AFC South: post-draft stock watch

Houston Texans, RISING: The Texans are rising, but only barely. They have added some very useful pieces in both free agency and the draft. The young infusion of talent, as well as the veteran presence of Ed Reed, should help the defense play quicker. All in all, the Texans are still the kings of the AFC South, and they're on par with the AFC's best.

Indianapolis Colts, FLAT: The Colts were hyper-aggressive in free agency, paying too much for too little. Gosder Cherilus, for instance, will be an instant starter for the Colts, but they didn't need to spend $5.5 million for his services in 2013. On the other hand, the Colts have added talent in the offseason, and they should be a better team this season than last. The conflict leads me to believe that they'll be a better team, but their record may not show it, considering how much they overachieved a season ago.

Tennessee Titans, SLOWLY RISING: I hesitate to say that the Titans are "rising." They play in a division in which the Colts are back to playing acceptable football, and the Texans are one of the best teams in the league. The Titans added some blocking for Jake Locker in the first round of the draft, and they followed that selection by taking wide receiver Justin Hunter in the second round, giving Locker and additional target. The Titans, much like the Colts, haven't gotten worse this offseason, but I wonder whether that improvement will translate in their record.

Jacksonville Jaguars, RISING: The Jaguars are definitely making a move in the right direction under new GM David Caldwell, but then again, it would be very difficult to make a move in a worse direction after the Gene Smith era mercifully ended. The Jaguars sured up their pass protection with Luke Joeckel. The Jags also addressed their quarterback needs in undrafted free agency. It wasn't a noisy draft by the Jaguars, but definitely solid moves. They still have a long way to go, however.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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