Off-season grades for NFC South right now

By: Jake Rajala

There is no secret: the NFC South is one of the worst divisions in football. The best thing is that there is no way to go except up! There were important moves made to win the division and make the playoffs. With that said, I’m going to untwine the off-season grades from the squads which will foretell the direction of each squad!

New Orleans Saints

Grade: C

The Saints didn’t get a shiny, gifted CB after losing Paulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore in the regular season. I didn’t like that they are rolling back with Chase Young, after he had a pedestrian season. I would have rather seen them get Amari Cooper than Brandin Cooks. On the flip-side, I liked the addition of Kellen Moore, more than other head coaching faces. I also liked that they drafted Tyler Shough over Shedeur Sanders. I’m happy that Brandon Staley was brought over, too.

Atlanta Falcons

Grade: C+

I like the patience with Kirk Cousins by not trading him for a mid to late round pick. Jalon Walker was also a steal in my opinion – as he was none other than the first LB to go off the board. I love the addition of Leonard Floyd who has consistently scored several sacks over the past few seasons. I would like to see them target CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Grade: B

The Bucs had a stellar off-season. I like that they brought back Lavonte David the most. I also like their signing of Haason Reddick. He was a bit pouty, but he’s back and ready for action. Of course, It was fine to see them bring back Chris Godwin. It’s vital they bring back their main weapons, as Baker played like an MVP candidate for a lot of last season.

Carolina Panthers

Grade: B

Tetairoa McMillan was the perfect pick for the growth of Bryce Young. He is a faster version of Mike Evans in my opinion. I also love that Adam Thielen isn’t retiring. Tershawn Warton was also inked to a four year contract worth 54$ million dollars. This was crucial given that they play against Alvin Kamara and Bijan Robinson twice each.

I would have liked to see more splash signings from this division, but that simply wasn’t the case. It’s more difficult to lure in elite free agents to an average to below average squad.