Trav’s 2024 NFC South Division Predictions

August 6, 2024 SportsByTrav

We have already discussed the NFC East and North, now we turn our attention to the NFC South. Last season, it came down to a 3-team race to division supremacy. Tampa Bay won the tiebreaker over the New Orleans Saints to win the division. Atlanta dropped their final two games to finish two games behind the Saints and Bucs. Carolina finished with the worse record in the league and their top pick went to Chicago. Every team in the division makes their fair share of moves to improve. Tampa Bay is looking to repeat as NFC South champs this year. New Orleans and Atlanta made strides to overtake the Bucs for NFC South supremacy. Carolina also made moves with hopes of protecting Bryce Young this season. Who will be the best team in the NFC South this coming year.

The biggest issue on offense for the Falcons last season was at the quarterback position. The play was inconsistent, and the lack of a quality signal caller cost this team the division. Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal to become their new starter. Cousins is a major upgrade at the QB position, but with him coming off an Achilles injury they drafted Michael Penix Jr. Atlanta has Kyle Pitts and Drake London and they signed the speedy Darnell Mooney also. I’m predicting this will be the best offense in the NFC South this season. On defense, they are hoping that Grady Jarrett returns to his All-Pro form after tearing his ACL last year. Atlanta will suffer from not having an edge rusher, but they have enough to win the NFC South. Can Cousins lead the Falcons to the division crown and more?

Carolina finished last season with a 2-15 record, which was the worst in the league. The Panthers could use help in every aspect when it came to free agency. On offense, they will need to do a much better job protecting Bryce Young. Young was running for his life as soon as the ball was snapped. They began by signing Robert Hunt to a $100 million contract to help protect Young. Carolina also addressed the other guard position by signing Damien Lewis to a huge four-year deal. The offensive line will be better and trading for Dionta Johnson helps their receiving core. On defense, they got A’Shawn Robinson to team up with Derrick Brown on the interior. The Panthers also addressed the secondary and linebacking core. Carolina should win more than two games this season as they tread in the right direction.

New Orleans has an awful cap situation where they opted to sign some vets to one-year deals. Derek Carr is looking to have a better season than he did a year ago. Michael Thomas is gone so they will need their young receiving core to step up. They did add Cedrick Wilson Jr. and he’ll likely be the veteran presence the team needs. Alvin Kamara is still one of the better running backs in the league. The Saints needed the most help on the defensive side of the ball. The Saints needed an edge rusher, so they signed Chase Young to a one-year deal. Young will fit in nicely alongside Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson. The health of Chase Young will be the biggest factor of the year. Does the Saints have enough to compete and win the NFC South this season?

Lastly, we have the 2023 NFC South winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The biggest questions heading into the offseason for Tampa was their ability to keep Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. Mayfield signed a 3-year, $100 million contract to stay in Tampa. Mike Evans turned around and signed a 2-year deal worth about $52 million. The tandem helped the Bucs overcome a tough stretch in the middle of the season to win the division. The Bucs hosted a playoff game and beat down the Eagles. They lost to the Lions on the road the following week, but the Bucs should feel confident heading into the new season. On defense, the Bucs will have a hard time filling the roles of Shaquil Barrett, Devin White and Carlton Davis. Can the Bucs repeat as the NFC South champions this season?