New Orleans Saints
Obviously, the Saints are built around Drew Brees and as he ages, they are trying that much harder to win now before he’s done. They signed his favorite receiver Michael Thomas to a much-deserved contract extension and he should continue to dominate the target share for the offense. Thomas is one of the top WR in the league and now he’s paid like one. RB Alvin Kamara is the other star on offense and his role should grow after the departure of Mark Ingram. Kamara is a multi-dimensional weapon as both a runner and receiver. He’s actually Brees’ second best receiver behind Thomas. The team counts on veteran Ted Ginn to give them a little something opposite Thomas and they are clearly still hoping Tre’Quan Smith will develop. The team did sign Jared Cook to take over at TE and he’s the best pass catcher they have had at the position since they traded away Jimmy Graham. The offensive line has been solid for years but this off season C Max Unger retired and the team is looking to rookie Eric McCoy to fill the void. That’s a tall ask for a rookie but he has very good veterans surrounding him. OTs Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk are really good and OGs Andrus Peat and Larry Warford are solid.
The defense has played better over the last several years as the personnel has improved and Dennis Allen has taken over. They still need a few guys to step up to really make a leap towards the top of the league on that side of the ball. DE Cameron Jordan has been one of the best in the in the NFL for a number of years but he’s mostly been doing it on his own in New Orleans. Last year the team traded up to get Marcus Davenport to play the other DE spot. He had his moments as a rookie but they need him to be a consistent force. DT Sheldon Rankins was finally healthy and he should pair with free agent Malcolm Brown to form a solid duo inside. The team isn’t stocked with outstanding playmakers at LB. They are really just a decent set of guys but nothing special. The team just traded for Kiko Alonso from the Dolphins, he’s a solid veteran. In the secondary there is some special talent. CB Marshon Lattimore wasn’t as good last year as he was as a rookie but he can bounce back and be a #1 CB. Eli Apple joined the team at the trade deadline last season and he’s a solid #2. The safety duo of Marcus Williams and Vonn Bell is pretty good and there is some depth in the secondary. CBs PJ Williams and Patrick Robinson can be good if they are healthy and rookie S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson has some nice skills to build on.
Sean Payton has been doing this awhile and he’s one of the better coaches in the NFL. This team is built to compete now and Payton knows how to win, he has a Super Bowl ring to prove it. OC Pete Carmichael has been with Payton quite a while and DC Dennis Allen should have his defense fully ingrained after being there the last couple of years. This team won’t be outcoached and I like them to win the NFC South.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are coming off a disappointing season that was marred by a host of injuries on defense and an ineffective offense. They clearly saw the offensive line as a problem as they drafted two first-rounders on the line, OG Chris Lindstrom and OT Kaleb McGary, and signed veteran James Carpenter. Lindstrom and Carpenter take over the guard spots while McGary starts the year fighting for the RT job because he missed time with a heart issue. Once McGary is fully up to speed the job will be his. All of this was done to protect Matt Ryan better so he can use his weapons in the passing game and to open up some running room for Davonta Freeman. Freeman lost his running partner Tevin Coleman but the Falcons hope Ito Smith can fill that void. Freeman will likely take over a few more touches a game too, he’s an effective RB. Ryan has been successful and he has Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu to throw to so he’s not lacking for talent around him. TE Austin Hooper also proved to be effective last season. The last piece of the puzzle was bringing back Dirk Koetter to run the offense. He spent some time in Atlanta before he was coaching in Tampa Bay and now, he gets to get Matt Ryan and this offense back on track.
The defense was a MASH unit last season. If they are healthy and flying around this defense can be one of the better ones in the league. The line is led by DT Grady Jarrett and he needs one of the other DTs to step up and help him out. They are flanked by DEs Takk McKinley, who has had some issues off the field, and Vic Beasley who’s sort of an undersized DE/OLB. Beasley is the best pass rusher and they need McKinley to help him out. Veterans Allen Bailey and Adrian Clayborn were added for depth. At LB the team goes with speed above all else. Deion Jones, De’Vondre Campbell and Duke Riley are all plenty fast. The team really missed Jones and his leadership last year. The secondary was decimated by the injuries to Keanu Neal, Ricardo Allen and Damontae Kazee at safety and they should all be back healthy. Desmond Trufant is an underappreciated CB and Isaiah Oliver has potential to be pretty good. Dan Quinn still runs this unit; now he has to hope he has his full complement of players this year.
