The NFL All Divisional Teams & Squads Part Eight – NFC South

Welcome to the eighth and final article where we finish our look through prospective Divisional Squads for each of the eight NFL divisions.

I’ve compiled squads and starters for the seven other NFL divisions outlined below. Click on the division to bring up their squads and data.

• AFC North,
• AFC West,
• AFC East,
• AFC South
• NFC East
• NFC North.
• NFC West

I’ve been wondering what odds bet365 Sport would offer on each of the eight Divisional representative squads. So at the end of this article, I’ll give you my impressions of how the eight squads match up.

And I’ll also tell you which one I think would be the NFL Inter Divisional Squad Champions if such a tournament existed!

So let’s crack on with the eighth and final squad, for the NFC South.

4 NFC South teams, 4 new starting QBs.

Which team is going to win the NFL’s most unpredictable division? pic.twitter.com/kSgayQCozF

— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) June 20, 2023

NFC South

• Atlanta Falcons
• Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A Recap of the Rules For NFC South Squad Selection

• All players must be from one of the four teams in the NFC South
• The squad will be comprised of 53 players.
• All squads will feature the same number of players in each position.
• In addition, a starting Offense, Special Teams and Defense will be picked from the squad of 53.
• Finally a head coach from one of the four teams in the division will be selected to coach the team and one stadium from one of the four teams will be selected as a ‘home’ venue.  

As explained above, all squads are comprised of the same number of players in each position to make up the 53-man roster.

Offense (24 players)

• Quarterback – 3
• Running Back – 2
• Full Back – 1
• Wide Receiver – 6
• Tight End – 2
• Left Tackle – 2
• Left Guard – 2
• Center – 2
• Right Guard – 2
• Right Tackle – 2

Defense (25 players)

• Defensive Tackle – 4
• Defensive Ends – 5
• Inside Linebacker – 2
• Outside Linebacker / Edge Rusher – 4
• Strong Safety – 2
• Free Safety – 2
• Cornerbacks – 6

Special Teams (4 players)

• Kicker – 1
• Punter – 1
• Specialist Punt/Kick Off Returner – 1
• Long Snapper – 1

We also additionally name a head coach and venue for this division’s home games.

So without any further ado, let’s take a look at the players that make the initial 53-man squad for the NFC South.

Big things ahead, #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/TfWR6Q5gdf

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) June 21, 2023

NFC South – Squad Selection

Pos	Name	Team	Rating		Pos	Name	Team		Rating
Offense					Defense
QB	Derek Carr	New Orleans S.	B+		DT	Vita Vea	Tampa Bay		A
QB	Baker Mayfield	Tampa Bay Bucs	C		DT	Nath. Shepherd	N.O.Saints		B-
QB	Bryce Young	Carolina Pan.	B-		DT	Khal Saunders	N.O.Saints		B
RB	Alvin Kamara	New Orleans S.	A-		DT	Derrick Brown	Carolina		A
RB	Miles Sanders	Carolina Pan.	B		DE	David Onyemta	Atlanta Fal.		B
FB	Keith Smith	Atlanta Fal.	B		DE	Cam Jordan	N.O.Saints		A+
WR	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Bucs	A-		DE	Calais Campbll	Atlanta Fal.		B
WR	Drake London	Atlanta Fal.	B+		DE	Payton Turner	N.O.Saints		B-
WR	Chris Godwin	Tampa Bay Bucs	B+		DE	Grady Jarrett	Atlanta Fal.		B+
WR	Chris Olave	New Orleans S.	A-		ILB	Kaden Elliss	Atlanta Fal.		B
WR	Michael Thomas	New Orleans S.	B		ILB	Devin White	Tampa Bay		A-
WR	Adam Thielen	Carolina Pan.	B-		L/E	Shaq. Barrett	Tampa Bay		A
TE	Kyle Pitts	Atlanta Fal.	A		L/E	Brian Burns	Carolina		A+
TE	Hayden Hurst	Carolina Pan.	B		L/E	Y.Gross-Matos	Carolina		B+
LT	Ikem Ekwonu	Carolina Pan.	A-		L/E	Shaq Thompsn	Carolina		A
LT	Jake Matthews	Atlanta Fal.	A-		SS	Tyran. Mathieu	N.O.Saints		A
LG	Matt Feiler	Tampa Bay Bucs	B		SS	Vonn Bell	Carolina		B
LG	Chris Lindstrom	Atlanta Fal.	A+		FS	Ant. Winfield Jr	Tampa Bay		A
C	Ryan Jensen	Tampa Bay Bucs	A		FS	Xavier Woods	Carolina		A-
C	Bradley Bozemn	Carolina Pan.	B+		CO	Donte Jackson	Carolina		A-
RG	Cesar Ruiz	New Orleans S.	B		CO	Mars. Lattimore	N.O.Saints		A
RG	Austin Corbett	Carolina Pan.	B		CO	Carlton Davis	Tampa Bay		A-
RT	Taylor Moton	Carolina Pan.	A-		CO	Bradley Roby	N.O.Saints		B+
RT	Tristan Wirfs	Tampa Bay Bucs	A		CO	AJ Terrell	Atlanta		B
Special Teams					CO	Jaycee Horn	Carolina		B
K	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Fal	B+		Head Coach
P	Johnny Hekker	Carolina Pan.	B+		HC	Frank Reich	Panthers		B-
KR	Cord. Patterson	Atlanta Fal.	A		Nominated Home Stadium (Capacity)
LS	Liam McCullogh	Atlanta Fal.	B		ST	Mercedez-Benz (Falcons)		(71,000)

