NFC South Draft Review

Atlanta Falcons: After considering the possibility of picking Glenn Dorsey with the third overall selection in 2008 and amid rumors that they might trade for Dorsey, who might not fit within the Chiefs’ new 3-4 attack, the Falcons got their potentially dominant defensive tackle in Peria Jerry with the 24th overall pick.. The Falcons wisely continued to focus on the defensive side of the ball with the next four selections, including safety Michael William Moore, who likely would have been a first-rounder if he’d come out a year early. So just as it was a new-look offense in 2008, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, the defense will take on a new dynamic in 2009. Though the division features plenty of competition, the Falcons look to be on the right track to remain in the hunt for the postseason. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers finally have figured out how to avoid the possibility of having to pay huge contracts to top-ten first-round draft picks -- for the second straight year, they traded away the next year’s first-rounder. This time around, they used it to get defensive end Everette Brown in round two, a guy who could end replacing Julius Peppers, either this year or next year. Brown unexpectedly slid out of round one; it remains to be seen whether the slide was justified. Like the Falcons, Carolina focused early on defense. Unlike the Falcons, the Panthers’ defense could be moving in the wrong direction, especially if Peppers ends up leaving. New Orleans Saints: Thanks to last year’s win-now trading splurge that brought Jonathan Vilma and Jeremy Shockey to town, the Saints had only four draft picks. They used three of them on defensive players, two of which will (for the Saints’ sake) hopefully shore up a pathetic secondary. We’re generally opposed to using draft picks on punters and kickers; when a team has only four picks, using a fifth-rounder on a punter seems like a waste. Which likely means that Thomas Morstead will become a perennial Pro Bowler. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Coach Jon Gruden is gone, but the team’s penchant for quarterbacks remains. That said, Josh Freeman is a major risk for a franchise that hasn’t had a truly high-end signal-caller since the days of Doug Williams. The Bucs didn’t have a second-rounder due to the Kellen Winslow trade. If/when the bubble gum and Scotch tape holding his knee together come apart, they might wish they’d kept the pick. But this draft all comes down to Freeman. An already restless fan base is skeptical at best, and if Freeman tanks it could be a return to the pre-Dungy days of losing records on a year-in, year-out basis.