1. Tennessee Titans
Coach: Mike Vrabel (third year — 18-14 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)
2019 record: 9-7 (second in AFC South; lost to Kansas City in AFC title game)
Offensive play-caller: Coordinator Arthur Smith (second year)
Quarterback situation: Vrabel pulled the plug on the Marcus Mariota Era during last October’s loss to the Broncos, handing the offense to veteran Ryan Tannehill, 32. Tannehill went 9-4 in the regular season/playoffs (27 touchdowns/seven interceptions) to earn a new contract and send Mariota off to Las Vegas as a backup.
Young skill-position players: Leading the way is 26-year-old Derrick Henry, coming off an NFL rushing title (1,540 yards). At receiver, 2019 first-round pick A.J. Brown was terrific as a rookie, averaging 20.2 yards per catch (eight touchdowns). Tight end Jonnu Smith, 25, enters his fifth season.
Key statistic: 46.9%. Percentage of rushing plays by Titans last year, fourth in the NFL behind Baltimore (56%), San Francisco (49.2%) and Minnesota (49.1%).
2. Indianapolis Colts
Coach: Frank Reich (third year — 17-15 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)
2019 record: 7-9 (third in AFC South)
Offensive play-caller: Reich (third year)
Quarterback situation: Last summer’s stunning retirement of Andrew Luck forced the Colts to go with Jacoby Brissett. Underwhelmed, the Colts signed Philip Rivers, 38, away the Los Angeles Chargers to a one-year contract. Rivers had 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions last year — the plus-3 TD-to-INT ratio was the worst of his career.
Young skill-position players: The Colts have a stable of young offensive talent. In just the last two drafts, they added receiver Parris Campbell (23, second-round 2019) and Michael Pittman (22, second-round 2020) and running back Jonathan Taylor (21, second-round 2020).
Key statistic: 235. Consecutive starts (regular season/playoffs) for Rivers, dating back to the 2006 opener.
3. Houston Texans
Coach: Bill O’Brien (seventh year — 52-44 regular season, 2-4 playoffs)
2019 record: 10-6 (first in AFC South; lost to Kansas City in divisional round)
Offensive play-caller: Coordinator Tim Kelly (first year)
Quarterback situation: Deshaun Watson, 24, is the only franchise quarterback in the division. He is 24-13 in the regular season (71 touchdowns, 29 interceptions) despite being sacked a whopping 125 times. Watson will have to find a new No. 1 target after the Texans traded receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona.
Young skill-position players: Aside from 2016 first-round receiver Will Fuller, 26, the Texans have largely ignored receiver, tight end and running back in recent drafts. Receiver Brandin Cooks, 26, arrives from the Los Angeles Rams. The youngest running back expected to contribute is Duke Johnson, 26.
Key statistic: 165. Sacks allowed by the Texans over the last three years, most in the league (only Houston and Arizona, with 154, have allowed more than 143).
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
Coach: Doug Marrone (fourth full year — 22-28 regular season, 2-1 playoffs; sixth full year overall — 37-45 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)
2019 record: 6-10 (fourth in AFC South)
Offensive play-caller: Coordinator Jay Gruden (first year)
Quarterback situation: Gardner Minshew will be the Jaguars’ third different opening-game starter in as many years. A sixth-round pick in 2019, Minshew replaced an injured Nick Foles in last year’s opener and showed enough (6-6 record, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions) that the Jaguars flipped Foles to Chicago.
Young skill-position players: The Jaguars should be encouraged by the potential of their young talent. Minshew, 24, will run the offense, receiver DJ Chark, 23, had 1,008 yards last year, tight end Josh Oliver, 23, needs a bounce-back season after fighting an ankle injury and rookie receiver Laviska Shenault, 21, has game-breaking ability.
Key statistic: 38-90. The Jaguars’ regular-season record since owner Shad Khan bought the team in 2012, second-worst in the league ahead of only Cleveland (33-94-1).
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