In its ongoing summer series, The Pewter Report examines and ranks each position group in the NFC South. So far, we’ve documented and ranked quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends in the NFC South. Now it’s time for the NFC South offense.
quarterback
running back
wide receiver
tight end
Atlanta Falcons
Falcons RG Chris Lindstrom – Photo Credit: USA Today
Top running backs and tight ends, the Falcons rounded out the offense with the number one offensive line in the NFC South. Let’s go from best to worst. Right guard Chris Lindstrom has developed into one of the best guards in the NFL and has reached the top of the all-around record. Pro Football Focus Grade 95.0 In 2022.
Lindstrom is followed by left tackle Jake Matthews, who has been above average every year. Drew Dalman quietly emerged as a capable starter in the center of head coach Arthur Smith’s wide-zone offense, while right tackle Caleb McGary stood out as a run blocker in 2022. rice field. There’s reason to believe that both of the latter two could experience some setback in his 2023, but overall this is a solid line.
The Falcons seem unable to start Matt Hennessy after two solid years of solid play. Instead, they are opting to acquire rookie Matthew Bergeron from Syracuse. Bergeron played left tackle in college, but he’ll be making the move to the inside, where most draft analysts believe he should play.
When it comes to layer thickness, the Falcons don’t have many layers other than Hennessy. Jalen Mayfield has been a disappointing pick since being selected early in the third round of the 2021 draft. Tackles Ethan Greenwich and Josh Miles have combined for 73 snaps in their careers. Backup center Ryan Newzil has even fewer, with a total of five. The scheme the Falcons are running should help hide any flaws should one of these backups have to be used, but it could pose a problem if one has suffered multiple serious injuries. I have.
All in all, the unquestioned front 5 team and overall success the unit has sustained in 2022 bodes well for the Falcons, who have the best offensive line in the NFC South.
carolina panthers
Panthers RT Taylor Morton – Photo Credit: USA Today
The 2nd and 3rd place teams in the NFC South offensive line rankings were very close in my assessment. Ultimately, the Panthers prevailed for the same reasons I stopped thinking about the Falcons. The Panthers feature fewer question marks than the next team on this list.
At left tackle Icky Ekwonu experienced growing pains in his rookie season but eventually strong inaugural campaign Next to him are Brady Christensen and Chandler Zavala competing for the starting left guard. Assuming Zabala’s back is okay, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the job. I hold Zavala in very high esteem, and he ranks 69th on the big board overall for the 2023 Draft.
As a center, the Panthers re-signed Bradley Boseman, who came from Baltimore and had a solid first season in Carolina.
Moving down the right side of the line, Austin Corbett has been a consistent average player for the last three years. Playing next to the very good Taylor Morton should mean he continues to deliver such work.
Like Atlanta, Carolina has questionable depth, so you’ll have to rely on your health. Even if Christensen loses a left guard fight to Zabala, he could still offer four-position flexibility as a utility sixth man. Behind him Sam Tecklenberg and Cam Irving have played safe football, but Larnell Coleman and Justin McRae have not.
The Panthers can expect solid play from three of their starting lineups and good play from the fourth member of the offensive line. It’s a good result for second place in the NFC South.
Tampa Bay Bucks
Bucks RT Tristan Wirfs and C Ryan Jensen – Photo Credit: Cliff Welch/PR
Much like quarterbacks, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucks finished the season with the best offensive line in the division. The team has eschewed last year’s roster-building philosophy of bringing in veterans with relatively stable performance curves (but at greater risk of injury) and instead recruited volatile players. But realistically, any position in the Bucks’ offensive line is questionable. Some players are bigger than others, but the reality is that none of the positions are the same as last year. And that in itself is inherently risky.
Let’s take a look at the Bucks offensive line from smallest question mark to largest question mark. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs will start the match. Personally, I expect Wilfs to make a successful transition from right tackle to left tackle. However, when analyzing the unit, we cannot rule out the possibility that the transition was unsuccessful, or at least he was not. good because he was on the right side. Additionally, going from Tom Brady’s super-fast 2.29-second pitching time to Baker Mayfield’s 2.86 seconds would be an adjustment in itself.
Wirfs is next in line with Matt Failor, who has proven to be a solid commodity. Faylor provides a solid play and in combination with Wirfs forms a formidable size left flank. Failor, meanwhile, is faltering. Worst season as a pro. I think he’s played his best ball as a right tackle all the way back in his Steelers days, and he would have liked to have been in that position. But the Bucks seem happy to continue playing at left guard, where he’s played for the past two seasons.
