NFC South
Carolina Panthers - Carolina misses the playoffs and Bryce Young regresses in a make or break season
Maybe I am just way off with the Carolina Panthers, but I just cannot buy into Bryce Young and this team further for 2026. Young played the best football of his career in 2025 but was still largely mediocre, throwing for at least 200 passing yards in just four games, going 8-8 in 16 starts.
The Panthers do have a strong offensive line, which helps, but I believe what we saw with Young in 2025 is his ceiling. With defenses being able to study Carolina's tape from 2025, Young and the offense are not able to adjust, as the entire team regresses in a non-playoff season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Baker Mayfield and the offense make a huge leap forward and finish top-10 in scoring
The entire offensive operation went off the rails for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2025 season. However, as recently, as 2024, the Buccaneers saw Baker Mayfield throw for 41 touchdown passes and 4,500 yards, and I still feel like people forget he did that.
Tampa gets back on track on offense, as the unit ranks in the top-10 in scoring, and most of the concerns with this team disappear soon after that.
Atlanta Falcons - Tua Tagovailoa wins the starting job and throws 30 touchdown passes in a career year
The Atlanta Falcons do have a nice supporting cast in place on offense for someone like Tua Tagovailoa, a solid but limited quarterback, to have a nice season. Tagovailoa not only wins the starting job, which should be feasible, but he also plays the best football of his career, throwing for 30 touchdown passes and finding his new long-term home.
New Orleans Saints - Tyler Shough finishes top-10 in passing yards and touchdowns
Tyler Shough was a clever rookie quarterback last year for the New Orleans Saints, and with the new added weapons in Jordyn Tyson and Travis Etienne, the Saints' second-year quarterback is good enough to finish in the top-10 in both passing yards and touchdowns, suddenly turning the entire NFC South into quite the competitive division in the 2026 campaign.
If these bold predictions come true, the NFC South could end up being a bloodbath, if I am being honest. The Saints also won four of five games to end the season, so this club did get a taste of what consistent winning felt like.
Add us as a preferred source on Google