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Biggest Positional Needs For All 32 NFL Teams - NFC South Series

Adam Thielen - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL DFS Picks

John breaks down the biggest positional needs for each NFC South team -- the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The NFC South was arguably the worst division in football in 2024. Each division plays a total of 12 interdivisional games, and in each of those games, one team must win unless there is a tie. There were no ties in NFC South divisional games this past season.

Since the division had a combined record of 28-40, and 12 of those games in total were interdivisional, the conference's combined record against non-NFC South opponents was 16-28. That's just a 36 percent win percentage, which is awful.

So, it makes sense that these teams have a ton of needs. Let's break down the biggest needs for these teams -- the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Atlanta Falcons

Edge-Rusher

The Falcons are in desperate need of an edge defender or other pass-rusher who can generate consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. This position was a big need for them last year, too, but rather than take one with their early pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they opted to select quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Atlanta's sack percentage was just 5.09 percent in 2024 -- second worst in the league to only the New England Patriots. While it had an improved stretch of games from Week 13 to Week 17, where it averaged 4.25 sacks per game, in Weeks 1-11, it had just 10 sacks. That's less than one per game and isn't acceptable. This is the clear top priority for this team.

Cornerback

The second-most glaring need is at cornerback, which is funny because it's been an issue for the Falcons for many seasons (just like pass-rusher), yet they still haven't solved it. Nobody said Terry Fontenot was a good general manager, and it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't address this issue. Maybe they'll draft another tight end in the first round.

CB Dee Alford running around like he had no clue where the ball was, where the opposing receivers were, who was on what team, or that he was playing a football game should drive this point home. Maybe this time, Fontenot will listen, but I fully expect the Falcons to have a terrible secondary yet again in 2025.

Defensive Line

Speaking of defense, the interior defensive line needs to be beefed up as well. The run defense is middling to bad every year, and while they were around average this season, it was in large part due to teams being able to throw so easily against them. They ranked bottom-10 in points allowed per game and got gashed regularly on both the ground and through the air.

 

Carolina Panthers

Edge-Rusher/Defensive Line 

It seems like most teams need this position, so it's no surprise that the Panthers do as well. They lacked a good interior defensive line last season as well; that was largely due to the injury to defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who picked up a season-ending injury in Week 1.

Without Brown, they were dead last in yards per rush attempt allowed. They were also bottom-5 in sack percentage. More depth along the interior and a legitimate pass-rusher would work wonders for this maligned defensive line overall.

Wide Receiver 

Even if WR Xavier Legette takes big strides in his game in 2025 and wideout Jalen Coker becomes an undrafted free-agent gem, this team will still need help at the position. Adam Thielen will turn 35 before the 2025 season starts, and his 2024 season was seriously disrupted by injuries.

Expecting Coker to develop into a reliable WR2 isn't something an NFL front office should count on. It would be nice if it happened, though. They need more depth at the position overall as well. Thielen is close to aging out, and if either Coker or Legette disappoints next season, Carolina will be in deep trouble.

It will be crucial for the development of quarterback Bryce Young as well. Last season, Carolina invested heavily in the offensive line, and that paid off, as it wasn't much of an issue in 2024. The pass protection was solid, and the run blocking was even better.

Cornerback

If you gather from reading this piece that NFC South teams all have pretty bad defenses, you'd be right in your assessment. Of particular note is how three of the four teams have awful secondaries. The Panthers are no exception, as they allowed an absurd 7.2 yards per pass attempt in 2024, fifth most in the league.

They made former OC Shane Waldron and the Chicago Bears look good. That's a big indictment.

Quarterback 

I'm not quite convinced that QB Bryce Young is the long-term answer here. He was horrible in his first two games, then was benched and outperformed by backup Andy Dalton. When Young returned, he had a nice stretch of games against an array of terrible defenses.

These featured two games against a Buccaneers squad severely damaged by injuries to the secondary, a Kansas City Chiefs team that could barely defend an entire side of the field against the pass without cornerback Jaylen Watson, and games against the Falcons and Arizona Cardinals, both losing teams in 2024.

Young also had plenty of rushing scores during that stretch, and his pace simply won't be sustainable for a QB of his size. His "resurgence" seems to me more like a confluence of a few flukes and just mediocre play. Against good, disciplined defenses, he will likely be exposed in 2025.

The game against the Philadelphia Eagles was perhaps the only exception ... sort of. The Panthers lost that contest, and Young managed just 191 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. But the fact the game was close implanted the "wow, Young almost beat the Eagles" idea into a lot of peoples' heads, so they may be shocked if Young faceplants again to start 2025.

 

New Orleans Saints

Offensive Line

The two-game explosion of production from the Saints was short-lived primarily due to injuries along the offensive line completely destroying the entire offense. Center Erik McCoy missed a seven-game stretch starting in Week 4 due to an injury he picked up in Week 3's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and guard Cesar Ruiz missed Weeks 4-7.

What resulted was former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak desperately trying to navigate running an NFL offense with one of the most decimated-by-injury units in the NFL, and were it not for quarterback Derek Carr's sack avoidance skills, it could have been a lot worse.

In addition, tackle Ryan Ramczyk may be on the verge of retiring. He didn't play at all in 2024, and OT Trevor Penning getting playing time was a travesty because he's terrible.

Edge-Rusher

Legendary Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan's days are numbered. He'll be 36 years old when the 2025 season starts. He probably doesn't have a lot left in the tank. As recently as 2022, he was putting up good sack numbers, but in 34 games played in 2023 and 2024, he's mustered just six sacks.

Jordan will go down as the best pass-rusher in the history of the Saints, but all good things must come to an end.

Defensive Line

It's a common theme for NFC South teams. The Saints tied for the third-most yards per carry allowed to opposing rushers last season at 4.9 YPC. The biggest culprit for this was the weak defensive line allowing an absurd amount of yards before contact.

They even made former Broncos running back Javonte Williams look good.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Edge-Rusher 

The Bucs were significantly better at generating consistent pressure and getting sacks than the other three teams were. But they could use some more depth on the edges. Defensive end Calijah Kancey had a nice 7.5-sack season, and LDE Logan Hall racked up 5.5 sacks, but a highly talented pass-rusher would help the team generate more pressure against good offensive line units.

Cornerback 

They weren't an awful team in terms of yards per pass attempt allowed, which is usually the best single metric for determining how good a pass defense is, but injuries to their secondary were brutal for their defense. They'll need to build depth at this position and bring in more young talent.

Offensive Guard

Tampa Bay's offensive tackles played well in 2024, but its interior offensive line is lacking. Now-departed former offensive coordinator Liam Coen helped cover for the deficiencies of the IOL for most of the season, but now that he's gone, if the team doesn't build that position group, it could become at least a minor problem.

It played well this past season as a whole, so this is more of a minor gripe. Overall, Tampa Bay is in much better shape than the other teams, evidenced by it being the only NFC South team that looked even remotely like a contender for the playoffs. So, while the Bucs technically do have positional needs, they don't quite have the massive, gaping roster holes the other teams from the NFC South feature.

I have a suspicion, as do many others, that the Bucs will be the only NFC South team that looks competent at most or all position groups in 2025.



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