One burning question for each NFC South team ahead of the 2024 season: Falcons, Panthers, Saints and Buccaneers in focus

The NFC South appears to be wide open once again, and which team will reach out and take it is a topic of much debate. With a lot of change across the division, I asked myself, “What is the one burning question for each of these franchises heading into this upcoming season?” Let's take a look:

One burning question for each NFC South team

#1, Atlanta Falcons

Is this a healthy quarterback room or is there any internal turmoil?

NFL: Atlanta Falcons OTA (image credit: IMAGN)

You can take the term “healthy” quite literally, with Kirk Cousins coming off a torn Achilles in the middle of last season. And to a lesser degree, with the extensive injury history of rookie Michael Penix Jr. from his days at Indiana, before turning himself into one of the deadliest gunslingers in college football these last two years.

However, this was more how they function as a group and if there’s disagreement within the organization over who should be playing and who other guys gravitate toward. Cousins has a reputation as an above-average starter as a mainstay in Washington and then Minnesota these last nine-and-a-half seasons, and with 100 million dollars guaranteed over three years, this new regime has committed to him.

When they shocked the NFL world by selecting Penix eighth overall in the draft, not only was the veteran – and his agent – blindsided, but it also brought on the potential of a weird relationship between the two, which could rub off on the rest of the team.

There’s an adjustment period for any rookie, and Penix will be challenged to solve more complex defensive structures. He can’t rely as heavily on just letting the ball fly down the field, but this is a 24-year-old, sixth-year senior who will not happily just wait his turn behind the vet.

This becomes even more challenging as Kirk may not yet have full confidence in his leg, limiting his ability to move around obviously but also just pushing off on the release. Meanwhile, Penix has that flamethrower attached to his left shoulder and won’t shy away from letting it rip.

As teammates observe that in practice and consider if their ceiling may be higher with the rook or maybe Cousins isn’t fully himself by week one, could there be internal conversations that get to the media? Does this coaching staff ultimately make a decision that throws off this already wonky timeline even further?

#2, Carolina Panthers

What’s the pecking order and distribution of opportunities for this skill-position group?

NFL: Carolina Panthers OTA (image credit: IMAGN)

You don’t go 2-and-15 unless your entire team really sucked. This wasn’t one of those situations where the Panthers were unlucky in a couple of games and their record looks worse than they actually performed, as they finished 31st in points scored and 29th in points allowed.

Nevertheless, there’s reason for optimism around this defense, which brought back coordinator Ejiro Evero and while they need guys to step up, this is a unit with standout performers at all three levels and only the Patriots had a higher mark of “adjusted games lost” to injury last season.

Obviously, the development of Bryce Young now working with Dave Canales is the biggest key here, after the latter just helped another former first-overall pick in Baker Mayfield resurrect his career.

They’ve spent heavy financial resources on addressing this offensive line, as they’re paying their new guard tandem an average of just over 33 million dollars – with nearly 60% of that guaranteed – trying to keep the integrity of that pocket upright.

In terms of the skill-position guys, they swapped out a starting corner in Donte Jackson for former Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, moved up one spot in the draft for another one in South Carolina’s Xavier Legette as the final pick of the first round, traded up in the second for Texas running back Jonathon Brooks and even at the top of day three got Brooks’ teammate Ja’Tavion Sanders as a versatile tight-end/H-back/big slot.

That’s on top of 34-year-old Adam Thielen being back for at least one more year, the only guy who could consistently find some separation and gain the trust of his rookie QB. Then there's a receiver they targeted early in the second round last year in Jonathon Mingo and running back Miles Sanders is on the second of his four-year deal, which they’ll likely try to get out of next offseason, due to a worrying debut campaign in Charlotte.

I believe Brooks becomes their lead guy once he’s fully back from the torn ACL and Johnson – when healthy himself – is their number one target recipient. Generally, I’m really unsure where exactly they line all of these guys up, how much they see the field and who they prioritize getting the ball to.

#3, New Orleans Saints

Does this aging defense finally take a step back?

NFL: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (image credit: IMAGN)

I wanted to provide some variety since it would be very easy to ask if Derek Carr can at least be an average quarterback or better. Especially considering he’s reverted to being a check-down captain who openly showed frustration towards a receiving corp that could’ve easily returned the favor.

How serious the concerns around Ryan Ramczyk’s knee are, dependent on that, if first-round pick Taliese Fuaga can make a successful transition to left tackle and if there’s any hope that Trevor Penning can at least come close to his draft pedigree if/when called upon are all incredibly meaningful.

Instead, though, I want to take a look at this defense, which has been the pre-eminent unit for this franchise since the late years of Drew Brees. If you consider the defensive line as one overarching unit, their four highest-paid and still probably best defenders, across the major positions – Cam Jordan, Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu – have been in the league for a combined 47 seasons.

Lattimore is the youngest among that bunch, now entering year nine. There were rumors around him potentially being on the trade block after drafting Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry to pair with their already very formidable starting trio.

They smartly extended Carl Granderson on the edge at the start of his best season as a pro, Pete Werner has quickly learned from Davis on the second level and safety Jordan Howden performed well when he was given an extended run as a rookie.

However, there’s reason to believe that we could see a couple of those stalwarts take another step back. If Klint Kubiak can’t turn this into a more dynamic offense, after Pete Carmichael called his traditional West Coast stuff there for the last 15 years, and the defense can’t provide them a baseline for success, the focus will shift towards now-head coach Dennis Allen, who has run that unit for the last decade.

#4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What does this run game look like under new OC Liam Coen?

NFL: Los Angeles Rams Training Camp (image credit: IMAGN)

If you’re talking about surprise teams from last season, along with the Texans on the AFC side, I believe the Bucs performed above expectations more than pretty much anybody else. Based on preseason betting odds, only the Cardinals had a lower projected win total than their Over/Under of 6.5, yet they ended up winning nine games. They took the rather hapless NFC South crown, before defeating a broken-down Eagles team at home in the wild card round.

A largely intact defense provided a higher floor than may be anticipated, but it’s their offense that really elevated them here. As just discussed, then-offensive coordinator Dave Canales played an integral role in turning Baker Mayfield into what based on the numbers was an above-average starting quarterback last season, before he was hired as the head-man in Carolina.

Rachaad White was the steady drumbeat out of the backfield that would at least make their play-action game viable and that’s where Baker could really strike with Mike Evans. Evans not only continued his now 10-year long run of 1000-yard seasons but actually put up the second-highest total of his career and led the league with 13 touchdowns through the air.

Despite that, there’s no denying that this run game has been the least efficient of the last two years, averaging a measly 3.4 yards per carry, along with also being dead-last in both EPA per rush and rushing success rate over that stretch.

Now, a grander conversation can be had around how the run game has been the means to an end for some of these play-action-heavy teams on early downs. In the aggregate, just the threat of the run game allows them to be efficient overall, but there’s no reason they should be at the very bottom of the league, as they’ve now reshuffled this O-line recently.

I’m interested in how new OC Liam Cohen helps further what they do on the ground. He has his NFL roots with Sean McVay and the Rams, when they were still heavily reliant on outside zone, but at Kentucky last season, he was closer to power and counter concepts they previously used in Tampa Bay, along with duo. Does rookie RB Bucky Irving from Oregon provide a little more juice in those tight areas?