DeAndre Hopkins: Texans are team to beat in AFC South
The AFC South, along with the NFC East, was one of two shockingly weak NFL divisions last season. The Houston Texans ended up taking the division crown, but the Indianapolis Colts finished just one game behind them at 8-8 despite not having Andrew Luck for the majority of the season. Will a healthy Luck make the Colts the favorites?
DeAndre Hopkins doesn’t think so.
At his football camp on Saturday, Hopkins said the Texans have earned the title of “team to beat” as the AFC South’s reigning champions.
“I feel like we’ve earned that title to be the team to beat in the AFC South,” the Pro Bowl receiver said, per John McClain of The Houston Chronicle. “When I got here (2013), it was the Colts (2013, 2014). We finally (got) over that hump. Hopefully, we can continue to be the team to beat.”
We wouldn’t expect Hopkins to be any less confident, but we all know it isn’t quite as simple as looking at last season.
The NFL is a quarterback’s league, and the Texans just went and threw a bunch of money at one who has started just seven games in Brock Osweiler. Time will tell if Osweiler was a wise investment, but Andrew Luck has the potential to be the best QB in the league.
Granted, the Colts have plenty of other problems. They need to find a way to protect Luck and step up on the defensive side of the ball. That said, it’s hard to bet on any other team or QB in the AFC South heading into 2016.
