Free Agency Moves: NFC South (7/9/2008)
Dave Zoll, Co-Contributor
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NFC South fans have a lot to
be excited about this year.
Regardless what team you’re pulling for, you can rest assured
that they’ve made some positive moves this off-season.
I’m not saying they’ll be a contender to win the division,
but at least they’re moving in the right direction.
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is still sorting out the post-Vick mess
and trying to establish a new identity for the coming years.
This season their motto seems to be out with the old and in
with the new. So far
this year the Falcons have parted ways with TE Alge Crumpler, RB
Warrick Dunn and seem poised to trade veteran WR Joe Horn to the
highest bidder. Notable
free agent additions include former San Diego RB Michael Turner and
former Denver K Jason Elam.
The Falcons also cleaned up in the draft with 11 selections,
the most noteworthy being eventual franchise QB Matt Ryan from
Boston College. Other
Draft Picks include OT Sam Baker (Southern Cal), LB Curtis Lofton
(Oklahoma), CB Chevis Jackson (LSU), WR Harry Douglas (Louisville),
S Thomas DeCoud (California), LB Robert James (Arizona State), LB
Kroy Biermann (Montana), RB Thomas Brown (Georgia), CB Wilrey
Fontenot (Arizona) and TE Keith Zinger (Duke).
As with any team in transition, this is going to be a brutal
year for the Falcons given the relative strength of their division.
In terms of fantasy production, Turner, White and Jenkins are
the only Falcons you should even consider starting.
Carolina Panthers
Carolina has done a great job of upgrading both their
offensive and defensive units this off-season.
Notable free agent signings include former Cincinnati LB
Landon Johnson, former Chicago/Philadelphia DT Darwin Walker, former
Seattle WR D.J. Hackett and former Chicago WR and 2nd-round
1996 Carolina draft pick Muhsin Muhammad.
In this year’s draft, the Panthers used two 1st-round
selections on RB Jonathan Stewart from Oregon (13th
overall) and OT Jeff Otah form Pittsburgh (19th overall).
Both rookies will contribute in starting roles for the
Carolina offense this year, although Stewart will likely begin the
year as the team’s #2 RB behind DeAngelo Williams.
Carolina’s additional offensive draft picks include TE Gary
Barnidge (Louisville), OG Geoff Schwartz (Oregon), and OG
Mackenzy Bernadeau (Bentley).
On defense, the Panther’s signed former Pittsburgh CB Ricardo
Colclough and former Arizona/Detroit S Terrence Holt to strengthen
the secondary.
Carolina’s defensive draft picks include CB Charles Godfrey (Iowa),
LB Dan Conner (Penn State), DT Nick Hayden (Wisconsin), and LB Hilee
Taylor (North Carolina).
Of the four, Godfrey and Conner are the most likely to step into
starting roles; where as Hayden and Taylor seem in-line for
backup/special teams duties.
Key losses for the Panthers include RB DeShaun Foster (cut)
and DE Mike Rucker (retired).
Over all Carolina has to be happy about their off-season
production. Their
upgraded roster should mean a few more wins for the club in ’08 and
the return of Jake Delhomme brings Steve Smith’s stock way up.
New Orleans Saints
The Saint’s
focused on improving a sub-par defense this off-season to remedy
their greatest weakness from last year.
In 2007, the Saints defense ranked among the worst in the
league in points allowed/game (25th with 24.3), total
yards allowed/game (26th with 348.1) and passing yards
allowed/game (30th with 245.3).
To address this problem, New Orleans traded for former Jets
LB Jonathan Vilma, re-signed DE Will Smith to a 6-year deal, added
former Carolina LB Dan Morgan, and signed former New England CB
Randall Gay. In the
draft, the Saints used their first 3 draft picks on defensive
selections DT Sedrick Ellis (Southern Cal), CB Tracy Porter
(Indiana) and DT DeMario Pressley (North Carolina State).
New Orleans offensive and special teams draft picks were made
in rounds 4,5 and 6 and include OT Carl Nick’s (Nebraska), K Taylor
Mehlhaff (Wisconsin) and WR Adrian Arrington (Michigan).
With the release of Olindo Mare, Mehlhaff is the only rookie
from the later group who will likely have a chance to compete for a
starting job. New
Orleans offense can definitely score points, but an improved defense
should mean they wouldn’t have to score 30 a game just to get a win
this year. Weekly
starters Brees, Colston, Bush and McAllister are still your best
fantasy options in New Orleans.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Of all the NFC South teams, Tampa Bay probably took the least
steps forward this off-season.
It may be that we won’t be able to see how successful this
off-season was for a year or two, but at this point I’m still
scratching my head. The
Buc’s made very few moves in the free agency market, but the ones
they did make were pretty substantial.
The most notable offensive additions for the club were former
New Orleans C Jeff Faine, former Tennessee TE Ben Troupe, former San
Francisco/Cleveland WR Antonio Bryant and former Atlanta RB Warrick
Dunn. Faine’s addition
both strengthens the Tampa Bay offensive line and takes away a key
element of a division rival.
Troupe will complement TE Alex Smith and provide another big
body on the goal line.
Dunn might be getting up there in years, but he is still an
extremely effective back who will act as an insurance policy if the
likely starter (Earnest Graham) goes down.
At this point there’s still no way of knowing if Carnell
Williams will even see the field.
The Buck’s appeared to use their 7 selections in this year’s
draft to add depth at multiple positions.
Of all their picks, it looks like only CB Aqib Talib (Kansas)
and WR Dexter Jackson (Appalachian State) will get a lot of work in
2008. Tampa Bay’s
additional draft picks included OG Jeremy Zuttah (Rutgers), DT Dre
Moore (Maryland), QB Josh Johnson (San Diego), LB Geno Hayes
(Florida State) and RB Cory Boyd (South Carolina).
My instincts tell me to not only keep away from the Buck’s
rookies, but also to stay away from the majority of Tampa Bay’s
players in this years fantasy draft.
I know there will be TD's thrown and rushing yards to account
for, but the Buck’s back field is a mess and last time I checked
they had 5 QB’s on their roster.
At this point Galloway looks like the only Buc I’d feel
comfortable taking.