The NFL offseason calendar shows that this Thursday is Draft Day. Between now and then, we’re looking at the needs for the teams from each division from a fantasy football perspective. What does each team need to do to maximize their roster’s fantasy returns? This time, we head for warmer weather to preview the quarterback-needy 2023 AFC South.

2023 Pre-Draft Fantasy Needs Series

• AFC North
• NFC North
• AFC East
• NFC East
• AFC South
• NFC South
• AFC West
• NFC West

Note: All 2022 fantasy point totals and rankings are PPR, unless otherwise noted.

2023 AFC South Draft Needs: Jacksonville Jaguars

Doug Pederson gave a masterclass in franchise stabilization last season. After the absolute trash fire of the Urban Meyer experiment, the Jaguars needed a steady hand to right the ship. All Pederson did was pilot the Jaguars to an AFC South championship and a playoff win. They were just a touchdown shy of knocking the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs out in the divisional round. The on-field improvement led to some happy returns in fantasy.

Trevor Lawrence (QB7) more than doubled his passing scores from 2021. He more than halved his interceptions. It appears with competent coaching that Lawrence is every bit the franchise quarterback the Jaguars hoped they’d drafted. Travis Etienne showed so much that Jacksonville felt comfortable letting go of James Robinson. Christian Kirk proved all doubters wrong who had criticized the Jaguars for his free agent contract. Zay Jones looked better than any season since leaving Buffalo and set highs in most receiving categories, proving to be a valuable fantasy pick-up. Evan Engram again flashed exciting talent. The difference last season is that he showed it for a full season, as opposed to a handful of healthy games as he did in New York. Even the Jags’ DST finished sixth overall in fantasy.

Jaguars’ Bottom Line

The Jaguars franchise tagged Engram and hope to sign him to an extension. Etienne is just 24 and backed up by JaMycal Hasty, Snoop Conner and D’Ernest Johnson. Calvin Ridley was reinstated by the league and now steps into at least the number two role among Jacksonville’s receivers. A top three of Kirk, Ridley, and Jones maybe isn’t as flashy as, say, the Bengals’ receiving trio or Miami’s Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle/Chosen Anderson. But if Ridley can return to form, this could be a very good offense. All of this is to say, the Jaguars don’t really have a ton of needs from a fantasy improvement standpoint. Some have wide receiver and tight end listed as needs. While they probably should look at adding depth to both positions, I don’t see them making a splashy enough pick that it’ll register in fantasy this season.

I do think they’ll hammer on defense in this draft. Improving their pass rush and pass defense will be key to cementing their status among the contending teams in the AFC. An effective EDGE piece would look really nice for the Jaguars’ already solid D. Outside of that, solidifying the offensive line would allow Lawrence to work his magic with that talented stable of skill players. A healthy Cam Robinson would be nice, but an upgrade at center over Luke Fortner would also be a shot in the arm. Jacksonville’s late first rounder would put them in play to either take one of the top centers, or trade back and likely still have access to someone like John Michael Schmitz or Joe Tippmann.

Jaguars’ 2023 Draft Picks

• Round 1, pick 25
• Round 2, pick 25
• Round 3, pick 25
• Round 4, picks 19 & 25
• Round 6, picks 8, 25, & 31
• Round 7, pick 9

2023 AFC South Draft Needs: Tennessee Titans

Unfortunately for Titan fans, this appears to be a franchise at a crossroads. Jacksonville is a young and ascending team, whereas the aging Titans appear to be on the verge of rebuilding. Rumors swirled this offseason about quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry both being on the way out in Music City. The last-ranked offensive line and 27th-ranked DST both need several improvements. The wide receiver room is jammed with young, unproven players and older, still unproven players. The Titans aren’t even locked in at kicker. This is a franchise blowing in the wind with no apparent plan. They need to get that straightened out in a hurry.

Titans’ Bottom Line

Tennessee drafted Malik Willis last season and ran with him as Tannehill’s backup. Willis started three games and saw action in eight. Joshua Dobbs out-produced him in just two starts. Tannehill isn’t guaranteed to be on the roster past this season, and it was painfully obvious that Willis is a work in progress and not ready for primetime. It’s a real possibility that Tennessee looks to the quarterback position in this draft. While I don’t think they’ll find anyone to immediately supplant Tannehill, the right name drafted this season could be a better Dynasty stash than Willis. Likewise, if Henry remains a Titan, they may draft a successor who wouldn’t necessarily carry immediate value, but could help your Dynasty roster long-term.

I mentioned the offensive line and the wide receiver room as areas in need of improvement and clarity. The line was, and remains, about as talented and effective as a row of Rubbermaid trash cans (if you know, you know.) They lost perhaps their best player in Nate Davis in free agency. Almost any high pick on a lineman immediately improves this unit by default, but it’ll take more than one player to really show progress. The right wide receiver could be an immediate boost here. Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips both showed potential when healthy last season, but Chris Moore and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are uninspiring fantasy non-options. For a team that traded away A.J. Brown, hitting on a wide receiver pick would go a long way towards salving that wound.

