Are the Houston Texans ready for a Super Bowl run? I think they are. Playing in one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, like the Patriots did for so many years, doesn’t hurt either. The Texans are loaded with fantasy stars to get them to the promise land, but there are some other fantasy studs scattered throughout the division as well. Lets check them out.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Houston Texans
WR Nico Collins (12) celebrating with QB C.J. Stoud (7) with WR Tank Dell (3) in the background.
QB C.J. Stroud is coming off a pretty impressive rookie season. In fact, he was the winner of the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Houston went out and added some talent to go with the arsenal of offensive weapons Stroud already has to work with, this past off season. That coupled with a year under his belt of NFL experience, leads me to believe that Stroud will improve upon his fantasy numbers and be a QB worth looking to draft and start in your fantasy league.
The Texans are just loaded with wide receivers. In 2023, Stroud’s favorite target, Nico Collins, was the clear WR1 in Houston with his break out season of 1,297 yard and 8 TDs, even having missed 2 games. Collins was compared to an all time great Texan and Hall of Famer, Andre Johnson, by his QB. Collins is a big, strong, fast, precise route runner, and is going to be a problem for opposing defenders.
Rookie WR Tank Dell, like his QB, was having an impressive 1st year in the NFL in 2023, amassing 709 yards on 49 receptions and 7 TDs in 10 games. Unfortunately, he broke his fibula and was out for the season. And as if that wasn’t enough to have to recover from, he suffered a gun shot wound to the leg as an innocent bystander in a mass shooting in Florida. WR Noah Brown filled in nicely when needed, as both Dell and Collins both dealt with injuries in 2023, but is not a fantasy option at this point.
I’m not sure if Houston had little confidence in Dell’s return for 2024, but for whatever reason, they felt a need to go out and get all pro WR Stefon Diggs. Diggs has been in Buffalo for the past 4 years, and in that time, he accumulated 100+ receptions, 1,000+ yards, and 8+ TDs, in each of those 4 years.
Diggs will provide a veteran presence that this young Texans team will benefit from. Collins and Diggs may take some targets from each other, but I don’t think that will prove to be too detrimental to their fantasy value, as the Texans may be one of the most high octane offensive teams in the NFL.
Prior to the arrival of Diggs, the Texans had already bolstered their running back room with the addition of Joe Mixon, formerly with the Bengals. Mixon played all 7 of his previous NFL seasons with Cincinnati, and topped 1,000 yards 4 times. He ranked 6th in total fantasy points in 2023, and should be a top 10 fantasy RB in 2024.
TE Dalton Shultz is a solid player in the NFL, but is more of a TE2 in fantasy. Low end TE1 at best.
Jacksonville Jaguar
QB Trevor Lawrence (16) handing off to RB Travis Etienne Jr (1) and WR Christian Kirk in the background.
The Jags just missed the playoffs at 9-8 in 2023, and will be chasing the Texans again for a division title. Lets check out what fantasy stars they have to help them get there.
QB Trevor Lawrence was the number 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and was said to be a “generational talent”. ESPN’s NFL draft guru, Mel Kiper Jr., said Lawrence was one of the highest graded quarterbacks he had ever evaluated, behind only John Elway, Andrew Luck and Payton Manning.
Jags fans are still waiting for Lawrence to live up to expectations. I think he can, and maybe 2024 is the year. Lawrence isn’t a running QB like Josh Allen per say, but he certainly can get out and run a bit, which is a plus for fantasy value.
Until Lawrence shows me he can take his game to the next level though, I see him as only a backup fantasy QB.
Jacksonville also selected Lawrence’s college teammate from Clemson, RB Travis Etienne Jr., in the 1st round of the 2021 NFL draft. The pair won a national championship at Clemson, but is yet to match that kind of success in the NFL.
As far as Etienne goes, I really like his game. Injury held him out of his rookie season, but he ran for over 1,000 yards in both 2022 and 2023, and ranked 3rd in total fantasy points among RBs in the latter. Etienne is a first round draft pick for me.
TE Evan Engram had 114 receptions in 2023, a career high, and 963 yards, also a career high. It’s clear the Jags want to use him as one of the focal points in there offense. I can see Engram putting up similar numbers in 2024, especially since Jacksonville parted ways with their most productive WR in 2023, Calvin Ridley, and be a top 5 fantasy TE.
