Bleacher Report polled three of their lead NFL writers to predict the winners of each division during the 2021 season, and the Indianapolis Colts appear to be the favorite for the AFC South.
Of the three experts, Brad Gagnon and Gary Davenport chose the Colts to win the division. Brent Sobleski chose the Tennessee Titans as the ones to top the division, which would be their second in a row.
“I really wanted to go bold with the Jacksonville Jaguars here because I do believe they’ll be much improved, and Colts quarterback Carson Wentz scares me,” Gagnon said in the article. “I also don’t know if the Titans are as awesome as some think just because they added Julio Jones. Ultimately, Indy has the most talent in the division, and head coach Frank Reich very well could fix Wentz.”
With the most complete roster in the division, Davenport agreed with Gagnon in that the roster will eventually be the difference for the Colts.
“This one is a tough call, because Tennessee’s offense has the potential to be terrifying,” Davenport said in the article. “The problem is that the Titans defense might be as well for the wrong reasons. Even if Wentz never recaptures his MVP form from 2017, he’ll rebound this year under Reich. Indy’s balance wins out.”
The one analyst from Bleacher Report who believes the Titans will win the division cited their offensive addition in Julio Jones while potentially getting more production from edge rusher Bud Dupree.
“At worst, the Titans continued to tread water,” Sobleski said in the article. “Considering what they added, they’re still one of the AFC’s more talented squads. Jones is clearly an upgrade at wide receiver. The same can be said of Dupree after Tennessee got nothing from Clowney or Vic Beasley Jr. Farley is a wild card due to his injury history, but he has immense upside. The Titans have a formula that they’ll keep sticking to, which will lead to more success.”
It will likely be a two-team race between the Colts and Titans again so we’ll what happens when January arrives.
