NFC South Draft Review

Atlanta Falcons

• Calvin Ridley (26^th, 1^st)   WR   Alabama
• Isaiah Oliver (58^th, 2^nd)   CB   Colorado
• Deadrin Senat (90^th, 3^rd)   DT   South Florida
• Ito Smith (126^th, 4^th)   RB   Southern Miss
• Russell Gage (194^th, 6^th)   WR   LSU
• Foye Oluokun (200^th, 6^th)   LB   Yale

Immediate Impact:  WR Calvin Ridley, DT Deadrin Senat

The Falcons have Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu but after that they are pretty thin at WR.  Justin Hardy hasn’t been great so Ridley has a chance to play here.  They run plenty of three receiver sets and Sanu works well in the slot, that leaves Ridley a chance to excel on the outside.  Senat may have only been a 3^rd round pick but with the departure of Dontari Poe they need some help inside and Senat can be a rotational guy right away.

Best Value:  CB Isaiah Oliver

They have 3 good CBs in Desmond Trufant, Robert Alford and Brian Poole but Oliver was simply too good to pass up.  He has first round ability and he brings good size at 6’1.  In a division that has receivers like Mike Evans and Michael Thomas and QBs like Brees, Newton and Jameis Winston you can never have too many good CBs.

Sleeper:  RB Ito Smith

The Falcons would seem to be set with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman but they are surprisingly thin beyond those two.  They probably can’t afford to keep both and they already paid Freeman so Coleman may be looking to move on to a bigger pay day.  Smith is a smaller back who excels in the screen game, he should be perfect for the Falcons offense.

Overall Analysis

A small draft class with just six guys yet the Falcons seemed to do a nice job with the guys they got.  The top four picks should all contribute and the last two have chance to fill specific needs and they fit the Falcons profile.  WR Russell Gage is a small guy that can be a gadget player and just be deployed for certain packages, if he makes the roster. LB Foye Oluokun is an undersized LB whose best asset is his speed, that sounds like most of the rest of the LBs on the team.

Carolina Panthers

• DJ Moore (24^th, 1^st)   WR   Maryland
• Donte Jackson (55^th, 2^nd)   CB   LSU
• Rashaan Gaulden (85^th, 3^rd)   S   Tennessee
• Ian Thomas (101^st, 4^th)   TE   Indiana
• Marquis Haynes (136^th, 4^th)   OLB   Mississippi
• Jermaine Carter (161^st, 5^th)   LB   Maryland
• Andre Smith (234^th, 7^th)   LB   North Carolina
• Kendrick Norton (242^nd, 7^th)   DT   Miami

Immediate Impact:  WR DJ Moore

Last year when the Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin the rationale was that he and Devin Funchess were too similar and the team needed to get a WR with deep speed to push the defense down the field.  They signed Torrey Smith to do this but I think Moore will prove to be an even better option.  Moore played with some really poor QB play at Maryland so he should be thrilled to play with Cam Newton.

Best Value:  TE Ian Thomas

The Panthers still have Greg Olsen and he is a Cam Newton favorite but Olsen is 33 and the team doesn’t have anything at the position behind him.  Thomas still has some work to do but he’s a talented player who will be a very good TE2 for now and can be a starter very soon.  He will also benefit from playing with a better QB than he did in college.

Sleeper: S Rashaan Gaulden

Gaulden had some injury issues in college and Tennessee players seem to do better in the pros than they did in college.  The Panthers secondary is below average and their safety duo is even worse.  Mike Adams is 37 and Da’Norris Searcy is just a guy.  If Gaulden can stay healthy the safety depth chart has room for him to move.

Overall Analysis

The Panthers only spent two picks on offense but Moore and Thomas should give Cam Newton some weapons to go along with Funchess, Christian McCaffrey and Torrey Smith.  They spent the rest of their picks on defense and both S Gaulden and CB Donte Jackson will be counted on early.  Jackson is fast but has a slight build.  They will need him to at least step up and be a nickel corner early.  OLB Marquise Haynes is an undersized pass rusher while DT Kendrick Norton is a big interior player who will back up Dontari Poe and Kawann Short.  LBs Jermaine Carter and Andre Smith are unlikely to make a major impact but with Thomas Davis suspended for the first four games of the year they have a chance to stick around for a while.

