NFC South Breakout Candidates 2015

Atlanta Falcons

Ra'Shede Hageman, DT: This is where I wish I could pick a rookie to breakout or have a way better year than his draft position. Justin Hardy, Grady Jarrett, Jalen Collins and Vic Beasley all should have huge impact years for Atlanta. Alas, here I am with Hageman. This isn't to say I'm settling for choosing Hageman. He is a great talent, and I think he'll have a very big year since he should be getting regular playing time. He is an absolute freak of an athlete for his size (6'6/320 lbs). His ceiling as a player is being one of the best interior disruptors in the NFL, and I think 2015 will be the start of him realizing that potential. He has a terrific combination of burst and power, but he was very raw coming out of college and needs to develop his technique. Dan Quinn is the perfect coach to do just that and develop what Hageman's lacking while utilizing what he has. I'm predicting at least 5 sacks for Ra'Shede, and to show clear development in his technique, which will be key to him reaching his full potential as a player.

New Orleans Saints

Kenny Vaccaro, SS: I am going down with the Vaccaro ship. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, last season was rough. He struggled in coverage, wasn't great against the run, and there were times when he just seemed lost on the field. With that being said, he had a very good rookie season, and he has loads of talent. Jairus Byrd returning will really help him, as his responsibilities on the defense will play more to his strengths while playing next to a ball hawking safety like Byrd. Vaccaro can still be an enforcer, and a playmaker for Rob Ryan's defense. I'm predicting Vaccaro and Byrd to be one of the best safety tandems in the entire NFL.

Carolina Panthers

Bené Benwikere, CB: I feel good about this breakout prediction. Benwikere was a good player last season, but he got hurt and only actually started six games for the Panthers. In his limited snaps, Benwikere showed terrific all around cornerback skills. He is extremely explosive and has terrific leaping ability to make up for his smaller frame, and he is terrific at recognizing the play off of the snap. BB should have a much bigger impact on a fairly thin Panthers secondary if he stays healthy, and he could develop into a very good NFL cornerback. Stats wise, I think he'll get at least 4 interceptions in 2015. This will be the last year where very few people know about him and you can jump on the bandwagon before he gets very good.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, TE: ASJ is in for a big year. Winston might not be an amazing quarterback right out of the gate, but going from Glennon and McCown to Jameis is a massive upgrade. Sefarian-Jenkins is a huge tight end, with a great catch radius and good athleticism too. Jameis' weapons consist of Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson and ASJ. They don't have a lot of depth behind those three guys, and Winston is going to sling the ball this season. There will be targets for ASJ to get, and he will produce with them. Alongside Evans and Jackson, those three players will make for terrific red zone targets for the Bucs new QB. I'm predicting ASJ to get 600 yards and 8 touchdowns, which would be an incredibly productive year and put him in the upper tier of tight ends.

Offseason Outlook 2015: New Orleans Saints

Offense

The Saints were not good last season. There are a lot of people that think last season will start the downfall of Drew Brees too. THIS IS NOT THE END OF DREW BREES PEOPLE! He was a lot better than given credit for last season, and for an entire Saints team that struggled, he was once again their best player. Brees did have a subpar season by his standards, but he is still elite, and until he is actually bad, then I'm not going to count him out. Apart from Brees, the Saints made a lot of changes. The most notable one is the trade of Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks. I might be crazy, okay I'm definitely crazy, but I don't think this was as lopsided of a deal as NFL analysts imply it is. Jimmy Graham is an elite tight end. Is he Gronk level elite? No, but he's the second best tight end in the NFL that's for sure. Still, the Saints upgraded their biggest weakness on offense (center) through the trade, and they got a first round pick too. Max Unger is a good center, and when he's fully healthy he can be a great one. He's going to be in the middle of what figures to be a very good offensive line for New Orleans in 2015. At left tackle, Terron Armstead should be the guy moving forward. He had a solid season, although he needs to be more consistent, and he's a young guy that should grow as a player. At left guard, the Saints first 1st round pick should start there for them Andrus Peat has a future as a good starting tackle in the NFL, but the Saints one hole on their O-line is at left guard and he should have an immediate impact and in fact has high upside at the position. At right guard, Jahri Evans returns for his 10th season with NO, and he has been a staple for them his entire career. He is extremely durable (starting all but two games in his 9 year career), and is as reliable as they come at the position. To round out the O-line, at right tackle the Saints have one of the most underrated offensive lineman in Zach Strief. He is incredibly reliable and was the Saints best offensive lineman last season. This strong offensive line will really help the Saints in changing their strategical approach as a team. By the moves they made this offseason, New Orleans seems to be leaning more towards a run-centric offense to preserve Brees' arm. In the backfield, the Saints resigned last years breakout running back, Mark Ingram. They also signed C.J. Spiller who could prove to be a huge signing. Ingram will probably be the lead back, but adding the change of pace Spiller to the mix brings a huge home run threat to go along with Ingram's hard running style. These two could quietly become a great RB tandem, so watch out. At tight end, the Saints have two players that will be key to their offense in 2015 and for entirely different reasons. First, Benjamin Watson is going to be relied upon to be an impactful blocker at the position. He has been an underrated player for years now, but his blocking has opened up a lot of opportunities in the run game, and passing game, for this Saints team in recent years. The other player the Saints will rely on at tight end in 2015 is Josh Hill. Reports say that New Orleans was willing to part with Jimmy Graham because they really believe in the talent of Hill. He won't be a Jimmy Graham, but if he can be a solid red zone option for Brees and occasionally stretch the seems, then he will be huge for this offense. At wide receiver, the Saints are not as deep as they have been in recent years. Marques Colston is getting older, and apart from Brandin Cooks they don't have a lot of talent at the position. Cooks is awesome though. He had an up and down rookie season, but he could quickly become Drew Brees' safety blanket and most reliable target if he isn't already. This offense put up the highest total yards in 2014, and were top 10 in points per game too. They are not doomed by the loss of Jimmy Graham. This is an improved O-line, and they are changing their philosophy on offense too. With the shift to a more run focused offense, this should cut down on the turnovers, and actually help them score more. I think this offense will be a top 7 offense in the NFL next season, and their new approach will work wonders. Brees will also have a terrific season again, and even though I don't think he will throw for 5,000 yards or 40 touchdowns, he will be more efficient then he has been in recent years.

