RADIO
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.
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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.
As they should. The Falcons pass rush is historically bad and is long overdue to be addressed.
For perspective:
Since 2020, Myles Garrett has had 72 sacks.
Since 2020, the Falcons top pass rushers have had a combined 27.5 sacks. https://t.co/3VDiqPr1KV— Carrie (@carrielynnxox) February 3, 2025
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.
Sam Darnold ESCAPES THE RUSH AND FINDS Justin Jefferson FOR THE 52-YARD TD 😱
WHAT A PLAY 🔥
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/WpPDLExFuJ— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 8, 2024
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.
“Derrick Brown went from a bust to the best player on the team”
He wasn’t a bust at any point in his career
He’s been a core piece since day 1 pic.twitter.com/6sJ4HJFH4m
— SZN (@CLT_Sportsfan) December 12, 2023
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.
I’m still a Xavier Legette believer
Just gotta put it all together
— IAmWestsideFetti 💙🖤🤟🏾 (@4MR_Fetti) February 25, 2025
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.
The Panthers were 56% Cover-3 against FiB (formation into boundary) over the first four weeks of the season. A pretty strong tendency.
Great job by Waldron and Caleb to have something ready for it once they motioned from 2X2 into 3X1 to the boundary.
Caleb drew the post… pic.twitter.com/iCnqnkraRP
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) October 7, 2024
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.
Bryce Young since coming back into the starting lineup:
2,050 Total Yards
15 Total TD
6 INTOne more game to go.#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/ORcl2xVmjc
— ً (@ThomasWrrld) December 30, 2024
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.
trevor penning what on earth are you doing pic.twitter.com/lJ5oAz3p10
— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) September 25, 2023
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.
Cameron Jordan is the All-Time Leading Sack Leader for the #Saints with 121.5 Sacks
Cam Jordan is a STUD and Future HOF! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uKLooCCsHl
— SaintsMuse (@NOSaintsMuse) March 7, 2025
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.
We saw the #BroncosCountry rush for 225 rushing yards against the #Saints that's over 100 yards above their season-long average of 107.3 in Weeks 1-6.
We saw Javonte Williams have a breakout game in 2024 & explosive plays on the ground for him, Jaleel McLaughlin, & Bo Nix. https://t.co/H0NCgvvyAN pic.twitter.com/9ZCZHt7gcr
— Corbin (@corbin_young21) October 18, 2024
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.
The Bucs O-Line has become one of the best in the league and is a major driver of the team's success this season. 2 reps here stand out
5v5 in pass pro. Tackles anchoring + interior trio passing off the game.
Pin-pull. Wirfs bump & climb, Barton pull & finish pic.twitter.com/fZgO0N2KCZ
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) January 6, 2025
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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