New Arena senior writers Dylan Fraychineaud, Harris Ahmadzai and Jason Fray will offer their divisional and postseason predictions — as well as major awards predictions — for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
AFC South
DF: Jacksonville Jaguars
The AFC South is a division in flux. Houston and Indianapolis are both set to enter Week 1 with rookie quarterbacks. Tennessee has selected a QB early in back-to-back drafts, but Ryan Tannehill remains QB1. The Titans should be competitive as long as Derrick Henry and coach Mike Vrabel are in town, but I see Jacksonville as the clear favorite. The Jags won their final five regular season games last season to win the South, and upended the Chargers in the playoffs. Trevor Lawrence will be better in 2023, and the addition of Calvin Ridley could make the offense lethal.
HA: Jacksonville Jaguars
While still considered one of the weaker divisions, the AFC South is on the path to stabilizing itself thanks to a crew of young QB’s. The Texans, Colts, and Titans all selected who they hope to become their next franchise quarterback in this past April’s draft. However, the Jaguars already have one of those in the form of Trevor Lawrence. I’m high on Lawrence and the Jags this year (more on that in a bit), and they should be able to cruise to a division title thanks to having by far the most complete offense among the four teams.
JF: Jacksonville Jaguars
It has to be Jacksonville — right? The Jaguars have the best quarterback in the division, the best coach in the division, and the most talented roster top-to-bottom. The main narrative hanging around the team this season will be whether Trevor Lawrence takes that next step in becoming a premier quarterback in this league. If the former Clemson star can prove to be even a top-7 QB in this league, the Jaguars could be a threat to make the Super Bowl.
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