Jacksonville’s top 2 wideouts will be Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis. I like Kirk as an NFL WR, but in fantasy, he’s about an 8 fantasy points per game average, low end WR2.
Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor (28) and Michael Pittman Jr (11) talking during a game.
The Colts also finished the 2023 season at 9-8, and will be chasing the Texans for a division title as well. In 2023, Indianapolis had just drafted what they believed to be their next franchise QB in Anthony Richardson, out of Florida. Richardson came with high expectations but unfortunately didn’t get much of a chance to prove his worth, as he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in week 5.
The Colts then went to backup QB Gardner Menshew, who is now with the LV Raiders. In 2024, Indianapolis will go back to Richardson as QB1, who for all intents and purposes, is still a rookie.
Richardson is crazy athletic, and may have a great season, but I need a proven commodity for my starting fantasy QB. Only in much later rounds would I be willing to take a chance in drafting him.
Richardson’s #1 target will most likely be WR Michael Pitman Jr., who had 109 receptions for 1,152 yards and 4 TDs in 2023. Pittman Jr. has been a pretty steady WR2 or WR3 for his career, and that’s about where I would rank him for 2024. 6th round pick at best, for me.
In 2021, Jonathan Taylor was the best RB in the league, and the highest scoring non quarterback in fantasy. In 2022 and 2023 he missed a number of games each year due to injury. In the games he did play, he was good, not great. A RB’s best days can be short lived. I’m holding off on
Taylor until a little later in the draft.
The Colts have a number of young players that might be worth keeping an eye on throughout the season like TE Jelani Woods and rookie WR Adonai Mitchell.
Tennessee Titans
WR DeAndre Hopkins (Left) sharing a hug with QB Will Levis (right).
The Derrick Henry era is now over in Tennessee, and the Titans will be exploring what avenue to take without him in 2024.
Obviously if you have Henry, you are a run heavy team. But now that he’s gone, I think they have changed their philosophy a bit, to more of a pass heavy team.
To replace Henry, the Titans acquired RB Tony Pollard from the Cowboys. Pollard finally got his chance to be the featured back in Dallas last year, and was average at best. He’s just not built to take 250+ carries a season, but he is a pretty good receiving back. Tennessee will more than likely use Pollard and RB Tyjae Spears as a running back committee, which is what you want to avoid in fantasy when drafting RBs.
Rookie QB Will Levis finished the 2023 season as the starter and presumably will start the 2024 season as the starter. This early in his career, Levis is not a fantasy QB yet.
The Titans do, however, have some WRs you may be interested in drafting. WR DeAndre Hopkins has had 1,000+ yards receiving 7X in his career, and was 20th in total fantasy points among WRs in 2023.
WR Calvin Ridley was acquired this past off season from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ridley’s 1,016 yards and 8 TDs ranked him 17th in total fantasy points in 2023.
Thanks for checking out my article on the AFC South division. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. I always enjoy hearing your opinions where you agree or disagree. Feel free to comment below! Be sure to look for my next article covering the NFC South.
To get all the latest gear for these players and more, go check out the NFL Shop now!
Hi!
This is a great breakdown of the fantasy prospects for the AFC South teams in 2024!
I’m curious about how the changes in Tennessee will play out, especially with Derrick Henry gone and the team potentially shifting to a more pass-heavy approach. What are your thoughts on the Titans’ wide receiver core with the addition of Calvin Ridley, and how do you think it will affect DeAndre Hopkins’ role and fantasy value?
I’m looking forward to your analysis of the AFC West! I’ve been a Chiefs’ fan since 1972!
– Scott
Hi Scott!
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments! I’m curious as well as to how the Titans will look in 2024, minus Henry. Now that QB Will Levis has had a year in the NFL to adjust to the talent and speed, I think he’ll fare just fine, which may mean quality fantasy numbers for their WR duo of Ridley and Hopkins. I would suspect Ridley will take the roll of WR1 for the Titans, but I wouldn’t count Hopkins out for fantasy. He has some of the greatest catching ability I think I’ve ever seen, so I think he will still be productive, but possibly less productive than past years.
Feel free to check out https://fantasyfootballu.com/f…I think the one X factor for the Chiefs that will be interesting to see is how their #1 draft pick WR Xavier Worthy fits in to the offense. I’m not sure how big of a role he’ll play in his rookie season, but it looks like the Chiefs WR room is getting thin with a suspension looming for Rashee Rice, and injury to new comer Marquise Brown.