By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The 2024 NFL Draft is in April so it is coming up soon. Let’s take a look around the NFC South and see who each team will take with their first pick.

Atlanta (7-10): The Falcons have the No. 8 pick. They fired head coach Arthur Smith shortly after losing to the New Orleans Saints in the season finale. Raheem Morris was hired as the new head coach.

They need to obtain a franchise quarterback but they are picking too late to address that. The top three quarterback prospects; Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels should be selected with the first three picks.

Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy might still be on the board so he might be an option. Atlanta still has the option of trading for a veteran free agent quarterback like Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. I believe they will do that, so I think they will select a pass rusher.

Florida State defensive end Jared Verse might prove to be the best pass rusher in the draft. He’s 6’4 and 260 pounds so he has good size.

In his two years in Tallahassee, he had 18 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss. It seems like we talk about how Atlanta cannot get to the quarterback every season, so this would be a great pick.

New Orleans (9-8): They have the No. 14 pick. The Saints finished second in the division and had a winning record. Head coach Dennis Allen is entering his third season and he wants to make the playoffs next season.

Quarterback Derek Carr played well in his first season in the Big Easy and he dramatically reduced his interceptions.

The biggest area that needs to be addressed is the interior defensive line.

Defensive lineman Byron Murphy II (Texas) would be a good pick here. He’s 6’1, 308 lbs. and he has the size to clog up the middle and stop the run.

The interior defensive line might become a strength because he will be paired with 2023 first-round pick Bryan Bresee.

Tampa Bay (9-8): The Bucs have the No. 26 pick. They surprised everyone last season by making the playoffs and beating the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the Wild Card round.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield revived his career and played well.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans is expected to be a free agent. The general belief is that he will leave Tampa to go to a contending team. They will need to draft a No. 1 receiver to help fill that void.

Wide receiver Keon Coleman (Florida State) could be his replacement. Like Evans, he’s a big target at 6’4 and 215 pounds. He has not had an amazing season in college so he still needs to develop.

His best season was as a sophomore at Michigan State when he had 58 catches, 798 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Last season at FSU he had 50 catches, 658 yards and 11 TD’s.

Carolina (2-15): The Panthers were awful last season. They traded up to select QB Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft and they traded away their 2024 first round pick.

They will have the first pick of the second round at No. 33.

They need to help Young by surrounding him with weapons. They may select wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (Texas). He spent his first two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Texas in 2023. Last season he had 55 receptions, 845 yards and 11 scores. He’s 6’4 so he is a big target.