The preseason is in the books, and the NFC South is heading toward Week 1 with a little clarity and a lot still to sort out. Some teams got real answers. Others mostly got reminders of what they still need.
Tampa Bay may have had the cleanest preseason of the bunch. QB Jalon Daniels looked like a long-term answer after Baker Mayfield, Reuben Bain Jr. flashed enough to make the Buccaneers feel good about the pick, and the club also locked up star DT Vita Vea with a contract extension.
That wasn’t all. Bain Jr.’s teammate Kieonte Scott turned in some strong moments too, and that could wind up mattering even more if he’s truly a usable CB.
Tampa Bay’s pass defense is arguably its biggest weakness, so any help there matters.
The Bucs also needed their rookies to deliver because this roster has dealt with injuries and turnover. Losing Mike Evans in the offseason was a major hit, and the team used the draft to bring in Ted Hurst as his “replacement.” Hurst didn’t put up any huge preseason numbers, but Bucs media is high on him.
Carolina’s preseason came with a much rougher backdrop. Nic Scourton, a standout rookie last year, tore his ACL, and rookie WR Chris Brazzell III also went down with a season-ending knee injury. Brazzell has plenty of upside thanks to his athleticism and size, but he was still in the developmental stage of his NFL career, so the injury could slow that growth and cost the Panthers the production they were hoping for this season.
Still, Carolina did get encouraging work from a pair of receivers. John Metchie III and Jimmy Horn Jr. both stood out in the preseason and made the roster. They’re still depth pieces, but Metchie III does have the benefit of having played with QB Bryce Young in college.
Atlanta is still waiting on a Week 1 quarterback decision, and the preseason didn’t exactly make that simple. Michael Penix Jr. is working his way back from the season-ending injury he suffered last year, but he may not be fully healthy, and pushing that would not make much sense.
Tua Tagovailoa also finished the preseason poorly, struggling against his former team, the Miami Dolphins. Jack Strand ended up being the quarterback who stood out most, and he made the roster along with Penix, Tua, and Cooper Rush.
The Falcons also kept only two running backs on their 53-man roster. With Bijan Robinson in the fold, there’s less pressure to stockpile depth there, though HC Kevin Stefanski knows firsthand how quickly RB injuries can pile up from his time in Cleveland.
New Orleans had the most uneven preseason of the division. It opened with a close loss, followed by a rough defeat, then closed with a strong win.
At points, the position battles looked flat and uninspiring, but the third game against the Dallas Cowboys helped lift the mood a bit heading into the season. Spencer Rattler won the backup QB job, Daniel Carlson won the kicker battle, and Kevin Austin Jr. initially grabbed the final WR spot before being released shortly after.
Even with those decisions settled, the Saints still have major questions at WR and TE. They need to add at least one player at each spot. Carrying only four wideouts, especially with the injury luck this team has had, and only three tight ends even though the plan is to use more TEs this season, doesn’t make much sense.
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For New Orleans, the biggest question sits at quarterback, where the future remains one of the defining debates in the division. With each NFC South team dealing with its own set of roster issues, the Saints do not have the luxury of leaning on a clearly settled outlook, and that makes the position especially important as they try to find a path back to the top. In a division this bunched together, the answer under center could end up mattering more than anything else. [Read more 🡒]