The Tampa Bay Buccaneers represented the NFC South well by advancing to the divisional round of the postseason behind the resurrection of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The 2018 No. 1 pick seems to have found a long-term home in Tampa Bay, but his 2023 offensive coordinator Dave Canales is now the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers, however, can still retain another pivotal piece that helped Mayfield find consistency last season.
As for the Panthers, Bryce Young will benefit from the arrival of Canales, but the organization needs to add more weapons for Young when free agency opens next month.
The New Orleans Saints, on the other hand, aren’t in a financial position to add top free agents. They will need to find other ways to add talent and get younger for the upcoming season.
The Atlanta Falcons have an obvious offseason priority due to their glaring need at quarterback.
Here’s one move every NFC South team should make this offseason.
Atlanta Falcons
One move they should make: Draft QB at No. 8
The Falcons are a near lock to draft a quarterback with their first-round pick after spending the past few years with subpar signal-callers. A past-his-prime Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke failed to make the most of the Falcons’ talented skill players and that ultimately got coach Arthur Smith fired after three seasons. New coach Raheem Morris knows the importance of a reliable quarterback after spending the past three years in Los Angeles with Matthew Stafford. Atlanta could have options with the No. 8 pick, but it likely won’t be USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels—they were the top three picks in Luke Easterling’s latest mock draft. If that occurs, the Falcons should still prioritize quarterbacks because Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix could hit the ground running with a crew that features running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy isn’t as experienced as Penix and Nix, but he might have elite upside.