Ryan Jensen will return to the Bucks’ starting lineup in 2023 after missing all but the team’s playoff games due to a serious knee injury early in training camp. The pros and cons to Jensen are very clear. Before his injury, he was arguably the best center in football. But he’s 32 and still in rehab from the aforementioned injury. There’s no guarantee Jensen will return to the form he had in 2020-2021 when he played at the Pro Bowl level.
Bucs RG Cody Mauch – Photo Credit: Cliff Welch/PR
The right side of the Bucks line is a legitimate concern. The team selected North Dakota State tackle Cody Mauch in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.mauk has it all athletic ability you want Dave Canales’ offensive lineman. He also has a great demeanor that should work well with the Bucks line. However, he has switched sides and moved from tackling to guard. These are not trivial migrations (explained in a moment). The Bucks are hoping for the best with Mauch, but there’s evidence that he could be a year away from being ready.
Finally, the Bucks have decided to return 2022 second-round pick Luke Guedeke to his collegiate right tackle position after an objectively disastrous 2022 season in which he attempted to move to left guard. bottom. Gaedeke showed he was at his best as a right tackle in Week 18 last year, but concerns still remain about wingspan and the tape he produced last year.
Where the Bucks outperform most teams in this division is the depth of layers they have been able to rally behind their starters. Robert Heinzee played well at center last year and was a very good workaround for Jensen’s injury. Nick Leverett similarly showed he could be a starting offensive lineman in the NFL after replacing Gaedeke as starting left guard mid-last year.
Aaron Stinney is recovering from a serious knee injury that kept him out of action last year. Stinney provided enough plays for the Bucks in 2020 and 2021 due to his small sample size. Also, Justin Skule and Brandon Walton each have some decent tapes to their name, but both are likely to get exposure over extended playing time.
Note that this unit has a very high dispersion level. In groups with multiple options, it is possible that some of the starters did not turn out the best, or that the sum of the parts was greater than the parts themselves. Even better versions of their potential. That move the Bucks to third in the NFC South as an offensive line unit. And of all the NFC South units featured here, this is the one that makes sense to land in one of four spots at the end of the year.
new orleans saints
Saints LT Taylor Penning – Photo Credit: USA Today
Once the crown jewels of the NFC South’s offensive line, the Saints now have a decent but unremarkable front. They are not without talent. 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning missed more than half of his rookie season, but finished the season strong.Penning recorded from week 15 to week 18 PFF grades are 89.5, 87.6, 79.9 and 61.0. With better health and a full year of practice, he could take another step forward and break into the NFL’s top 20 tackles.
Opposite Penning on the right is Pro Bowler Ryan Lamczyk. Ramczyk had a sluggish year in 2022 by his standards. That sluggish year was still good for him as the 13th best player in the PFF grade among offensive tackles.
The Saints should have a good feel for both the present and the future at the tackle position, but the outlook inside their line is less optimistic. Right guard Cesar Ruiz has played below average throughout his three-year career. Left guard Andras Piet has similarly disappointing since 2017.
Between them is center Eric McCoy. McCoy is playing consistently for the fourth year in a row. But it would be an omission not to mention that his play has slipped year after year since his rookie season.
The Saints have a very good backup in tackle James Hurst. He played so well in Penning’s absence early last season that many analysts wondered if the Saints should have gone the other way instead of drafting him. Beyond Penning, it’s just “Who are they?” Storm Norton has been one of the worst starters in the NFL in recent seasons. Calvin Throckmorton performed worse than Norton in less playing time. Nick Saldivelli is an interesting rookie tackle for guard converts and Alex Pilstrom is an undrafted free agency rookie.
The Saints should be able to play reasonably well from the line this year, but Interior’s lack of upside and lack of back-up depth put them fourth in the NFC South in the offensive line rankings.
final thoughts
I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to see three of the NFC South’s four lines top the league this year. Likewise, I wouldn’t be too surprised if two of the four lines were in the NFL’s bottom 10. Bucks is a true wild card. Sometimes questions are answered positively. Also, you may not like the answers provided.
A seamless transfer for Tristan Wilfs would see Ryan Jensen back in pre-injury form, Luke Guedeke making a decent right tackle as opposed to a terrible left guard, Cody Mauch playing as hard as he could, Matt Failer plays on par with his last three games average. Over the course of the season, this line could help the Bucks become a surprisingly good offense. But perhaps only two of these best-case scenarios come to fruition, with a Tampa Bay team like a top 20 unit bogged down in his NFC South division’s No. 3 spot. Thing.
