NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker, LB
The Falcons are putting a ton of pressure on the young guys in their program, including 2024 second-round pick Ruke Orhorhoro on the interior and rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to who could be the sack leader on this team. Maybe it will be Arnold Ebiketie. One way or another, this team needs an infusion of pass rusher and Jalon Walker was one of the best in this year’s rookie class at getting to the QB.
Carolina Panthers: Nic Scourton, EDGE
The NFC South has a couple of defenses in which young players are going to be leaned on very early in their NFL careers. The Panthers traded away Brian Burns last year and turned to a couple of sleepers on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft to try and effectively replace him. It didn’t happen with any of their additions last year, but second-round pick Nic Scourton could compete with fellow Day 2 pick Princely Umanmeilen (3rd round) to lead this team in sacks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Haason Reddick, LB
The Buccaneers are going to be relying on their incumbents to provide most of the pass rush production this coming season. They’re always going to get production out of guys like Vita Vea and Kalijah Caney on the interior, but who will step up on the outside with as much havoc as those guys cause? Haason Reddick is going to be determined to prove himself as one of the elite sack artists in the game but YaYa Diaby got to the quarterback a bunch last year as well (20 QB hits).
New Orleans Saints: Chase Young, EDGE
The New Orleans Saints gave Chase Young a three-year, $51 million contract this offseason, and the expectation is going to be for him to reach that double-digit sack potential he’s always had. The closest he’s ever come to doing it is 7.5 sacks, which he’s done twice. Still, the Saints invested a big-money deal in Young because he finally had a bit of a breakthrough last year with a career-high 21 QB hits. Can he turn those hits into sacks, or at least a chunk of them?