AFC South Previews That Could Shape Your Fantasy Draft Featuring Trevor Lawrence and Jonathan Taylor

Just like the rest of the NFL, teams in the AFC South learned this Thursday when they will face which franchises in the 2026 regular season. There were a few leaks out there already, but now that we know who is playing whom and when, we have new data to analyze and projections to run. In terms of the AFC South, there’s a lot to analyze.

How the 2026 NFL Schedule Release Impacts Fantasy Football in the AFC South

Why the Houston Texans’ Running Backs Will Benefit From a Soft Schedule in 2026

The Texans’ defense allowed the third fewest points to opposing QBs in the 2025 season, and they won’t have it easy to start the season. They’ll open the campaign against Josh Allen and Joe Burrow in back-to-back contests.

The Texans D/ST should be the first one off the board in fantasy drafts, but it is not the only asset you’d like to target from Houston based on a favorable schedule.

David Montgomery, who has a clear path to being the Texans’ RB1 in 2026, will face five of the seven defenses that allowed the most points to opposing RBs in 2025: Bengals (Week 2), Commanders (Week 14), Giants (Week 7), Cowboys (Week 4), and Bills (Week 1).

The Texans will have a tough end of the season, though. They’ll host the Jaguars in Week 15 and play back-to-back games on the road in Philadelphia and Green Bay in Weeks 16 and 17. Prepare your roster for that challenging end of the schedule.

What the Schedule Means for Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are another AFC South team with a brutal start to the season, as they’ll face Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), the Texans’ defense, and Jayden Daniels (Commanders) in their first four weeks of the schedule.

Jonathan Taylor figures to be the Colts’ main fantasy contributor and one of the top RB options week in and week out if he stays healthy after putting up 1,585 rushing yards in 2025. He led the NFL in attempts (323), touchdowns (18), and first downs (84).

Facing several weak defenses against the run will boost Taylor’s fantasy appeal, but there’s little to be excited about elsewhere for Indianapolis from a fantasy perspective. Asking Daniel Jones to repeat what he did in 2025 while coming off a torn achilles is a long shot, and the WR room is suspect at best following the departure of Michael Pittman Jr.

Why the Jacksonville Jaguars Are Poised to Take Advantage of a Favorable Schedule

The Jaguars have the most fantasy-friendly roster in the AFC South, and they’re probably the best team. They have several players we can expect to be rostered universally in fantasy football.

Trevor Lawrence will have the luxury to face several defenses that struggled badly against opposing QBs in 2025, such as the Cowboys (35 TDs allowed), the Commanders (nearly 20 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs), and the Titans twice, as well as the Steelers and Bengals.

The WR room is intriguing as well, with Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, and Parker Washington all having WR2 upside based on the right matchup.

The RB room underwent a seismic shift, with Travis Etienne leaving for New Orleans. It remains to be seen how the work will be split between Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez. If the volume is there, Tuten could be a decent RB2/Flex option in an up-and-coming offense. The schedule is filled with subpar defenses, and if any AFC South team can take advantage of that, it’s the Jaguars.

Why the Tennessee Titans Will Have a Limited Fantasy Impact in 2026

If you have too many Tennessee Titans players on your fantasy roster, you probably did something wrong. In all seriousness, the Titans don’t have a lot of impact fantasy players on their roster. They did what they could in the NFL Draft, selecting Carnell Tate in the first round and Nick Singleton in the fifth.

Tate, along with sophomore quarterback Cam Ward, are the two players with the highest upside on the roster, but both are better suited for dynasty formats rather than re-draft leagues. Wan’Dale Robinson will be drafted, but don’t expect a repeat of his 1,000-yard season from 2025.

Despite improvements, all signs point to the Titans being the worst team in the AFC South in 2026. And unlike in other divisions where even the worst team has one or two players guaranteed to have high-end fantasy value, even guys like Tate, Ward, Robinson, and Tony Pollard are far from sure things.