NFC South breakout candidates
By: Jake Rajala
The NFC South has plenty of players with untapped potential. Well, I’m going to lay out players that could break out for each NFC South team.
New Orleans Saints: Pete Werner
The leader of the defense and stud at middle linebacker, Demario Davis, left this past offseason to the Big Apple. So, Pete Werner has some big shoes to filll. Werner is quite versatile. He had five pass deflections, four tackles for loss, and 81 combined tackles last season. He is in his prime at 27 years old.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Emeka Egbuka
Mike Evans no longer calls Florida his home. He went to become a San Francisco 49er. It’s time for Emeka Egbuka to step it up and be a prominent WR1. He had 938 yards and six TDs a season ago. Let it also be known that Baker Mayfield is out to prove he deserves a monster contract.
Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker
The Falcons SLB (James Pearce) had 10.5 sacks last season. He should open up a plethora of opportunities for his fellow edge rusher Jalon Walker to shine. Furthermore, Walker is 22 years old. Yes, you read that correctly. Walker will benefit a lot from learning pass rush moves that aren’t taught in college.
Carolina Panthers: Mike Jackson
With many incredibly gifted WRs in the NFC South, it’s vital to have many talented players that can cover these players. Mike Jackson is coming off a career season in my books. He had four interceptions (a career-high) and four tackles for loss (a career high). He is still on the favorable side of 30. Let’s see a couple of more impressive seasons from him.
I have laid out one breakout candidate for each team. There are undoubtedly more breakout candidates for each squad. Nonetheless, I believe these are the most talented choices.
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