Titans’ 2023 Draft Picks

• Round 1, pick 11
• Round 2, pick 10
• Round 3, pick 9
• Round 5, pick 13
• Round 6, pick 9
• Round 7, pick 11

2023 AFC South Draft Needs: Indianapolis Colts

Speaking of teams in transition, the Indianapolis Colts will welcome a new coaching staff and presumably yet another new starting quarterback this season. The disappointing showing of Matt Ryan (in the wake of the disappointing showing of Carson Wentz, in the wake of the disappointing showing of Phillip Rivers, in conjunction with the disappointing showings of Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Nick Foles, Sam Ehlinger, et. al. in the wake of Andrew Luck‘s devastating retirement… where was I? Oh, yeah,) led the team to release him outright. Sitting at pick number four in the first round of the draft, GM Chris Ballard is now tasked with finding new head coach Shane Steichen a quarterback to lead this franchise into the future. Nothing else this team does will matter if Ballard fails in that task yet again.

Colts’ Bottom Line

The Colts lost Parris Campbell to the Ravens. While they did sign former Buffalo Bill Isaiah McKenzie to add to Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce, another solid wide receiver would assuredly be welcomed by whomever is the starting quarterback for Indy this season. Perhaps that could be the plan with the fourth pick in the second round. But there’s no doubt what needs to happen with the Colts’ first rounder.

Owner Jim Irsay stirred up a bit of intrigue recently with a borderline incoherent but totally in-character tweet on his team’s options in the upcoming draft:

For the '23 draft, we have many options. With the #4 pick, we could stay put and take a QB—-or trade up and take a QB—-OR trade down and MAYBE take a QB—-Or NOT?
All options on the table, but we like our position and are very excited. Fire up! ? pic.twitter.com/OMRpt2KkGI

— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) April 16, 2023

Ok, Jim.

The adults in the room likely all realized the situation the franchise is in at the moment, and the importance of getting it right at quarterback. You don’t want to earn a spot like this in the draft again. You have to nail this pick, and that means getting “The Man” at quarterback. Houston recently spreading doubt on their intentions to take a quarterback wasn’t necessarily the best news for Indy. They sit two spots behind the Texans. Without knowing which prospect the Colts have at the top of their draft board, there’s no guarantee that the guy they truly want will still be there at four.

Best-case scenario for the Colts is if Houston and Arizona both stay put and make non-quarterback selections at two and three, but that’s far from a given. It would almost certainly cost a fortune for the Colts to move up even one slot. They’re likely not moving to two with the Texans being a division rival. They’d have to outbid other teams in any case. Hopefully, they really like Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, because they look to be the most likely options for Indianapolis. Some have postulated that Richardson’s athleticism would appeal to Steichen given Steichen’s former quarterback in Philadelphia. At any rate, there’s a quarterback coming here that you’ll want to grab in Dynasty, but probably pass up in Redraft this season.

Colts’ 2023 Draft Picks

• Round 1, pick 4
• Round 2, pick 4
• Round 3, pick 16
• Round 4, pick 4
• Round 5, picks 4, 28, & 42
• Round 7, picks 4 & 19

2023 AFC South Draft Needs: Houston Texans

Yet another 2023 AFC South team in need of a quarterback. At least, that’s the general consensus among fans and pundits. It recently came out that the Texans may not actually be all that excited about taking a quarterback with the second overall pick. That has touched off a ton of speculation and intrigue in the run up to the draft (because there’s usually so little of that, amirite?)

New head coach DeMeco Ryans comes from San Francisco, where defense and building from the lines up are key organizational tenets. Offensive line and defense are both areas of need in Houston. But Davis Mills took a step back in 2022 after an intriguing run in 2021. Free agent signee Case Keenum is not a future answer. If the Texans are truly not considering a quarterback at number two, it says to me that they’re fine being right back here at the top of the draft next season. Perhaps that’s been discussed internally as the plan for the long term from the beginning of Ryans’s tenure, but it certainly is an interesting angle to take.

Texans’ Bottom Line

This team is in need of not only a quarterback, but someone for that quarterback to throw to. They did sign Dalton Schultz and Robert Woods, but also lost Brandin Cooks. With extra first- and third round picks, they could conceivably address both needs adequately even if they do skip on a quarterback at pick two. Perhaps the team likes Hendon Hooker and thinks he’ll be available at 12 overall, or with their second round pick. He’s older than Mills, but also more of an explosive prospect and would allow them to get an impact player at another position with that second overall pick.

Wideout is a big need on this club. Woods never really looked comfortable in Tennessee last season and may never return to his pre-injury form. The excitement in the fantasy community for Nico Collins has never been fully justified. Maybe he’s just a guy, not some league-winning gem hidden in plain sight. Noah Brown and Amari Rodgers are known quantities at this point, and there’s not a lot of quantity there. Hopefully John Metchie can return to the field, but he’s by no means a sure thing, either. This is not a team of which I’m expecting much in Redraft this season. But in Dynasty, this could be a very interesting weekend watching Houston. What they do with that number two pick could reverberate down through the entire rest of the first round. Buckle up.

Texans’ 2023 Draft Picks

• Round 1, picks 2 & 12
• Round 2, pick 2
• Round 3, picks 2 & 10
• Round 4, pick 2
• Round 5, pick 27
• Round 6, picks 11, 24, & 26
• Round 7, picks 13 & 42

It’s Always Fantasy Season

There is no offseason in fantasy! Draft previews, free agency analysis, and Dynasty strategy are just some of what you’ll find when you check Belly Up Fantasy Sports for more fantasy football analysis and entertaining insight. With the MLB season in full-swing, there’s a ton of fantasy baseball content, too. As always, more great NFL coverage is available on the main Belly Up site, as well as fun, informative content on the Belly Up Podcast Network. Got something to say? Leave a comment below, follow me on Twitter @SttChaseFFB, and catch me on the Belly Up Fantasy Live podcast each week.