outside player, and Greg actually thought he was more of a center coming out of North Dakota St.
GC: Greg loved Kyle Phillips coming out of UCLA, and he has some similarities to Cooper Kupp coming out of Eastern Washington (he adds that Kupp is a much bigger man). Phillips is the kind of guy who can line up in the slot right away.
GC: Hassan Haskins follows the design of the play, and he’d gain 1000 yards if you gave him 250 carries. Wes adds that Haskins is massive (6’1”, 220 pounds) and athletic, and he has legs like Adrian Peterson.
GC: Fourth-round pick Chigoziem Okonkwo has three-level ability and his Combine workout was really good. He can do more than he was asked to do at Maryland. Greg doesn’t know if it materializes this year but there’s something there with Okonkwo. He’s competitive as a run blocker despite his size (6’2”, 244 pounds). He’s a bit similar to Jonnu Smith.
