It came down to Week 18 and it wasn’t pretty, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to rule the worst division in football. The South is in an interesting spot. It’s hard to project what next year could look like, meaning that this offseason is of the utmost importance. The Bucs need some major upgrades, the Falcons will be reeling after handing out an egregiously bad contract to Kirk Cousins last year, the Saints have decisions to make with Derek Carr, and the Panthers will have to focus on making Bryce Young their centerpiece and getting him some major help. Here’s our 2025 NFC South team needs analysis.
Carolina Panthers
Needs: Edge, DT, WR, C
Thanks to a couple of wins towards the end of the season and good play from Bryce Young, the Panthers are only picking eighth in this draft which seemed far-fetched during the first 10 games of the season. Carolina saw enough promising play out of Bryce Young towards the end of the year to run it back with him. Now they need to improve on their defense to ensure they aren’t giving up 30 points per game. I think some of these moves will be done in free agency while they build their offense through the draft. Dave Canales saw how the Bucs built an offense that can be successful and will likely adopt the same plan in Carolina.
New Orleans Saints
Needs: EDGE, WR, TE, CB
One spot below the Panthers are the Saints who have a big headache this offseason: Derek Carr. Word is the Saints want to dump the miserable contract that they handed out to Carr and replace him with Spencer Rattler who played well down the stretch. If that’s the case, the Saints will be strapped for cash as they’d take on a $50 million dead cap hit if they release him. With that being said, expect them to get crafty in the draft. Wide receiver has been a major concern for this team, and it only got worse when Chris Olave suffered another concussion and is reportedly mulling over his future in the league.
Atlanta Falcons
Needs: Edge, S, CB, C
It is officially Michael Penix Jr. time. The Falcons probably had the most confusing offseason of any team in the league last season when they signed Kirk Cousins then turned around and drafted Pennix Jr. They wasted a ton of money on Cousins and will have to eat between $40-$60 million in dead money depending on when they release him. Like the Saints, that complicates their plans in free agency this offseason. Their offense is full of young talent while their defense needs major help. They need help with the pass rush while also needing to secure the back end. Matthew Judon is likely walking in free agency, and I’d imagine Justin Simmons also takes his talents elsewhere.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Needs: WR, OG, LB, Edge
The Bucs are in win-now mode with Mike Evans entering the final year of his contract. He is still productive and maybe he will come back after this season, but the Bucs have to capitalize. Chris Godwin is likely a goner, so they should give Baker Mayfield a third weapon after Jalen McMillian. After they figure out the wide receiver position, they should dump money into their pass rush and invest in finding an eventual replacement for Lavonte David who has held down the linebacker position in Tampa for 13 years.