Did the NFC South squads ace their respective 2023 drafts?
We asked our managing editors—River Wells of Bucs Wire, Matt Urben of Falcons Wire and John Sigler of Saints Wire—to help hand out grades for their teams.
Atlanta Falcons: B-
Atlanta’s draft will mostly be judged on the success or failure of first-round pick Bijan Robinson. Beyond that, it’s a relatively small draft class. Fourth-round pick Clark Phillips III is an exciting option, and second-rounder Matthew Bergeron has a chance to start at left guard as a rookie.
— Matt Urben, Falcons Wire
Carolina Panthers: B
Putting aside the elephant in the room for a second, the Panthers addressed some of their biggest needs beyond the first round. They added a potential freak in wideout Jonathan Mingo, an athletic pass rusher in DJ Johnson and a promising offensive lineman in Chandler Zavala. Heck, even safety Jammie Robinson was a steal in the fifth round. But this draft class, obviously, hinges on what quarterback Bryce Young ultimately becomes.
— Anthony Rizzuti, Panthers Wire
New Orleans Saints: B
I wasn’t a fan of DT Bryan Bresee pre-draft, and I’m still holding reservations on him to see how his health holds up during a season with many games played on artificial turf. But I loved the DE Isaiah Foskey and RB Kendre Miller picks, and late-round picks like DB Jordan Howden and WR A.T. Perry could play big roles for this time depending on the availability of their veteran teammates. The Saints did a good job addressing their needs.
— John Sigler, Saints Wire
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B-
They had quite a few needs, and it addressed the needs at edge rusher and on the interior line with picks like EDGE YaYa Diaby and OG Cody Mauch. But one could argue the team’s two biggest needs were left tackle and slot cornerback, and Tampa Bay did not address either need in the draft. As a result, the Bucs are set to move RT Tristan Wirfs over to LT, and they may wish they had gone LT in round one if that move ends up making Wirfs a worse player overall.
— River Wells, Bucs Wire
