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If the NFC will be known for one thing this season, it will be offense. The QB crop alone is arguably the best in the NFL, and the WR talent doesn’t fall far behind. That’s not even mentioning the group of running backs, either.
The Falcons have made some strides to make their offense even stronger by retooling the TE room, adding more talent at the RB position and adding more talent and depth to the OL. With the changes that the Falcons have made, where do they rank in the NFC South in regards to total offense? To review the offensive firepower of the NFC South, I’ll be taking a look at overall talent at the starting positions, Depth, and OC.
As much as it pains me to say this, the Saints are the top ranked offense in the division. Having an aging future Hall of Fame QB in Drew Brees, top WR in Michael Thomas, versatile RB in Alvin Kamara and a very solid OL puts them at the top of the list. Also, having a mastermind OC in head coach Sean Payton makes this unit pretty dangerous.
Oh, and to top it all off, the Saints added Emmanuel Sanders to that WR corps that brings a level of speed and explosiveness to that group. The level of continuity between Brees and Payton also makes them a tough group to defend, but Brees isn’t getting any younger. They’re at the top for now, but if one team could best them this season, it’s my number 2 ranked team.
2. Atlanta Falcons
I rank the Falcons second because there a few unknowns coming into the season. They obviously have great offensive firepower with Matt Ryan at the helm, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley at WR and Todd Gurley replacing Devonta Freeman at RB. However, having Dirk Koetter at OC is one factor that gives me pause.
Also, even though Hayden Hurst is a tad more athletic than Hooper, this is a virtually unproven TE group. The OL has should be a better group as they added depth with drafting Matt Hennessy, but again, we don’t know how they’ll gel. However, given Matt Ryan almost always has a monster 2nd year with a new OC and he has a new very good and versatile back in Todd Gurley to go along with Julio and Ridley, this offense is bound to make some noise in 2020.
Now I know the Bucs have Head Coach Bruce Arians and Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. I know they have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin at WR, and Rob Gronkowski and OJ Howard at Tight End. Lots of talent is there.
However, Brady has played in the same offensive system his entire career, is definitely not a young man anymore and We have no idea how he will gel with OC Byron Leftwich. I haven’t seen many quarterbacks make a seamless transition from one system to another in year one. I believe Brady will struggle initially and honestly, Gronk is no sure thing at this point in his career. This is a wildly talented group, but the QB to OC relationship will be a big factor on how this offense performs.
The Carolina Panthers, outside of Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore, have lots of question marks on their offense. They let Cam Newton walk and acquired Teddy Bridgewater to replace him QB. That’s a big drop in athleticism at the position, and with the state of their OL, that’s going to limit some of the things they can do on offense. Also, new coach Matt Rhule made no efforts to add young talent to the offense via the draft.
They also added Joe Brady at OC, which will be a first for him in the NFL. This offense will go through some major growing pains, and, by the looks of it, will look to lean on Christian McCaffrey to head their offensive attack. While the Panthers defense may be better, their offense will struggle mightily in 2020.