Ranking defenses in the NFC South
By: Jake Rajala
The NFC South has an elite offense in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then three offenses that are led by three young quarterbacks. The question is: how are the defenses in the NFC South? Well, I’m going to rank the NFC South defenses and conclude if any of the defenses have the talent to hold their ground and eventually be a dominant defense.
4. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers ranked 32nd in PPG allowed last season. They just have a young defense. D.J. Wonnum is a mid-round pick from 2020. Derrick Brown is from the 2020 draft. Jaycee Horn is from the 2021 draft. They boldly released Jadeveon Clowney, which is bound to leave a scar.
3. Atlanta Falcons
I like the turnaround on the Falcons defense this offseason. They reeled in Leonard Floyd, who has 19 sacks in the past two seasons combined. They still have an elite stud in A.J. Ferrell. Jessie Bates is also no slouch. They did lose Matthew Judon, and I would have liked to see him stay.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints and Bucs nearly have the same caliber of defense. The Bucs have Vita Vea and Lavonte David to stop the run. They were third in rushing yards allowed last season. The Bucs were also 11th in sacks last season. I would have liked to see them rank better in PPG, as they ranked 17th. I should point out that the Saints ranked 18th in PPG.
1. New Orleans Saints
The Saints have one of the best middle linebackers in Demario Davis. They also have three quality edge rushers in Chase Young, Cameron Jordan, and Carl Granderson. I don’t love their secondary after losing Marshon Lattimore, Tyrann Mathieu, and Paulson Adebo. Nonetheless, they still have Justin Reid, Alontae Taylor, and Kool-Aid McKinstrey in the back-end.
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