AFC South: The Most Important Non-QB For Each Team

The 2022 AFC South can be divided into two distinct tiers. First, with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts, you have your contenders. Perhaps neither team is a true Super Bowl contender as we sit here in the dog days of the NFL offseason, but both teams are in the business of winning and winning now. The AFC South title should be the primary objective for both squads, and anything less than a playoff berth should be considered a failure.

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Then, with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, you have your rebuilders. For both teams, winning football games would a happy byproduct of their real goals, which is to identify foundational players worth keeping for when they eventually hope to actually compete. Jacksonville is slightly more ahead in their rebuild than Houston, as they already have their quarterback-of-the-future in place with Trevor Lawrence. Their free-agency spending spree this offseason also indicates they expect to see some tangible on-field progress. Regardless, neither team should find themselves anywhere near the playoffs.

So, to preview the AFC South for 2022, let’s identify the most important player for each of its four members, excluding quarterbacks.

Tennessee Titans: RB Derrick Henry

In our modern, analytically driven, “running backs don’t matter” era, it might seem heretical to rank a running back as a team’s most important player, even when ruling out quarterbacks. But Henry is a truly unique back in today’s NFL. In 2019 and 2020, he led the league in both total rushing attempts and yards. He would have accomplished the same feat last season if it wasn’t for injury. Henry is the constant from which the rest of Tennessee’s offense is built upon. He’s the first cause that allows for the Titans’ play-action-based passing attack.

The Titans doubled down on Henry as their genuine offensive engine when they traded away receiver A.J. Brown during the draft. Without a bonafide number-one wideout on the team, Henry will be tasked with carrying an even greater load.

Indianapolis Colts: OG Quenton Nelson

For as unlikely as it is for a running back to be a team’s most important non-quarterback, it’s even less likely for a guard. Interior offensive lineman are too often viewed as anonymous grunts, completing difficult but unskilled labor so the stars can shine on the outside. But like Larry Allen or Marshal Yanda before him, Nelson transcends the position and takes on outsized importance for his team. Immediately upon getting drafted sixth-overall in 2018, Nelson transformed the Colts’ offense. The three-time All-Pro is the primary mover for Indianapolis’ run-heavy approach, and he’s no schlub in pass protection, either.

Beyond his on-field contributions, Nelson is the attitudinal heart of the Colts. His aggressive, hard-nosed, and nasty play-style sets the tone for the entire team.

Houston Texans: CB Derek Stingley Jr.

As opposed to Tennessee and Indianapolis, where we chose the most important player to their immediate success, for Houston we instead choose the player most important to their future success. It’s rather unlikely that Stingley will be the Texans’ most valuable on-field contrubutor as a rookie, but his potential as a lockdown cover corner makes him their most valuable commodity. Winning in 2022 isn’t the Texans’ goal, but winning in 2025, when Stingley will be entering his prime, should be.

The third-overall pick in this past draft has every tool you want in a coverage player, and has a realistic chance of becoming the best cornerback in football.

Jacksonville Jaguars: EDGE Josh Allen

The Jaguars are the trickiest team for this exercise, since Trevor Lawrence is far and away their most important player. With quarterback removed from the equation, we turn to the other side of the ball and Jacksonville’s fourth-year pass rusher. Allen was selected seventh-overall in 2019, and has been inconsistent through his first three seasons. His best year came as a rookie, when he tallied 10.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl. His second season was disappointing and injury-marred, but he rebounded with a solid third season.

Jacksonville is hoping the Kentucky product blossoms into an elite edge rusher in 2022, providing their defense with a much-needed identity while Lawrence ideally does the same for the offense.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.