Post Draft NFC South Power Rankings

The dust has settled from the NFL draft. At this point, rosters are largely set. There will be a few more free agents signed along the way, but essentially all the impact players are accounted for.

We know what these rosters will look like going into the next season. We can now step back and accurately assess what we believe the expectations should be for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What do we expect this group to do with the players they have in place?

And that’s not just for the Bucs, but for every team. We can compare all these rosters to get a sense of who could be contenders and division winners. Compare how every team in the NFC South stacks up.

I took some time to look at all four rosters and rank how I expect each to fair this season. Decide who we should view as the favorite to win the division and who is the cellar dweller. With that said, here are my post draft NFC South power rankings.

4) New Orleans Saints

I really like what the Saints did in the draft. Jordyn Tyson is an excellent talent at wide receiver who they added in the first round. They also added wide receiver Bryce Lance and tight end Oscar Delp. Add in returning number one receiver Chris Olave and New Orleans has really loaded up on pass catchers.

They also added Travis Etienne at running back to be the primary ball carrier and use Alvin Kamara more situationally out of the backfield. So if you believe in second year quarterback Tyler Shough (who will turn 27 in September) then there is no denying that he has good pieces around him. I expect this offense to be dangerous. 

However, the defense is lacking that same level of playmakers. You could point to any level of the defense and ask, “who is their star?”. The answer is, they don’t have one.

With all due respect to guys like Carl Granderson and Kool-Aid McKinstry these are good, not great, players. This will likely be a bottom third defense and prevent the Saints from getting more than seven total wins this year.

3) Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons have some elite top tier talent. Guys like Bijan Robinson, Matthew Bergeron, Drake London and Kyle Pitts make this a very formidable offense. Especially if you believe that new head coach Kevin Stefanski is the offensive mastermind that he is billed to be.

The big thing holding this group back from being maybe the best offense in the league is the quarterback. A combination of Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa leaves a lot of questions to be answered. And considering that quarterback is the most important position, it’s the last place you want to have issues at.

Defensively, there is some good and some bad here. I really like the secondary of this team, led by Jesse Bates at safety. Unfortunately, the defensive line might put too much pressure on that group due to a lack of talent up front. A lot will depend on the development of 2025 first round pick Jalon Walker and the legal status of their other 2025 first round pick James Pearce.

Regardless, I expect this team to float around eight or nine wins this season. 

2) Carolina Panthers

There is really a lot to like about this team. The offensive line is very good and as a result, expect the running game to be really good. I also like the talent in the wide receiver room. They will have to figure things out, but there is a lot of young talent to build on with their pass catchers.

Quarterback Bryce Young will be the x-factor in the entire division. He threw for a career high 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns last season while leading the Panthers to a NFC South title. And while that is growth and a step in the right direction, those are very pedestrian numbers overall.

Defensively, Carolina is tough in the trenches. Running the ball will be very difficult against this defensive line. Especially when you factor in that they added All Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd to the heart of the defense.

The pass rusher also looks good. Adding veteran Jalen Phillips will help a young and talented group of edge rushers. This plays well with a strong secondary featuring pro bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn and a very talented back seven top to bottom.

If I had to guess today, here in mid May, I’d say there is a very good chance that the Panthers return to the playoffs in 2026.

1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs are coming off a very disappointing 2025. They lost the NFC South after winning it in four consecutive seasons. It was a frustrating year that was derailed by injuries.

Now the team is healthy and looking to take back their crown.

The Buccaneers have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. There is optimism that they will drive the running game under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. I would expect a more productive year from Bucky Irving and newcomer Kenneth Gainwell.

The loss of Mike Evans is notable, but the addition of third round pick Ted Hurst should keep this as one of the most talented and deepest wide receiver rooms in the NFL with Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan. Expect Baker Mayfield to be in MVP conversations like he was for the first half of last season.

The defense got a nice overhaul in the offseason. The Bucs added three new defensive linemen to surround Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey. Guys like A’Shawn Robinson joining that group will make them a tougher and more imposing run defense up front. A pair of new starting linebackers in Josiah Trotter and Alex Anzalone will help with that as well.

The talk of the draft was the Buccaneers’ addition of Rueben Bain as a pass rusher. He’s the type of top tier talent that can change the tides of the Bucs pass rush. Add to that the return of pass rusher David Walker, who missed his entire rookie season last year. These two joining the rotation (plus the return on Kancey from injury) should be a massive boost to the pass rush.

The secondary has some things to prove with their young players. Benjamin Morrison will fight for a starting job, but we can expect Jacob Perrish and rookie Keonte Scott to step in as starters this year. The safety duo of Antione Winfield Jr and Tykee Smith is also very good. Overall, I expect the back end of the defense to be at worst pretty solid.

Even though I think every team in the division got better this offseason, the Buccaneers are still the team to beat. Assuming this team isn’t decimated with injuries again this year, I expect the Bucs to win 10-12 games in 2026.