Quinn is a very good coach which is why he is basically getting a mulligan for last season. The injury issues completely derailed this team. A better o-line will fix what ails the offense and health makes the defense immensely better.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers offense has run through Cam Newton for years now but it is time for a bit of a change. Newton has been banged up quite often and his shoulder has taken the brunt of it all so the team needs to find ways to lessen his load. Enter Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey is a multi-dimensional weapon who can carry the load for this offense. He’s dynamic and every team has to account for him wherever he lines up on the field. He needs to be the focus of the offense and they can’t rely so much on Newton. They do have other playmakers that Newton should lean on also. WR DJ Moore had a solid season as a rookie and he should be even better this year. Curtis Samuel is the other WR and he can be a weapon. The team signed former Patriot Chris Hogan and he should stabilize the third WR spot and take some pressure off Moore and Samuel. TE Greg Olsen is back again he has always been a Newton favorite. The offensive line has some changes with Daryl Williams returning from injury to join Taylor Moton as the OTs. The team also signed Matt Paradis to replace long-time center Ryan Kalil. The offensive line has to do better protecting Newton and opening holes for McCaffrey. Williams and Paradis should help considerably.
The Panthers are making a change on defense as they move to a 3-4 defense instead of the 4-3. They signed Gerald McCoy after the Bucs let him go and he’ll team with Dontari Poe and Kawann Short in what should be a pretty impressive three-man front. Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson should be an excellent duo at ILB as they can tackle everything. OLB is an extremely important position in the 3-4 defense and this is where it can go off the rails. Bruce Irvin was signed but he’s never quite lived up to the hype as a pass rusher and he’s never really been more than a situational guy. Mario Addison is moving from DE to OLB, we will see how that goes. The best potential pass rusher is rookie Brian Burns, he’s built for this defense and he could be fantastic. The secondary can be good. CB Donte Jackson had a good rookie year while James Bradberry can be very tough playing opposite him. At safety, the team got a lot better last year when they signed Eric Reid. Reid stabilizes the unit and brings leadership and talent to the table. Tre Boston isn’t great but he’s not terrible.
Ron Rivera and his coaching staff return and they hope they have a little better luck injury wise on offense this season as Newton, Olsen and Williams all fought injuries that derailed some of what they want to do. On defense it looks like they are playing to the strengths of their personnel going to the 3-4. Irvin and Burns are built to be OLB not DEs and their d-line has guys better suited to the three-man front. I think they may struggle a bit as the team moves away from being Newton-centric on offense and the transition on defense could have some growing pains. They should be a close third to Atlanta in the division unless Newton’s health becomes a problem again.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I was all ready to declare the Bucs as my worst team in the league this season and then the Dolphins said “hold my beer”. I’m not a Jameis Winston believer even with new head coach Bruce Arians being so good with QBs. I think this team will be looking for a new one come April of 2020. RB Peyton Barber is okay but he’s the definition of a pedestrian RB. If Barber isn’t threatening the defense it will make like miserable for Winston and his WRs. He has good talent to work with in the passing game with WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with TE OJ Howard. If Bruce Arians can fix Winston this offense could be good but I just don’t see it. The line is also not that impressive. LT Donovan Smith is fine but he’s not a dominant player. LG Ali Marpet, C Ryan Jensen and RT Demar Dotson are starting caliber players but they don’t excite anyone. The scary part is the offense is the good news.
The defense is going to struggle. They signed Ndamukong Suh hoping to get the guy who played well during the playoffs last season for the Rams and not the guy who was unimpressive the rest of the year. The team will play a 3-4 defense under new coordinator Todd Bowles but they don’t have great personnel for it just yet. Suh and Williams Gholston will play DE around either Beau Allen or Vita Vea at NT. Vea has potential but for now that’s all it is. Rookie Devin White should pair with Lavonte David to be a fantastic set of ILBs but that’s the only great part of this defense. At OLB the team signed Shaq Barrett and are hoping he can be a full-time player instead of a pass rushing specialist he was before. They also need either veteran Carl Nassib or rookie Anthony Nelson to transition to OLB and that could be a bumpy ride. At CB they are giving Vernon Hargreaves another chance to prove he’s not a bust. Todd Bowles is an excellent defensive backs coach so they are hoping he can save Hargreaves career before it’s too late. Carlton Davis should hold down the other CB spot. At safety, Bowles will have to work some magic. Justin Evans is fine but the other spot could be trouble.
Bruce Arians came out of retirement after one year to take this job. It seems like an odd one for an older coach considering the rebuild this team needs. Arians brought in Byron Leftwich to run the offense and he has the task of salvaging Jameis Winston in one year before the team has to decide which direction to go with him. Todd Bowles is Arians’ new defensive coordinator after losing the head job with the Jets. Bowles has always been a great defensive coach but there is a ton of work to be done with this unit. I predict this team to be picking high enough to get whichever QB the Dolphins don’t pick between Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert.
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