The Indianapolis Colts used to own AFC South when Peyton Manning was their quarterback. Now that Andrew Luck's in town, the Colts are back in the driver's seat, winning back-to-back division titles and going into the 2016 campaign as runaway –400 favorites to make it three in a row. At press time, the Houston Texans are a distant second at +450, followed by the Tennessee Titans at +1200 and the Jacksonville Jaguars at +2000 on the Sportsbook.
Luck (96.5 passer rating) came into his own as a quarterback last year, but the Colts are taking a chance by not protecting their meal ticket with a quality offensive line. Starting offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus could miss training camp after undergoing knee surgery. New right guard Todd Herremans is still recovering from a torn bicep he suffered in November. Otherwise, Indianapolis looks poised to retain the division title.
Where's Fitzy?
The Texans went 9-7 SU and 9-6-1 ATS last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick (95.3 passer rating) starting 12 games at quarterback. This year, it's a competition between Cleveland Browns refugee Brian Hoyer (76.5 passer rating) and former New England Patriots back-up Ryan Mallett (67.6 passer rating). There might not be any winners in this competition.
There's still a long way to go before the Titans and Jaguars are back in contention. Tennessee should be further ahead after picking QB Marcus Mariota No. 2 overall in this year's draft; Blake Bortles (69.5 passer rating) needs to perform better after going No. 3 overall last year.