The Falcons are all in on this season. They gave Kirk Cousins a ton of money, they traded for Matt Judon during camp, and they signed Justin Simmons on that same day. We will see if all the skill position talent they drafted over the last few years is actually good, there are no QB excuses now. Tampa Bay won this division and returns most of their team, the biggest loss might be OC Dave Canales who’s running the Panthers now. He really helped Baker Mayfield last year. The Saints are an enigma, Derek Carr was mess last year and the o-line is pretty rough. They have a new OC coming from the Shanahan tree, can Klint Kubiak get their line to be good and make Carr not awful? The Panthers just want to see if Bryce Young is salvageable, everything else is pointless until they answer that question.
Atlanta Falcons
Kirk Cousins signed a huge contract and the team drafted Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall in the draft, there are no more excuses at QB. This offense has firepower that most teams should envy, it’s up to new OC Zac Robinson to put them in a position to succeed. The biggest beneficiaries of the new coaching staff should be the three former top draft picks; WR Drake London, RB Bijan Robinson, and TE Kyle Pitts. All three were underutilized by former coach Arthur Smith, Robinson needs to do better. Bijan Robinson is one of the most gifted RBs in the league and yet Smith seemed to like Tyler Allgeier better. No offense to Allgeier but there isn’t anything Robinson isn’t capable of at RB, he needs the ball more. The offensive line also has plenty of talent. They aren’t a bunch of All-Pros but LT Jake Matthews, LG Matt Bergeron, C Drew Dalman, and RT Kaleb McGary are all very good. RG Chris Lindstrom is the one guy who might be an All-Pro talent.
WR Drake London won’t be ignored anymore. He’s a true talent who can play inside and outside and use his size to his advantage either place. If he’s used well, he could be a top-level WR in the NFL. They signed Darnell Mooney to be the WR2 and he’s an upgrade over what they had before but he’s just okay, not great. They don’t have good depth at WR so they need TE Kyle Pitts to play like he did as a rookie. He was misused like the others but he has otherworldly talent and athleticism. If he’s used right, he can turn his career around, he’ll only turn 24 this year.
The defense will be under the direction of new head coach Raheem Morris and DC Jimmy Lake. They did a good job with an undermanned unit with the Rams last season and this team has some talent to work with. There are two veterans up front with Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata and Zach Harrison is young guy with potential. They made the splashy trade for Matt Judon because they lacked any true pass rusher and Judon is definitely a real player. Lorenzo Carter and Arnold Ebiketie aren’t great but they should benefit from Judon’s presence. Kaden Ellis and Troy Anderson aren’t great ILBs but they can hold their own.
The secondary got a major upgrade at safety with the signing of Justin Simmons. He should pair with Jessie Bates to really improve the defense up the middle. Bates was really good last season and while Simmons is getting older, he’s still a good player. Outside at CB AJ Terrell is a legitimate CB1 it’s the other outside spot that could be problematic. Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III, and Antonio Hamilton give them options but it’s not a great group.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This team won this division last year and if things don’t go right in Atlanta the Bucs will be right on their heels to take it again. Baker Mayfield had a good year and got a nice contract in Tampa Bay after bouncing around a bit. He’s not an elite QB but he knows how to use the playmakers on this team to make his life easier. WR Mike Evans is an absolute machine. He was excellent last year and while he’s getting older, he doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Chris Godwin has been his partner in crime for years now and they are a dynamic duo. That duo might become a trio with rookie Jalen McMillan coming in and taking a starting spot immediately. He’s a true talent and he’s been showing that all throughout camp. McMillan can be major part of this offense.
The offensive line is led by LT Tristan Wirfs who got a big contract extension this off season. He’s an elite player and that’s a guy they can build around. They needed to get better in the interior and they drafted Graham Barton and he steps in as an immediate upgrade at center. He’s got size and power they need to improve. RT Luke Goedeke was solid last year. The two guard spots must be better or the running game will suffer. RB Rachaad White was excellent as a pass catcher last year but he’s not a great runner at this point. The line didn’t help him out but he’s an average talent as a runner. They only drafted Bucky Irving in round four so there isn’t any real help coming.
The defense feels like there could be some trouble. They need some of their disappointing young players to really step up this year or things could go poorly. DT Vita Vea isn’t the dominate force he once was, he’s 29 and his years of wear and tear could be catching up to him. DE Logan Hall was once a second-round pick and DE Calijah Kancey was a first rounder last year, these two need to be better. OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is another first round pick who hasn’t lived up to that and this is his last chance because there is no one standing in his way for playing time. Yaya Diaby was a third-round pick last year who has outplayed him and will start opposite him.
