The Division Ledgers
NFC South Cheat Sheet
Stefanski and Tua start over in Atlanta, New Orleans restocks the backfield, and Tampa turns the page on an era.
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The South is where careers came to restart this spring. A fired Cleveland coach and a departed Miami quarterback found each other in Atlanta; a former Jacksonville workhorse found Kellen Moore's huddle in New Orleans; and Tampa said goodbye to twelve years of Mike Evans without much of a wake.
| Team | New Voice | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Kevin Stefanski, HC · Tommy Rees, OC | Tua Tagovailoa · Brian Robinson Jr. | Raheem Morris (fired) |
| NO | — | Travis Etienne · Jordyn Tyson (draft) | — |
| CAR | — | Darren Waller | — |
| TB | Zac Robinson, OC | Kenneth Gainwell | Mike Evans (to SF) |
- AtlantaThe RestartKevin Stefanski's play-action machinery now runs on Tua Tagovailoa's timing, which is either a beautiful marriage or a fragile one — there is no middle reading. Bijan at 1.9 doesn't care either way. Drake London at 9.9 carries the division's most honest warning label: a yearly injury probability the actuaries put north of seventy percent.
- New OrleansRestockedKellen Moore's second year adds Travis Etienne — whom Alvin Kamara's presence immediately caps — and eighth-overall rookie Jordyn Tyson, whose August hamstring is now expected to cost him roughly the first month. Chris Olave at 20.2 quietly profits from every pass-leaning script this offense writes.
- CarolinaFog AdvisoryChuba Hubbard is week-to-week, Jalen Coker keeps climbing the camp reports, and Tetairoa McMillan's second-year price assumes passing volume Bryce Young's offense has never once produced. Darren Waller, on his one-year deal, is a TE-premium flyer and nothing more. Price everything here like the weather: changeable.
- Tampa BayAfter EvansThe first Buccaneers season since 2013 without Mike Evans hands the perimeter to Emeka Egbuka — toe sprain, fading second-half form and all — under new coordinator Zac Robinson. Bucky Irving returns from injury to find Kenneth Gainwell's guaranteed money in his backfield. The market hasn't decided what this offense is; neither have we.
Atlanta is the division's bet, New Orleans its volume, Tampa its question mark, Carolina its fog.