By Kenny Burgess Contributor
Updated 8/2/23 3:35am ET
The NFC South didn’t have any dominant teams last season, but it was a tight race all year round. No team even finished with a .500 record, but eventually, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled away and won the division, but the Tampa Bay team should look a lot different this year without Tom Brady. The Carolina Panthers had a solid push late in the season and traded up for the first overall pick in this spring’s draft. With their franchise cornerstone in place, we’ll see how the Panthers play this season. New Orleans seems like a team with some potential in the weaker NFC. After adding Derek Carr, the Saints are expected to have a bounce-back season. In Atlanta, the Falcons are hoping that second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder can show some signs of growth in his first full season as the starter.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022 Record: 8-9)
Even with Brady last season, the Buccaneers didn’t live up to expectations and limped their way into winning the NFC South. Now, Tampa Bay enters the season with more question marks than answers. Baker Mayfield was brought in to be the starting quarterback and will have a chance to revive his career. The Buccaneers seem to be heading towards a rebuild and parted ways with some veterans this offseason. Tampa still has a solid defense that finished inside of the top 15 in both yards and points allowed last season. This should keep the Buccs in games and they should be relatively competitive in this weaker division.
The Buccaneers have the longest odds of winning the division at +750 and their win total is set at 6.5. Tampa Bay will definitely be a different team this year and if it wants success, it’ll need its defense to stay in games.
Carolina Panthers (2022 Record: 7-10)
Carolina took some steps forward last year and was in contention to win the division to the very end. After moving up to get the first pick in the draft, Carolina selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Head coach Frank Reich has already named Young the starter for Week 1 and the success this season will be measured by how he performs.
The expectations for the Panthers are a bit higher than last season as they have the third-longest odds to win the division (+360) and their win total is set at 7.5. If Young and the Panthers can put it together this season, they’ll be more than viable in this division.
New Orleans Saints (2022 Record: 7-10)
After being cut from the Las Vegas Raiders last season, the Saints signed former Pro Bowler Derek Carr. The expectations for the Saints are high this season as they have good weapons on offense in Chris Olave, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas, to go along with a solid defense. New Orleans was inside of the top 10 in scoring defense last year, so if Carr and the offense can be productive, it could be due for a big season. Alvin Kamara could be facing a suspension due to some off-the-field issues and is meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell this week. Kamara’s absence would be a huge loss for the Saints’ offense.
Regardless, the Saints enter as the favorites in this division at +130 and their win total is at 9.5. If Carr can return to his old form, the Saints could be very scary and a dark horse contender in the NFC.
Atlanta Falcons (2022 Record: 7-10)
2022 was an up-and-down year for the Falcons and they turned to Ridder at quarterback down the stretch. Atlanta heads into this season with expectations of competing in this weaker division after drafting running back Bijan Robinson, who is expected to be a true difference-maker in the run-heavy offense. Atlanta has a solid offensive line and already had the second-best rushing attack in the league last year. Now with Robinson in the fold, Atlanta should be even more dominant on the ground this season.
Atlanta heads into the season with the second-best odds to win the division at +210 and their win total is set at 8.5. If Ridder can take a step forward, this team could make some noise in this division.
*All odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Photo credit: Google Creative Commons