New Orleans Saints

• Marcus Davenport (14^th, 1^st)   DE   UT-San Antonio
• Tre’Quan Smith (91^st, 3^rd)   WR   Central Florida
• Rick Leonard (127^th, 4^th)   OT   Florida St.
• Natrell Jamerson (164^th, 5^th)   S   Wisconsin
• Kamrin Moore (189^th, 6^th)   CB   Boston College
• Boston Scott (201^st, 6^th)   RB   Louisiana Tech
• Will Clapp (245^th, 7^th)   C   LSU

Immediate Impact:  DE Marcus Davenport

The Saints better hope Davenport pays immediate dividends because they gave up their first-round pick next year to secure him.  With DE Alex Okafor coming back from an Achilles injury Davenport may be needed too.  He’s a fantastic athlete that could use some refinement and he would do well to learn from Cameron Jordan, the Saints best DE.

Best Value:  None

The Saints paid a heavy price to move up to get Davenport and they didn’t exactly steal anyone later in the draft.

Sleeper: C Will Clapp

Clapp isn’t going to win any athletic competitions but he’s a technician and with Max Unger being 32 and the team not having any depth behind him Clapp will easily be the backup.  He played at LSU so he should be ready for this level of competition.

Overall Analysis

This draft will be judged by whether or not Davenport becomes a difference maker.  The team has been looking for someone to play opposite Cameron Jordan and they had someone until Okafor got hurt.  Davenport should bring some pressure from the opposite side and help free up Jordan.  WR Tre’Quan Smith might be a nice prospect down the line but with Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, Cameron Meredith and Brandon Coleman ahead of him he might find playing time hard to find.  OT Rick Leonard is a developmental prospect that was taken too early, he’ll struggle if he plays.  S Natrell Jamerson and CB Kamrin Moore are added to a secondary that was actually pretty good last year, they will need to contribute on special teams to be worthwhile.  RB Boston Scott didn’t look like he would be needed but now Mark Ingram is suspended for the first four games so he might be needed behind Alvin Kamara.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Vita Vea (12^th, 1^st)   DT   Washington
• Ronald Jones (38^th, 2^nd)   RB   USC
• MJ Stewart (53^rd, 2^nd)   CB   North Carolina
• Carlton Davis (63^rd, 2^nd)   CB   Auburn
• Alex Cappa (94^th, 3^rd)   OG   Humboldt St.
• Jordan Whitehead (117^th, 4^th)   S   Pittsburgh
• Justin Watson (144^th, 5^th)   WR   Pennsylvania
• Jack Cichy (202^nd, 6^th)   LB   Wisconsin

Immediate Impact:  DT Vita Vea, RB Ronald Jones

The Buccaneers defense left a lot to be desired and the line was especially pedestrian.  They added DE Jason Pierre-Paul in a trade and Vinny Curry in free agency, now comes Vea to line up inside next to All-Pro Gerald McCoy.  That is how you make a weakness a major strength.  Vea is a great complement to McCoy because he’s huge and can anchor down and let McCoy collapse the pocket.  The team let go of Doug Martin and they needed a RB and they got Jones who has starter ability.  Jones should take over as the starter pretty quickly.

Best Value:  CB Carlton Davis

Davis was a potential first-round pick and they got him 63^rd overall.  I like Davis a little more than MJ Stewart because he has good size and this team needs size in the secondary at CB because they face Julio Jones and Michael Thomas four times a year.

Sleeper:  LB Jack Cichy

Cichy was injured last year otherwise he probably wouldn’t have been available in round 7.  He’s a tackling machine when healthy and while the team is pretty good at LB with Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander and Kendall Beckwith, they need some depth and Cichy should help.  He could eventually replace David if he ever slows down.

Overall Analysis

Vea and Jones are high level players that should be starters immediately.  The two CBs they took, MJ Stewart and Davis, were need picks.  Brent Grimes is 36 years old and Vernon Hargreaves hasn’t lived up to his draft position.  Cappa, Whitehead and Watson are developmental guys that might struggle to make the team.  Cichy will make it as a special team’s demon as long as he’s healthy.