Every Wednesday from now until preseason I’ll be going through each position group in the NFC South. I’ll rank them from worst to first.

Where best to kick things off than with the most important position on the field?

And that’s quarterback.

The division has experienced a ton of turnover recently at the position. None of the players set to start in 2024 were on their team’s rosters even two years ago. Go back to 2022 and the Bucs were led by Tom Brady, the Saints were relying on Jameis Winston, the Panthers made a late off-season play for Baker Mayfield and the Falcons were trying to revive the career of Marcus Mariota.

But well, well, well … how the turntables!

Quarterback

4. Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young

Andy Dalton

Jack Plummer

Bucs ILB JJ Russell and Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by: USA Today

To qualify Bryce Young’s rookie season as anything other than a disaster would be charitable at best and dishonest at worst. With a poor supporting cast and a midseason coaching change, Young was set up for failure. This led to Young leading a passing attack that threw under 10 yards per air attempt over 2/3 of the time and resulted in an anemic 5.5 yards per attempt.

One of Young’s best traits coming out of Alabama was his pocket navigation and ability to void pressure. That ability evaporated in his rookie season as he was sacked a quarter of the time he was pressured. But not everything was terrible for Young. He was a Top 10 passer last year in attempted throws in the intermediate middle of the field. He also protected the ball well only with only 3.3% of his throws being classified as turnover-worthy by Pro Football Focus.

Behind Young is the best backup in the division. Andy Dalton has been a backup who is objectively better than the starter he is behind for two years now. After winning the starter’s job from an injured Jameis Winston in New Orleans in 2022, Dalton made a spot-start for an also-injured Young last year and threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns.

The journeyman quarterback most likely would be the best option for the Panthers to win this year. But considering the assets the organization has sunk into the Young pick, and the fact that they are in an obvious rebuild mode, Dalton will only be called upon in the event of another injury to their young franchise signal-caller.

Jack Plummer is an undrafted rookie who spent time with Purdue and Cal before finishing his collegiate career at Louisville. He threw for almost 10,000 yards and 68 touchdowns across five seasons.

3. New Orleans Saints

Derek Carr

Jake Haener

Spencer Rattler

Saints QB Derek Carr – Photo by: USA Today

The Saints were barely edged out for the number two spot on this list by the next team. New Orleans is led by veteran quarterback Derek Carr, who is entering the second year of a four-year deal. Despite solid counting stats including 3,878 passing yards and 25 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, Carr struggled throughout the year as the Saints offense failed to find a rhythm throughout most of the year.

There were times where Carr and his teammates were visibly upset with each other, and the 33-year-old veteran took his fair share of beatings as he battled through an A/C joint sprain, two subsequent shoulder injuries and two concussions. Carr took care of the ball with less than 15 turnover-worthy plays, but he logged the fewest big time throws of his career since 2019. With scant-few resources to bolster his supporting cast I predict regression from Carr in 2024.

There should be a competition to see who backs up Carr between 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Haener and 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler. Rattler has better name-value, but Haener has a higher draft pedigree and a year of experience in the NFL. Still, between the two they have not attempted a professional pass.

2. Tampa Bay Bucs

Baker Mayfield

Kyle Trask

John Wolford

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Led by a newly re-signed and resuscitated Baker Mayfield, the Bucs jump a spot from where I had them ranked last year. Mayfield made several strides last year. Most notably he had his second-best sack-to-pressure rate of his career per Pro Football Focus. Mayfield also threw the third-fewest interceptions of his career, although his turnover-worthy play rate was in-line with his career average.

What should be encouraging for Bucs fans is that their quarterback did all of this without his patented deep-ball success. An area Mayfield normally excelled at was conspicuously absent from his game in 2023 as he and his receivers failed to connect consistently. Mayfield was the least accurate qualifying quarterback in the NFL last year on passes of 20+air yards. If he can find his rhythm with his receiving targets this year it legitimately unlocks a new ceiling for him and the Bucs offense.

Behind Mayfield the Bucs have former second-round pick Kyle Trask. He has just 10 regular season drop backs to his name, with all but one of them coming in the second half of a 2022-week 18 game against the Falcons. Third-string quarterback John Wolford has more professional experience than Trask. He also has experience in new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s offense from their time together in Los Angeles.

1. Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins

Michael Penix Jr.

Taylor Heinecke

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins – Photo by Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins leads the way here. He has the most extensive and impressive statistical resume. He was on his way to one of the best seasons of his career in 2023 before a torn Achilles tendon ended his campaign prematurely. While Cousins’ lack of playoff success has been well-documented, he has been consistently a Top 10 quarterback in the NFL by any objective measure for the past six years. With adjusted completion percentages routinely in the high 70s to low 80s and one of the higher big-time throw rates in the NFL, Cousins is the most formidable quarterback in the division provided he is healthy.

Michael Penix Jr. was a surprising pick for the Falcons as it doesn’t mate up well in terms of timeline with the Cousins signing. But it is undeniable that he provides the team with a high-ceiling backup. Atlanta is clearly hedging all of its bets, including the one they made that Cousins’ Achilles will be ready for opening day this year.

Few teams can boast the starting experience the Falcons have at the third-string position. Taylor Heinecke has 29 career starts and famously almost out-dueled Tom Brady in a playoff matchup back in 2020. The talent and experience the Falcons have behind a very good starter in Cousins give Atlanta the divisional edge at quarterback.