ILBs Lavonta David and KJ Britt return. David is an all-time great Buccaneer but he’s 34 and well past his prime. Britt stepped in for Devin White when he was struggling last year but he’s a limited player. The secondary has Antoine Winfield Jr. and he’s one of the best safeties in the NFL but there are questions all around him. The team traded Carlton Davis III to Detroit and now they are counting on Zyon McCollum becoming a starter opposite Jamel Dean and Dean stepping into the CB1 spot. That’s tough and that means rookie Tykee Smith will be the nickel corner. He was a good player in college but he wasn’t a pure nickel player. Jordan Whitehead returns at safety after a middling year with the Jets. Todd Bowles has always been a great defensive mind but he might run out of magic with this group.
New Orleans Saints
There were six QBs taken in round one of the draft and none of them will get half the ovation from their own crowd in their first action than the seventh guy. Spencer Rattler was a fifth rounder but if he replaces Derek Carr at any point, the Saints faithful will rejoice. Perhaps Klink Kubiak can bring some of that Shanahan QB magic with him but if there is one QB who can resist the magic, it’s Carr. The offense needs Carr to be serviceable to function and even then, there will be challenges. The offensive line has issues all over. LT will be rookie Taliese Fuaga, some weren’t sure he was even an OT in this class. RT will be Trevor Penning who was so bad at LT last season he got benched. The interior will have C Eric McCoy and RG Cesar Ruiz, they have been good before but they weren’t last year. LG is Lucas Patrick, the guy who couldn’t crack the Bears’ line last season. It’s a problem.
RB Alvin Kamara is still an excellent player and while he’s not as dynamic as he used to be, he’s still good. They should look to use Jamaal Williams more. WR Chris Olave is also a great player but he relies more on a good QB play so he’s limited on this team. WR Rashid Shahid is a good young player who also needs more consistent QB play. TE has Juwan Johnson who’s a good pass catcher and Taysom Hill is still around to screw up fantasy leagues.
Dennis Allen hasn’t been great as a head coach but he’s always been an excellent defensive coach. The Saints’ defense wasn’t good before he arrived and he turned them around very quickly. The defensive line is still counting on DE Cameron Jordan who is 35 and really fell off last season with only two sacks. The other end spot is Carl Granderson who had a solid year but he’s not elite. They signed Chase Young, hoping to hit on guy who hasn’t lived up to his draft billing to this point. DT Nathan Sheppard and Khalen Saunders are solid vets but they need Bryan Bresee to take over and become a real player inside.
The LBs are also led by an aging veteran in MLB Demario Davis, the difference is, even at 35, Davis is still getting it done. He’s flanked by Pete Werner, a solid starter, and free agent signee Willie Gay, who was pretty good in Kansas City for the last few years. The secondary is good at CB with Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry. That’s a good group even if Lattimore isn’t as great as he once was. Adebo and Taylor are solid pros and McKinstry has a lot of potential. Tyrann Mathieu is a good veteran safety but they are a little short opposite him and that could be a problem.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were a disaster last year and fired Frank Reich less than a year into his contract. Now they try to reset with the guy who helped Geno Smith become a good QB in Seattle and who resurrected the corpse of Baker Mayfield in Tampa. Dave Canales has a history with broken QBs and now he gets the mother of all reclamation projects; former #1 overall pick Bryce Young. Young was terrible last year and every fear about his physical limitations came to fruition. It didn’t help that his offensive line was abysmal and his WR group was a joke. The running game wasn’t anything to write home about either. They addressed the problem of the interior of the line hoping to help keep Bryce Young clean and hopefully help the running game. They spent big on guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt and they are shifting Austin Corbett to center. They hope stabilizing the interior will help LT Ikem Ekwonu and RT Taylor Moton be better.
They have also moved to help Young with more talent at the skill positions. Last year WR Adam Thielen was the most consistent player they had. They traded for Diontae Johnson to give Young a reliable target on the field. They drafted Xavier Leggett to give them a big, speedy outside WR and they hope these two, plus Thielen, gives the passing game some juice. The running game is still going to be relying on Chuba Hubbard to start the year but they drafted Jonathan Brooks in round two. He’s coming off a torn ACL and won’t be ready to start the season but once he’s healthy he’s the best RB on the roster.
On defense, they brought in some solid veterans to try to be competent on that side but it will be hard after they traded Brian Burns. DL A’Shawn Robinson, LB Josey Jewell, OLB Jadaveon Clowney, safety Jordan Fuller and CB Troy Hill aren’t All-Pro guys but they are solid veterans who lift the floor of this defense. Robinson joins Derrick Brown on the front line and Brown is really good, having a better player opposite him will help. Jewell gives them a solid player to pair with Shaq Thompson and that should improve the second level of the defense. Jadaveon Clowney isn’t Brian Burns but he does his job well and will be a steady presence.
The secondary needs Jaycee Horn to become a real player at CB and not just an idea. He’s fought injuries in his career but they need him to be the guy they drafted in first round a few years ago. CB Troy Hill is a solid veteran but he’s not changing the game. The same goes for S Jordan Fuller who is a replacement level player. Xavier Woods is fine but that’s about it.
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