NFC South predictions

I'm now halfway through the NFC predictions after doing the East and North. Now, it's time for a challenge: the NFC South. The opposite of the NFC North, where every team finished above .500 last year. In the NFC South, no team finished above .500. The Panthers came out on top with a record of 8-9, and came pretty close to winning a playoff game. All these teams had interesting offseasons, and it'll be interesting to see what happens. This is a very hard division to predict, but I hope I can do it. Let's get into it.

1. New Orleans Saints (9-8) (4 seed)

2. Carolina Panthers (8-9)

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-10) (win tiebreaker over ATL)

4. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)

The Saints had a very rough start to last year, starting out 2-10. But they finished by winning 4 of their last 5 and going 6-11. Tyler Shough looks like the quarterback they've been trying to find since Drew Brees retired, and Chris Olave earned a massive contract extension in the offseason. In the draft, the Saints chose wide receiver Jordan Tyson, giving Shough another weapon to throw to. They still have Cameron Jordan and Chase Young, so their defense should be pretty good. It wouldn't surprise me if they were on top of the division.

The Panthers, as previously mentioned, won the division last year and almost won a playoff game. Panthers fans have hope for the first time in a long time. Can they keep it up? They had a busy off-season, signing Jaelen Phillips, Devin Lloyd, and many offensive linemen. They also signed Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King as an undrafted free agent. He looked terrific in the Hall of Fame game, but that means nothing. I am impressed by what they did this off-season, but I am not sure if they are good enough to defend their division title.

The Buccaneers were looking like Super Bowl contenders midway through the year, and Baker Mayfield was looking like an MVP candidate. Then they collapsed, winning just 2 games out of their last 9, finishing 8-9, and missing the playoffs. For the first time in his career, Mike Evans didn't reach 1,000 receiving yards, as he only played 9 games. He was cut and signed with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency. The Bucs drafted edge rusher Rueben Bain, which should help with the defense. They also signed Alex Anzalone, Kenneth Gainwell, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and more. They have a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson, so will the offense be better? I'm not sure.

The Falcons started 4-9, but won their last 4 to finish 8-9. They fired Raheem Morris, hired Kevin Stefanski, cut Kirk Cousins, signed Tua Tagovailoa, and brought back Austin Hooper. They paid Bijan Robinson $66.75 million a few days ago, which is fair because he's pretty much their whole offense. They are going to need him to be spectacular this year to have any shot of the playoffs. Let's see if the contract pays off (pun intended).

This is honestly a division I could see any of these teams winning. It's so wide open and unpredictable. Next time, we visit the NFC West, featuring the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. I'm excited to see how that division plays out. Take care, everyone.