On this day in 1975, we unveiled our official team colors, uniform and logo designed by artist-cartoonist Lamar Sparkman 🧡 pic.twitter.com/31IpcH2CEe

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 15, 2023

NFC South Squad Gradings

Offense

• Quarterbacks – B-
• Running/Full Backs –  B+
• Wide Receivers – B+
• Tight Ends – B+
• Offensive Line – A-
• Overall Offense – B

Defense

• Defensive Line – B+
• Edge Rushers – A-
• Linebackers – B+
• Safeties – A-
• Corners – B+

Special Teams

• Kicker – B+
• Punter – B+
• Kick Returner – A
• Long Snapper – B

Team Intangibles

• Experience – B
• Pace – B+
• Physicality – B+
• Mental Toughness – B-
• HC Effectiveness – B-

"You just notice a different element with this @Panthers team with Bryce leading."@CameronWolfe checks in from minicamp in Carolina 🏈

📺: Inside Minicamps on NFL+ https://t.co/pcyZoK7cwI pic.twitter.com/JHhDCDxLqo

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) June 13, 2023

NFC South Starters

Offense					Defense
Pos	Name	Team	Rat		Pos	Name	Team	Rat
QB	Derek Carr	Saints	B+		DE	Grady Jarrett	Falcons	B+
RB	Alvin Kamara	Saints	A-		DT	Vita Vea	Buccaneers	A
WR1	Mike Evans	Buccaneers	A-		DT	Derrick Brown	Panthers	A-
WR2	Chris Olave	Saints	A-		DE	Cam Jordan	Saints	A+
WR3	Chris Godwin	Buccaneers	B+		OLB	Brian Burns	Panthers	A+
TE	Kyle Pitts	Falcons	A		ILB	Devin White	Buccaneers	A-
LT	Ikem Ekwuonu	Panthers	A-		OLB	Shaq. Barrett	Buccaneers	A
LG	Chris Lindstrm	Falcons	A+		FS	Ant.Winfield Jr.	Buccaneers	A
C	Ryan Jensen	Buccaneers	A		SS	Ty. Mathieu	Saints	A
RG	Austin Corbett	Panthers	B+		CB1	Mars. Lattimore	Saints	A
RT	Tristan Wirfs	Buccaneers	A		CB2	Donte Jackson	Panthers	A-
Special Teams
K	Younghou Koe	Falcons	B+		P	Johnny Hekker	Panthers	B+
LS	Lm McCullogh	Falcons	B		PR	Cord.Patterson	Falcons	A

NFC South Starting XI Analysis

• Atlanta Falcons – 6 starters
• Carolina Panthers – 6 starters
• New Orleans Saints – 6 starters
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 8 starters

Strengths

• Very solid on starting defense without any really glaring weaknesses on their starting 11.
• Half decent running back and receiver corps.
• Offensive line is strong especially at right tackle, left guard and centre.
• Outstanding pash rush.

Weaknesses

• Not the greatest depth or experience at quarterback.
• The squad does lack the depth of quality of other squads from other divisions.
• Coach is probably the weakest of all head coaches.
• Several players are very injury prone
• Lack experience at the highest level in many positions.

"I looked up to him… He set the standard high."

Olave on the influence of Ted Ginn Jr. 🫡#Saints | @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/Mw3wsLcCWb

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 13, 2023

Key Player – Offense

Kyle Pitts (Falcons) TE – With a solid receiving corps, Pitts should figure to draw the weaker coverage from linebacker and safety and that could be a real mis-match which the powerful tight end could exploit to his advantage.

Key Player – Defense

Brian Burns (Panthers) OLB/EDGE – Burns is an absolute wrecking ball of an edge rusher and having him working in tandem with Shaq Barrett and Cam Jordan in particular would be an absolute nightmare for offensive linemen to deal with.

Conclusion

Like a couple of other divisional teams, the NFC South’s first choice offense, defense and special teams are very solid and very talented. However, the strength in depth is not there, especially in the quarterback positions. That could be the big issue for this team. How many of their star men get injured.

Overall Team Rating – B+

The starting team for the NFC South is solid and perhaps offers one of the most balanced of any teams in this divisional set up. However, there is a real lack of depth in some positions and that could be a real issue for a team that looks extremely prone to injury.

Drawing Things Together

Outlined below are the eight NFL Divisional Squads & Teams overall ratings:

1. AFC West – A
2. NFC East – A-
3. AFC East – A-
4. NFC West – A-
5. NFC South – B+
6. AFC North – B+
7. NFC North – B
8. AFC South – B-

As you can see, in both the AFC and NFC the West and East hold sway over the North and South with the AFC West being the clear best ranked squad, and the AFC South the worst.

So in my view, bet365 would make the AFC West the favourites to win ahead of the NFC East, while the AFC South would be the outsiders to win any tournament.

Speaking of which, if there was a tournament between the teams: Here’s how I see it going:

Divisional Squad Quarter Finals

• AFC North beats NFC North
• AFC South loses to NFC South
• AFC East loses to NFC East
• AFC West beats NFC West

Semi Finals

• AFC North beats NFC South
• AFC West beats NFC East

Super-Duper Bowl

• AFC West beats AFC North

So that concludes our fun look through the divisional squads, who do you think would win the battle between the eight divisions?