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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS:
The departure of QB Baker Mayfield signalled the arrival of Colorado Buffalo QB Shedeur Sanders. The son of all-time great CB Deion Sanders, Shedeur will be expected to step right in and take control of an offense that was solid a season ago but did not lead to winning results. Tampa Bay had, arguably, one of the best drafts in the PFL. They were able to snag highly regarded Notre Dame T Joe Alt in the second round and then were able to grab rugged HB Braelon Allen in the third round. They topped off their draft with a nice fourth round steal in the form of SS James Williams! Some saw Allen as, perhaps, the top back in the draft. WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are back as is speedy Trey Palmer. Talented Cade Otton will be the starting TE giving the young Sanders a bevy of skilled targets to choose from or hand the ball to. Alt will be the LT and Tristen Wirfs will hold down the right side. The interior of the offensive line is not overpowering but should be good enough.
All-world NT Vita Vea is back. Bookends Calijah Clancey and Greg Gaines will need to up their game. Devin White, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, and super quick YaYa Diaby are the prime linebackers. Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean head up a talented secondary that also features super star safety Antoine Winfield.
Outlook: The Bucs suffered last season without steady leadership but seem stable now and had a terrific draft. Sanders and Allen will be exciting and the weapons around the youngster should serve him well. An increase in scoring will force teams to the air more where the Bucs' secondary can excel and the pass rush can get after it. The Tampa Bay schedule is not soft by any stretch of the imagination. They have the two games with divisional rival and Super Bowl Champion New Orleans as well as contests against the Giants, Eagles, Bengals, Chiefs, Commanders, and Raiders. 10 wins is possible and that could be enough to win this division but the club has to improve on offense and the D then has to make some stops against top tier competition.
New Orleans Saints:
The Super Bowl Champs are not getting any love! Well, not exactly. Last season the Saints got hot late in the season, passed the sagging Falcons to take the division crown, and then began a remarkable playoff run that eventually saw them standing atop the PFL mountain! The club relied upon a solid defense and a rugged running game combined with a well timed passing game. QB Derek Carr is back after posting 3827 yards passing last season with just 21 touchdowns. He showed he is more than capable of opening up if necessary, but it is not the style the Saints prefer. HB Alvin Kamara had a wonderful post-season barreling his way through defenses. He is coming off a 1223 yard, 11 touchdown campaign. Fellow stablemate, Jamaal Williams piled up a very solid 714 yards rushing with 7 more runs to paydirt. Georgia Bulldog Ladd McConkey was drafted and the 6'2" speedster will add valuable talent to a solid receiving corps that already boasts Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed! Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau are TNT at tightend. The offensive line remained intact and is a savvy veteran unit.
The defensive line is not one containing household names but it can get the job done, There is a bit of a worrisome spot inside where Bryan Bresee, Khalen Saunders, and Nathan Sheperd are ticketed for duty. Only Sheperd has solid strength (90). Veteran Linebackers Pete Warner and Demario Davis return along with DJ Johnson. The Saints drafted freakish OLB Jontrey Hunter in the 2nd round. Hunter has quite a few skills to go along with a 6'2" 281 Lbs frame! Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, and Paulson Adebo are a fine trio at the corner spots. Two more veterans, Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu should start at the safety spots.
Outlook: A week 3 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs and a week 11 match against their Super Bowl opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, hilites their schedule. They should compete for a divisional crown yet again but they will not sneak up on anyone this time around. 10+ wins is realisitc.
Atlanta Falcons:
The Falcons were in control of their fate last season and then fell apart down the stretch. Some were critical of their college styled offense but Atlanta proved that their system can be effective. The team doubled down on their quarterback situation and Malik Willis will likely start again. Willis rushed 66 times for 661 yards and 9 touchdowns last season and has recorded 6 carries for 137 yards in his first two pre-season games! But he threw for just 1171 yards and 1 touchdown all of last year. Tailback Bijon Robinson had a spectacular rookie season flying around for 1687 yards and 19 touchdowns! Drake London is talented while K.J. Hamler and Danny Gray can flat out fly. Lightening fast rookie Dion Miller could surprise and be a deep threat as well as a weapon in jet sweeps and reverse type plays. TE Kyle Pitts is elite. The offensive line is good. LT Tyron Smith was brought over from Dallas to give depth and compete with Jake Matthews. LG Shaq Dawson is one of the strongest players in the game. RG Chris Lindstrom is a pro-bowl caliber player while the RT spot could become a battle between Kaleb McGary and rookie Matt Goncalves.
DEs Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata have 17 years of experience between them! The interior of the line is quick with NT Siaki Ika the powerhouse there. There seems to be an increased emphasis on speed in Falcon-land. They signed LBs Mykal Walker from Chicago, Akeen Davis-Gaither from Cincinnati, and Seattle's Devin Bush in the off-season. All three possess at least 86 speed. The team also bolstered up their secondary. They signed Ex-Cowboy Stephon Gilmore and then drafted Nate Wiggins with the 13th overall pick to go along with A.J. Terrell to form an excellent group there. FS Jessie Bates is outstanding and there may be some serious competition at the SS slot between Richie Grant and Sydney Brown!
Outlook: The defense seems far better in the secondary which looks to be as talented as any in the PFL. The speedy linebackers will need to play well as will the defensive line. Of course, much will rely upon the success or failure of the offense. They have weapons on the offensive side of the ball but might need to open it up just a bit more this season if they wish to contend. They have a pretty tough early part of their schedule and need to do well there. After their bye week, their slate looks a bit softer with the Kansas City Chiefs looming. Similar to almost the entire division, 10 wins is possible but they will need to win some tough games to get there.
Carolina Panthers:
There is reason for the optimism in Charlotte and placing them here may be a bit of an under-estimation. Sophomore QB Bryce Young was given some help on offense as the Panthers made some shrewd pre-draft deals. They were able to trade down with the Dallas Cowboys and still get stud WR Brian Thomas. The LSU product is a matchup nightmare with his 96 speed, solid catching skills, and 6'5" 219 Lbs frame! They would add another exciting player in WR South Carolina WR Xavier Legette later in the draft as well as Iowa Hawkey TE Luke Lachey! They topped it all off by trading for Seattle tailback Zach Charbonnet who was deemed expendable playing behind Kenneth Walker in the Pacific Northwest. Now, at least, Young has weapons to work with. The offensive line is not spectacular but it really does not have any major flaws either. RT Taylor Moton is the best of the lot and the unit, as a whole, is solid.
The defense is, now, where some problems could show up. DE Derrick Brown will probably have to be subbed into the interior of the line while DE Shy Tuttle does not have elite pass rushing skills. LSU rookie Mekhi Wingo will see plentyof action on the interior but he is a bit light at just 295 Lbs. LBs Brian Burns, Shaq Thompson, Deion Jones, and Brandon Smith are good but the ROLB spot is troubling. There, Yatur Gross-Matos is really an edge rusher so the Panthers will need to find a solution. CBs Jaycee Horn and Dontae Jackson are a tremendous duo. CJ Henderson and another rookie, Terrion Arnold, have excellent speed and enough cover skills to be effective. Jeremy Chinn and Vonn Bell are above average at the safety positions.
Outlook: This team could just as easily win this division as finish last! The improvements on offense seem obvious and now the team just needs to go out and put some points on the board. The defense can be very good if the offense compels teams to the air and into that secondary while facing Brian Burns and Derrick Brown up front. If they can be around .500 or better when they get to their late week 14 bye, they have a real chance at the playoffs. With the Falcons and Saints scheduled for the final two weeks of the season, they could be in position to make some noise. A .500 record or better seems attainable.
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