Power ranking the quarterbacks in the AFC South
The start of training camp is just days away for some NFL teams, and a few weeks for others, meaning the return of meaningful football games is right around the corner.
It’s been a pretty eventful offseason — one in which we’ve previewed training camp dates and storylines to watch, examined the top position battles to watch, and named which rookie has the best chance of winning a starting job for all 32 teams.
Next up in our offseason series is power ranking every starting quarterback in each of the NFL’s eight divisions. Next up is the AFC South.
It was tough deciding between C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence here, but the edge goes to Stroud simply because Lawrence has played five seasons and has yet to really blow me away.
Stroud, however, has shown more flashes of greatness and his rookie season was one for the ages. That year, Stroud set multiple NFL records including most passing attempts to start a career without an interceptions (191), most games of 350 or more yards by a rookie (three), most single-game passing yards by a rookie (470), most single-game touchdown passes for a rookie (five), and he is the youngest starting QB to win a playoff game (22 years, three months, 10 days).
Stroud has also been to the playoffs every year he’s been in the league, while Lawrence has been just twice in five years.
Lawrence may be No. 2 in the division, but he’s no slouch either. He’s hit the 4,000-yard mark three times, and he was one touchdown pass away from hitting 30 last year.
Having an offensive-minded head coach like Liam Coen seemed to do wonders for Lawrence last year and given the playmakers he has to throw to — Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, Travis Hunter — another 4,000-yard season in 2026 is well within reason for Lawrence.
The first four starts of Ward’s rookie year were rough to watch, but things seemed to click in Week 5 when the Titans earned their first win of the year. Ward found a groove by the middle of the year, and he finished with 3,169 yards passing, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Tennessee surrounded him with more talent heading into Year 2 with rookie running back Nicolas Singleton plus rookie receiver Carnell Tate and 1,000-yard wideout Wan’dale Robinson, and with head coach Robert Saleh looking like an upgrade over Brian Callahan, Ward should take another big step in his development next year.
I know Jones started hot out of the gates last year, leading the Colts to an 8-5 record while passing for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with a career-best 100.2 passer rating — a performance which he parlayed into a two-year, $88 million contract extension — but Jones has shown he typically only shows out when big money is on the line.
If he wants to move up higher on this list, Jones is going to have to show he can play consistently when a contract extension isn’t at stake. As things stand right now, if I’m starting a team from scratch, I’m taking every quarterback in this division over Jones.
