NFL Draft Aftermath: IDP Winners and Losers from the AFC South

Doug Green Posted On June 15, 2018

With the 2018 NFL Draft in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to start looking ahead to get an idea of what is going to happen in 2018 in terms of IDP leagues. The first step of that is analyzing the overall defensive makeup of every team in the league. Who’s moving up and who’s moving down?

Today I’m looking at the AFC South. If you like defensive football, this is your division.

Houston Texans

Winner: J.J. Watt

Look, nobody is going to take Watt’s job. He’s on this list as a winner because they didn’t draft a lineman, which is standard. It’s the reasoning that’s different. Watt is here because if the Texans brass didn’t pick up anyone, that means Watt is healthy, or at least projected to be ready to go when the season starts. He’s suffered through a myriad of injuries in the past couple of season, but still carries plenty of name cache. If he’s back terrorizing AFC South, that’s good for the NFL and your IDP team.

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Loser: Duke Ejiofor

Ejifor is a pass-rush specialist and now he’s stuck behind Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus, neither of whom take many downs off. While he could potentially be the man who replaces Mercilus someday, the odds are pretty low as Ejifor is a sixth-round pick and the draft is always crawling with quarterback hunters. His best option would have been to land on a younger team that needed his skill set, or at the very least, one that had a bunch of veterans ready to move on.

Indianapolis Colts

Winner: Jabaal Sheard

While much of the Colts defense last season was… let’s generously say… bad, Sheard was not part of that problem. Indianapolis did select Tyquan Lewis out of Ohio State in the second round, but I see him stealing Margus Hunt’s job pretty early on. That means Sheard still locks in at a defensive end slot and with an influx of young talent, that should bring more opportunities for tackles, and maybe even a couple of sacks.

Loser: Anthony Walker

I was a big fan of Walker after last year’s NFL Draft, but that was based mostly on opportunity. Now his worst-case scenario has happened. The Colts took Darius Leonard in the second round, then signed Skai Moore as an undrafted free agent. All reports out of Indy have Moore looking very good and Leonard being exactly the player they expected. Antonio Morrison is probably locked in the middle, leaving Walker as potentially the odd man out.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Winner: Blair Brown

Brown is the winner by attrition here. Paul Posluzny retired and the Jaguars didn’t draft anyone of note at the linebacker position. He still won’t get snaps on when Jacksonville is in nickel, but he will suck up all those tackles that Posluzny left behind. Telvin Smith and Myles Jack are two of the best in the game, but Brown is no slouch. Brown is the type of IDP asset I would hold on to. You probably won’t get his worth if you are trying to sell him, but he probably costs too much to acquire.

Loser: Barry Church

Church is 30 years old and his numbers have been on the decline in the past three seasons. The Jags selected Ronnie Harrison in the third round and he is basically Church 2.0 with his ability to play the run and lay the wood. Church is signed through 2021 but with a younger, cheaper, and potentially better option, it wouldn’t be a shock if Church moved on after this season.

Tennessee Titans

Winner: Brian Orakpo

The veteran had seven sacks in 2017, which usually means offenses would shift their blocking scheme to account for him in the coming season. The Titans preemptively cut that move off by stealing Harold Landry in the second round. Landry was the draft’s second-best pass rusher and should at least balance out Orakpo and draw his fair share of attention. Couple that with a strong run defense and Orakpo should be in line fo another strong season.

Loser: Jayon Brown

Rashaan Evans will step right into the other inside linebacker spot next to Wesley Woodyard. In essence, this cut off Brown’s quickest path to starting and snaps. Woodyard is solid if not spectacular. Brown will probably repeat last year’s numbers, but barring injury, I have a hard time seeing those statistics get better.

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