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NFC South
Atlanta Falcons – Defensive end depth
These Falcons are a team that I think could really surprise some people in 2019. If it wasn’t for the Redskins, I would say they had the worst injury luck of any team in the league. Their two starting safeties Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal, running back Devonta Freeman, starting guard Andy Levitre and star linebacker Deion Jones all missed double-digit games, with Jones being the only one to appear in more than three games altogether.
After starting the season 1-4 they won three straight games, but a bad loss to the Browns sent them into a downward spiral and injuries started really catching up to them. This year I think they should be considered serious Super Bowl contenders. Steve Sarkisian is finally gone and the front invested heavily into the O-line – so that side of the ball should be taken care of. They let go of Robert Alford this offseason, but I thought Atlanta got tremendous value from grabbing Isaiah Oliver in the second round last year, who I expect to have a breakout year.
Other than that they return basically everybody on defense, so the one area they should still address is defensive end. I love Takk McKinley’s motor and Vic Beasley is looking to rebound as a full-time hand-in-the-dirt rusher. However, behind that I don’t see enough arsenal to rotate guys through and send waves at the opposing QB the way Dan Quinn would like to do.
Adrian Clayborn and Tyrone Crawford provide help off the bench, but neither one of them really threatens you around the edge. I thought they really gave up a lot to move back up into the first round for an offensive tackle that I think would have been there for them anyway in the second and they could have added some juice later on day two.
Carolina Panthers – WILL linebacker
This team is one of the most confusing ones out there. We have seen Cam Newton light up the league in his 2015 MVP season, but we have also seen him get banged up a lot and not bring the same type of energy to the field when things don’t go right.
Christian McCaffrey is one of the top dual-threat running backs in the league and they have some dynamic guys at the skill positions, but there are no defined roles. The offensive line has been letting him down quite a bit and I thought they drafted a left tackle, who would benefit from a year in the weight room but will probably be asked to play week one. Left guard looks like a need right now, but Taylor Moton would likely move inside if the rookie starts and I also like third-year man Dorian Johnson.
That makes me come back to the defense, where I like what they did up front recently and how they have found guys on the back-end to fit their scheme. Nevertheless, Thomas Davis will not suit up in a Carolina Panthers jersey for the first time in 14 years. Shaq Thompson is labelled as a SAM because they like to use him in space as that safety/linebacker hybrid, so it is that weak-side backer position that is up in the air.
Antwione Williams looks like the top candidate to earn that spot right now, which is a name no average fan even knows, and they also have Jermaine Carter, who was a fifth-round pick a year ago. Unless they plan on using more under-fronts with first-rounder Brian Burns standing up on the edge, this is an area of need.
New Orleans Saints – Number two receiver
It is weird that whenever the Saints come up, everybody still talks about that missed call in the NFC Championship game, even though that was fourth months ago? Instead we should focus on what this team still has on the roster. They lost running back Mark Ingram in free agency and center Max Unger surprisingly retired. However, this already was the Alvin Kamara show in the New Orleans backfield and they added an excellent center in Erik McCoy out of Texas A&M in the second round, who should be their day one starter.
I am a little concerned with Sheldon Rankins returning from a torn Achilles in the Divisional Round, because he was one of the top 3-techs in the league before going down, but I thought they got a major steal with a versatile defensive back in Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round. While I thought Drew Brees’ arm fell off a little later on in the year, I trust in Sean Payton drawing up plays to help him out on a weekly basis.
The Saints have a bunch of pretty good receivers on that roster – Tre’Quan Smith flashed at some occasions last year, Ted Ginn made a few big plays when he was healthy, I like Cameron Meredith as a complementary guy and even Simmie Cobbs, who was snagged off the Redskins’ practice squad at the end of last season could make an impact.
However, there is no clear Robin to Michael Thomas’ Batman. We saw what that guy is capable of on several occasions, but I also saw what happened when teams started taking him and Kamara away on third downs by doubling Thomas or putting an extra DB on the running back. They need someone else they can rely on in those spots.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Right guard
These Bucs are a team I am trying to like because I have seen what Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles have done together in Arizona. Mike Evans might be the most underrated receiver in the league, Chris Godwin could break out even more in year three, so will tight end O.J. Howard. Bowles was allowed to add a lot to his defense in the draft with a new key-piece in linebacker Devin White as the fifth overall selection out of LSU and their most-experienced secondary player being Ryan Smith, who has appeared in just 45 career games.
Yet, we don’t even know if Jason Pierre-Paul will play again at all after that car accident and they just released Gerald McCoy because of his cap number and not really fitting the scheme. I could keep going, but in the end this will all come down to what Arians can do with Jameis Winston, who probably has one more year to prove that he can be the franchise quarterback Tampa Bay thought they had selected first overall back in 2015.
General manager Jason Licht made it clear last season that they wanted to get tougher in the trenches with everybody they added on the offensive and defensive line. However, I think they really overpaid for Donovan Smith and Ryan Jensen. If you combine that with Ali Marpet’s contract, they will pay that left side of the line over 35 million dollars. And still, they have a big hole at right guard.
The competition will be between a 2016 fifth-round pick in Caleb Benenoch, a six-year journey-man in Earl Watford and last year’s third-round pick Alex Cappa from Humboldt State. As they say, competition brings the best out of people, but none of those guys seems to be starting material.
