The AFC South saw an infusion of new talent coming into the division last week, as the Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts all added to their rosters via the 2022 NFL draft.
The Titans and Texans added the most players via the draft in the AFC South with nine, while the Colts had eight and the Jaguars had seven. We’ll be taking a look at the classes of the Colts, Jags and Texans here shortly.
In addition, Jags owner Shad Khan went into detail about why he let Urban Meyer go, and the explanation probably won’t surprise you.
We’ll also take a look at what Indy’s owner said about Matt Ryan possibly being a long-term solution, and why one writer believes the 2024 NFL draft will be the one that makes Houston a contender.
Check out those stories and more as we take our latest trip around the AFC South to check in on the Titans’ division rivals.
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Colts owner Jim Irsay is hoping newly acquired quarterback Matt Ryan will be more than just a one-year solution. In fact, he’s hoping to get four years out of the veteran, who turns 37 this month.
“We hope Matt can be here for four years, maybe,” Irsay said via Mike Wells of ESPN. “We certainly have our radar out for a young guy that can be the long-term future.”
Via Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb on Twitter)
When it comes to Relative Athletic Score, the Colts’ draft class had the highest average mark in the NFL.
As we covered here at Titans Wire, Tennessee ranked 30th. The Jaguars ranked 15th, while the Texans came in at 20th.
[Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Jaguars owner Shad Khan talked about why he fired Urban Meyer. He says it had nothing to do with wins and losses, but rather his losing respect and trust in the troubled head coach.
“When you lose the respect, the trust and an issue of truthfulness, how can you work with someone like that?” Khan said. “It’s not possible.”
“It was not about wins and losses,” Khan continued. “I think when you know someone is not truthful, how can you be around someone, OK? We had Doug Marrone here four years. We had Gus Bradley here four years. I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship with them. That’s why they got the time, because it wasn’t a matter about respect or truth. It was a matter of wins and losses over four years. This is much bigger than that.”
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The Jaguars have their international game date and opponent set. The Jags will meet the Denver Broncos in Week 8 at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
The Titans had two cracks at playing an international game in 2022, but avoided both, as the Packers drew the New York Giants for their contest.
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Mark Lane of Texans Wire explains the Texans’ reasoning for bringing in former Titans quarterback Kevin Hogan.
It has to do with Hogan’s knowledge of offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s offense from their days together at Stanford. Lane says Hogan can help communicate that offense with the rest of the room.
Hogan will compete with Kyle Allen and Jeff Driskel for the backup job behind Davis Mills.
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Texans Wire’s John Hunter Crumpler makes the case that Houston should trade for Cleveland Browns quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
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Mark Lane of Texans Wire believes the 2024 NFL draft — where the Texans will have four top-100 picks, including two in the first round, and a total of 10 selections — could be the one that propels Houston to contender status.