Who will win the NFC South?
In 2020 the NFC South lived up to expectations, the Saints and Buccaneers were the two competitive teams and the Panthers and Falcons fell behind. Both the Saints and Bucs made the playoffs, with the Bucs outperforming their division rival. The Bucs went on to the Super Bowl where they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. This offseason, the NFC South saw quite a bit of change, as well as quite a bit of continuity. So who made the best moves so far this offseason, and will there be a change of guard for division winner? Let’s look.
Last offseason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Tom Brady as their quarterback, shocking the league and the world. The Buccaneers went on to make it to the playoffs after going 11-5 in 2020 and coming second in the division. The Tom Brady led team went into Washington and beat the Football Team in the wild card round of the playoffs. They then went on to defeat the New Orleans Saints, their division champs for the first time in the 2020 season 30 to 20 in the divisional round. Then, to win the NFC, they defeated the Green Bay Packers 31 to 26. And finally, in the Super Bowl, they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31 to 9 to become the champions for the 2020 season, also earning their second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. This offseason the Buccaneers have been one of the best. They placed the franchise tag on wide receiver, Chris Godwin. They also signed Rob Gronkowski, Shaq Barret, Lavonte David, Ryan Succop, and Ndamakung Suh to new contracts. They also extended Tom Brady to a one year extension, clearing cap space for this season and keeping Brady in the Bay for at least two more years, barring retirement.
The Carolina Panthers on the other hand, didn’t have quite the 2020 season as the Bucs did. In 2020 the Panthers went 5-11 and are now in the market for a new quarterback. The Panthers were led by Teddy Bridgewater in 2020, and have lost their faith. They are rumored to be one of the top teams in the running for Deshaun Watson, and would likely be the best landing spot for the All Pro quarterback. If they don’t land Watson they are also rumored to trade up in the draft to select a quarterback, either Zach Wilson, Trey Lance or Justin Fields. No matter what happens with their quarterback room, the Panthers are likely not going to make a massive jump in 2021, but we will have to wait to see. Some other notable moves Carolina has made this season include signing Cam Erving, Pat Elflein, Denzel Perriman, and Haason Reddick. These moves will help the team in 2021, but they still have some soul searching to do before having another shot at the division.
The Atlanta Falcons are poised to have another down year in 2021 as well. This offseason the Falcons hired a new head coach in former Titans offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. The Falcons have also not made many moves this offseason, which should be disappointing to many Atlanta fans. They have made a trade with the Bills for tight end, Lee Smith as well as signing Brandon Copeland, but their main move this offseason was adding former Panthers running back, Mike Davis to a two year deal worth $5.5 million. The Falcons currently hold the sixth overall pick in the upcoming draft, and are rumored to be in on a quarterback, possibly Zach Wilson or Justin Fields, and if they decide to stick with Matt Ryan they could potentially choose one of the top receivers in Kyle Pitts, Jalen Waddle or even Devonta Smith.
And lastly, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints have been in a sort of limbo since their season ended at the hands of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Drew Brees just recently announced his retirement, giving the team the opportunity to move on with the quarterbacks they currently have in house, Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston. The two will battle it out for the starting job in 2021, however Taysom likely has the upper hand considering his contract. The team is also in cap hell this year, and are struggling to find money so they can build a solid team for next season to compete with the Buccaneers. These moves include extending Taysom Hill to a four year extension, spreading his cap hit over the next four or five years. They have also released Kwon Alexander and Emmanuel Sanders and traded Malcolm Brown to the Jaguars, these moves were made to save money and potentially make a move at some free agents.
To conclude, we predict that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will win the division in 2021. The 2020 winners, the New Orleans Saints will come out of this offseason in a struggle and will not be able to put it together until 2022. Losing Drew Brees was a blessing and a curse for the Saints, and they will take their time to find his long term replacement. On the other hand, the way that Tampa Bay has been able to keep their championship team together has been a massive success for them. Keeping teams together in the NFL is extremely difficult and the turnover rate for players at this level is very high. The fact that they have been able to keep their stars together like this, and still take advantage of the rookie contracts of their younger players will prove just how well the organization is being run. So ultimately, expect the Buccaneers to make it back to the playoffs next offseason, and win the division decisively. If the Saints aren’t able to figure out what they’re doing at quarterback and with their cap situation, then the Buccaneers are going to run away with it.