Discussion of First Round Possibilities NFC South

[Jets Global]

Carolina Panthers hold the 6th selection
Atlanta Falcons hold the 8th selection
New Orleans Saints trade and have two 1sts 16th and 19th selections
Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the 27th selection

This is an attempt to better understand the ideals of which direction all four of these teams could go with their 1st round picks. Will also explore trade up or trade down scenarios for each team.

Do the Carolina Panthers draft a QB or OL with the 6th pick? Malik Willis or Evan Neal?
Do the Atlanta Falcons draft a QB, EDGE or CB with the 8th pick? Matt Corral, George Karlaftis or Ahmad Gardner?
Do the Saints trade up with both picks to target Malik Willis? Possibility is high.
Do the Saints sit back and take Matt Corral or Sam Howell along with Trevor Penning or Tyler Smith?
Do the Buccaneers new HC lobby for a new safety which he actually needs? Lewis Cine, UGA or Jaquan Brisker PSU?

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Carolina Panthers
2022 Draft Picks
Round 1: No. 6 overall
Round 4: No. 137 (from Rams through Texans)
Round 5: Nos. 144 (from Jaguars), 149
Round 6: No. 199 (from Raiders)
Round 7: No. 242 (from Patriots through Dolphins)

Team needs
Offense
Outside of the quarterback position, the Panthers could use one of their many Day 3 picks to add more depth at the offensive line. They also could opt to draft a wide receiver for the second-straight year after taking Terrace Marshall Jr. in the third round in 2021.

Defense
The Panthers need to grab themselves another edge rusher with Haason Reddick departing in free agency for the Philadelphia Eagles. It also wouldn’t hurt for them to draft another LB and adding a young safety to pair with Jeremy Chinn for the future.

Dream first pick
Malik Willis, QB — Liberty
If you are the Panthers, you are hoping that Malik Willis falls to No. 6 overall and becomes that franchise quarterback for them. If Willis goes to Carolina, it could allow them to trade Darnold for another pick or hold onto as a backup. In a division that has Tom Brady, Jameis Winston, and now Marcus Mariota. The Panthers need to find their guy and Willis could be that guy, who can ignite some life into that offense.

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Atlanta Falcons
2022 Draft Picks
Round 1: No. 8 overall
Round 2: Nos. 43, 58 (from Titans)
Round 3: Nos. 74, 82 (from Colts)
Round 4: No. 114
Round 5: No. 151
Round 6: Nos. 190, 213

Team needs
Offense
The Falcons are certainly going to need a quarterback with Ryan moving on to Indianapolis. The team also could use a running back to help out Cordarrelle Patterson deal with an excessive workload that he saw last season. He was fantastic, but that workload could take a toll on him down the stretch of a season. They’re also in need of a dynamic wide receiver after Calvin Ridley was suspended for a year for betting on NFL games.

Defense
The team could definitely use a replacement at middle linebacker for Foyesade Oluokun, who led the NFL in tackles a season ago. They also need a good edge rusher or two. The Falcons sacked the opposing quarterback just 18 times last season, by far the fewest number of times in the league.

Dream first pick
Jermaine Johnson II, EDGE — Florida State
After serving as a rotational player at Georgia, Johnson transferred to FSU and had an incredible one season as a starter. he finished the 2021 season with 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. He also forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble for a TD and deflected two passes.

Having that kind of production in just one year as a starter had him skyrocket up draft boards. He may be a bit of a project with such little playing time under his belt, but he has the strength, size and athleticism to be a top-tier pass rusher in the NFL.

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New Orleans Saints
2022 Draft Picks
Round 1: Nos. 16 and 19 (from Eagles)
Round 2: No. 49
Round 3: No. 98
Round 4: No. 120
Round 5: No. 161
Round 6: No. 194 (from Eagles)
Round 7: N/A

Team needs
Offense
A healthy Michael Thomas would have helped the Saints offense last season, but an ankle injury kept him out of action all year. Even with a healthy Thomas, the Saints need another big time player on the opposite side. They didn’t have the cap room to keep left tackle Terron Armstead around this year, so that’s another huge void the team will have to fill. Help on the interior line is another need. Quarterback is another need in the draft, but with Winston and Taysom Hill’s contract restructured, it looks like the Saints aren’t thinking about using their first-rounder on a signal caller.

Defense
As good as the Saints defense was last season, they could still use depth at cornerback and on the defensive line.

Dream first pick
Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
A wideout coming off a torn ACL might scare the Saints away given their troubles with Michael Thomas, but Williams should be good to go by the mid point of the season, if not sooner. Williams is a big play waiting to happen with the speed to burn the tightest defenses. He has the kind of hands that makes quarterbacks look even better than they are.

Dream second pick
Trevor Penning, OT Northern Iowa
When asked to use three words to describe his style of play at the NFL combine, Penning responded, “Physical. Nasty. Prick.” That shows up on tape, as Penning is coming off a 99.9 PFF run-blocking grade in his final season at Northern Iowa. He’s not going to replace what Terron Armstead offered at left tackle, but Penning would create an imposing run-blocking tandem at tackle with Ryan Ramczyk already in place on the right side.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2022 Draft Picks
Round 1: No. 27 overall
Round 2: No. 60
Round 3: No. 91
Round 4: No. 133
Round 7: Nos. 248, 261

Team needs
Offense
The Bucs quickly plugged holes in their interior offensive line by re-signing Ryan Jensen and trading for Shaq Mason. But they still need another starting guard protecting their 45-year-old quarterback and opening running lanes. They did re-sign Leonard Fournette, their starting running back, but they need backup help at the position. With an overload of tight ends last season, the Bucs currently have only Cameron Brate on the roster. There’s a chance that Rob Gronkowski could still come back, but they have to think about the long-term here too. Speaking of long-term thinking, it’s pretty obvious that Brady’s not going to play forever, so it’s probably time to start thinking about his eventual replacement.

Defense
Help on the defensive line is the top priority here. Jason-Pierre Paul and Ndamukong Suh are free agents. Those three represent 8.5 sacks from last season.

Dream first pick
Lewis Cine, Safety Georgia
Cine is an explosive safety who made a lot of plays for Georgia the past two seasons and turned in a terrific Combine workout. He’s a natural center fielder with outstanding length. Cine offers legitimate starting potential on Sundays. With Todd Bowles now the head man for the Buccaneers he could very well fill the void left by Jordan Whitehead by taking the National Champion Bulldog safety Cine with the 27th pick.

 

[Tinstar]

Impressive work .