By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

All four teams in the NFC South report to mandatory minicamp this month. Let’s take a look at some key storylines for each team.

Atlanta: The Falcons offense has been receiving some hype recently. Is it smoke and mirrors or is it legit?

Quarterback Desmond Ridder is going into his second season and he’s expected to drastically improve. He was picked in the third round of the 2022 draft and he was the backup to Marcus Mariota for most of the 2022 season. I think he’s a huge question mark and I don’t put much faith in him.

There are some playmakers like Kyle Pitts that look good on paper. As a rookie in 2021 he had over a thousand yards and one touchdown. He played ten games in 2022 and had 356 yards and 2 scores. He has great size and speed so we will see if that will make him an elite tight end.

Wide receiver Drake London had a good rookie year with 72 catches, 866 yards and 4 TD’s.

Rookie running back Tyler Allgier started seven games and he finished with over one thousand yards and 3 scores. Then Atlanta added Bijan Robinson, who was considered the best RB in the 2023 draft.

I have a feeling they won’t quite be the 1998 Vikings or 2007 Patriots offense.

Carolina: The Panthers drafted former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young with the top pick in the 2023 draft.

Now we will see if he can help turn the franchise around. Young is only 5’10 and 204 pounds so there are questions about his durability in the NFL.

Christian McCaffrey was traded to San Francisco last season, so the offense lacks playmakers.

They did sign wide receiver Adam Thielen as a free agent. His last thousand yard season was in 2018 so it looks like his best days are behind him.

Carolina also signed running back Miles Sanders as a free agent. He’s coming off of a breakout year in Philadelphia, rushing for 1,269 yards and 11 scores. The Eagles had a very good offensive line so I don’t expect the same level of production in Charlotte.

New Orleans: The Saints signed quarterback Derek Carr in the offseason. They did need a quarterback but how good is Carr? I think he’s slightly above average. Last season in Las Vegas he had the league’s leading rusher Josh Jacobs and receiver Davante Adams. In 15 games he passed for 3,522 yards, 24 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Receiver Michael Thomas has not been healthy since the 2019 season. Running back Alvin Kamara struggled last season but some of that was due to inconsistent quarterback play.

Tampa Bay: Have they thrown in the towel before the season began? The Tom Brady era is over so the Bucs signed Baker Mayfield in March.

The former top pick has been a bust through his first five seasons. He’s competing with Kyle Trask for the title of QB 1.

Tampa still has some skill players like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin so maybe he can develop some chemistry with them.

I think the NFC South will be the weakest division again this season. I expect the champion to be under .500 but maybe one of these teams will shock me.