AFC South: 5 new faces for Titans' division rivals
The AFC South very rapidly went from one of the NFL’s worst divisions to one of its best.
It’s difficult to find a more complete set of teams in the AFC than in the Titans’ division.
The Titans ended their long playoff drought a season ago, but now the focus turns toward ending their nine-season streak without a division title.
This year’s AFC South should be one of the toughest division races in the NFL.
We saw the Titans and Jaguars come down to the wire last year, but restored health and a slew of new faces should make it a three- or four-team race.
Let’s take a look at some of the new players acquired this offseason by the Titans’ division rivals.
Jaguars guard Andrew Norwell
Typically offensive lines are built with quarterback protection as the No. 1 priority.
The Jaguars aimed to bolster their run game with their offensive front this season by adding Norwell on a deal that made him the second-highest paid guard in the league.
Norwell was terrific for the Panthers a season ago as a run blocker and pass blocker.
Pro Football Focus had him graded out as a top-five guard in the NFL.
However, even if Jacksonville doesn’t get better play out of quarterback Blake Bortles, having Norwell up front should help the overall running game, which lost some depth this offseason.
Jacksonville already was going to be tough to dethrone atop the division, and Norwell will make that job even more difficult.