• Colts guards and Texans tackles sandwich a Jaguar on the offensive line: Indianapolis’ interior and Houston’s exterior have been the standard in the division.
• Only one Texan edge rusher can make it: Both Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. have been superb, but Josh Hines-Allen must claim one slot.
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
We're at the halfway mark (or near enough) of the season, so PFF will dive into each division and present the best players at every position thus far. Up next is the AFC South, where the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts are tied with eight selections.
QUARTERBACK: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
With C.J. Stroud (75.4 overall grade) not quite able to match the production of his exceptional rookie year, Lawrence is the standout quarterback in the AFC South despite the Jaguars’ struggles. His 80.3 overall grade is ninth among qualifying QBs.
RUNNING BACK: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Pollard just gets the nod over Joe Mixon, with both players adjusting well to their new surroundings. Pollard’s 83.1 rushing grade ranks 10th among rushers with 50-plus carries. With more playing time, we could be talking about Tank Bigsby (77.2 overall grade) by the end of the year.
WIDE RECEIVER: Nico Collins, Houston Texans; Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts; Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
It wasn’t hard selecting Collins with his monster 92.1 overall grade that could see him compete for All-Pro honors if gets back on the field sooner. However, it was much more difficult picking the next two, with Stefon Diggs unlucky to miss out. Downs and Thomas have both recorded receiving grades above 80.0.
TIGHT END: Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
While it was challenging selecting between the receivers in the AFC South, it was hard just finding a tight end. Engram is playing well even with the low productivity numbers he’s posted. His 73.3 overall grade would be the second-highest of his career.
LEFT TACKLE: Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans
While Bernhard Raimann has a better overall grade, we land with Tunsil on the back of his superior pass-blocking number (87.0). This was a tough call.
LEFT GUARD: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
Nelson is an easy selection here with dominant run-blocking and pass blocking grades, both of which are at least 84.8. This is as good as Nelson has looked in a few years.
CENTER: Mitch Morse, Jacksonville Jaguars
Morse has delivered a slightly above-average season, securing a 65.2 overall grade. Given the thin options at center in this division, it’s enough to net him this ranking.
RIGHT GUARD: Will Fries, Indianapolis Colts
It’s a shame Fries had such a serious injury given that he was enjoying a breakout season. Even with his limited playing time, he’s earned this nod due to his elite 86.9 overall grade.
RIGHT TACKLE: Tytus Howard, Houston Texans
Both Colts tackles just miss out in their competition with the Texans’ pass-blockers. Much like how Raimann missed out, Braden Smith has allowed more pressures than Howard on fewer snaps, so makes way for Howard with a 70.2 overall grade.
EDGE DEFENDER: Josh Hines-Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars; Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans
Hines-Allen (87.5 overall grade) is the most impressive of the division’s edge defenders, which meant one of the Texans’ two-some was going to miss out. The superior pass-rushing grade of Hunter (79.9) meant Will Anderson Jr. is the snub.
DEFENSIVE INTERIOR: Grover Stewart, Indianapolis Colts; Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
You’d expect to see DeForest Buckner here, but his high ankle sprain limited his playing time and effectiveness. That leaves Stewart and Simmons as routine selections, with both posting overall grades of at least 75.0.
LINEBACKER: Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars; Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars
Oluokun has the highest coverage grade (85.7) of any linebacker in the division, while his teammate Lloyd gets the selection for his work in the run game with a 90.7 mark. We’d like a bit more in coverage from linebackers, but this division is low on it.
CORNERBACK: Kenny Moore II, Indianapolis Colts; Samuel Womack III, Indianapolis Colts; Jalen Pitre, Houston Texans
Moore (80.5 overall grade) was the selection you didn’t have to overthink. That wasn’t the case for the second and third spot, where ultimately Womack III and Pitre held off players like Jarrian Jones, Kamari Lassiter and Jaylon Jones.
SAFETY: Quandre Diggs, Tennessee Titans; Julian Blackmon, Indianapolis Colts
At a 73.2 overall grade, Diggs is somewhat comfortable as the highest-graded safety in the division, meaning it came down to Blackmon, Eric Murray and Amani Hooker for the last spot. We went with Blackmon (65.5 overall grade, 68.9 tackling grade) but couldn’t argue too much if you went another way.
Highest-Graded Jaguars Defenders
KICKER: Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans
PUNTER: Logan Cooke, Jacksonville Jaguars
KICK RETURNER: Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
SPECIAL TEAMS: Luke Gifford, Tennessee Titans
Gifford is our fourth-highest-graded special teamer on the season with an 88.1 grade, while Fairbairn is one of five kickers to crack a 90.0 grade this year.
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