Defense

This defense has nowhere to go but up in 2015. They were the 5th worst defense in 2014 after a season in which they were the 4th best defense in 2013. Just based off of them not making a lot of roster changes on defense, there is enough talent for them to succeed. On the defensive line, Cameron Jordan leads a young, improving group. Jordan had an up and down year in 2014 after a really strong 2013, so hopefully he can capture his 2013 form again next season. John Jenkins or Brodrick Bunkley will be the starting nose tackle. Both of those players are average starters, but nothing incredible should be expected out of them. Opposite Jordan, Akiem Hicks is entering his fourth season, and he has proven to be a solid player for them. This linebacker group has gone through some change this offseason. The Saints drafted Stephone Anthony at the end of the first round. He should be a solid player straight out of the gate, but I didn't have him as a great ILB, I think he's an above average player at best. He should still be an upgrade over Curtis Lofton though, and they also traded for Dannell Ellerbe to play alongside Anthony. Ellerbe wasn't great last season, but he has talent and a change of scenery could really benefit him. At the edge rusher position, New Orleans has added depth to a group that just had Junior Galette as a good player last season. This offseason, they signed Anthony Spencer to a prove it deal, and if he reaches his ceiling he could be a game changer for them. He's a great pass rusher, and he could take a lot of pressure off of Galette. The Saints also added Hau'oli Kikaha through the draft, and he should be a key cog in their pass rushing rotation next season. In the secondary, this team is coming off of an atrocious year yet they have a lot of talent. They signed Jairus Byrd in the 2014 offseason, but he didn't play a down for them last season because of injury. Byrd will have a huge impact on a defense that is really missing that ball hawking free safety. Beside Byrd, Kenny Vaccaro is coming off of a bad year, but in 2013 he showed a lot of promise and still has a ton of talent. Vaccaro will definitely have to prove himself in 2015, but I believe he can still do that. At cornerback, the Saints signed Brandon Browner to pair with Keenan Lewis. This should be a big physical duo and an upgrade from 2014, although they still aren't an elite pair. This defense should be solid. Chances are it will fall somewhere in the middle of the 2013 and 2014 ranking, which is enough for Saints fans to be excited about. If this defense is league average, then the Saints have a very good chance to compete as their offense will be very good. The added edge rushers will really help this defense alleviate the pressure off of the secondary, and getting Jairus Byrd back from injury is a huge addition to the team. They had a lot of trouble stopping both the pass and the run, and the additions at ILB and OLB should benefit this team in the near future. I expect a middle of the pack finish, although there is more talent than there 2013 roster so a top 5 finish wouldn't be the most shocking thing in the world either.

This Saints team has a lot of questions. They have gone through a lot of changes and are coming off of a bad year. With that being said, if they are a top 3 team in the NFL next season, that would not shock me one bit. There is so much talent and history of this team, with this roster, doing great things. Rob Ryan needs to fix this defense. That should be the first priority, and the draft and free agency have been indicators that the Saints are really trying to do just that. I think the signing of Anthony Spencer could be a very impactful one, and I also think that the change in philosophy on offense is for the best. I still think the Saints are going to go through their fair share of struggles, as is what usually happens when making big philosophical changes to a team. I think they will finish second in the NFC South and have a shot at the wild card, but ultimately miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

2015 NFL Draft Review

The NFL draft was this past weekend, and this year, was actually fairly predictable. At least round 1 was. While many people were hoping for a trade with the 2nd overall pick (including me), the Titans stood pat and drafted Marcus Mariotoh, as Roger Goodell would say. A few picks really did stand out to me in the first round of the NFL draft, in both positive and negative ways.

New York Giants - Ereck Flowers, OG/OT
This was the biggest shock to me in the first half of the first round, and that includes Todd Gurley to the Rams. Sure the need of O-line was there, and a lot of people think the value was there too. I'm not one of them. It wasn't an insane reach either way, but there was a clear divide of talent in the first round. Universally, there were about 10 players, give or take a few, that were elite, blue-chip talents. The Giants had the 9th pick and they had a chance to get one of these players whether it was Todd Gurley or Devante Parker. Both of those picks would have filled needs too, especially because Victor Cruz' status is up in the air a bit, and both of those picks would have helped Eli too. This wasn't an awful pick in any means, and I'm sure that's noticeable because no analyst has really bashed this pick. Yet there were better picks on the board for the Giants, and if they are going to play Ereck Flowers at guard too, then they could easily have waited until the second or third round when the value lined up with the pick.

Kansas City Chiefs - Marcus Peters, CB
This was a steal. The only reason I'm not shaming the Minnesota Vikings for picking Trae Waynes over Marcus Peters is because I'm scared of Mike Zimmer since he will obviously turn any defensive player into a star. Back to KC though, if Marcus Peters can focus on football, this is potentially the best pick in the entire draft. Peters has the size, speed, athleticism, explosiveness, ball skills, smooth hips and toughness to become a top 5 cornerback in the NFL. Kansas City has quickly rebuilt their secondary and their defense as a whole looks pretty deadly now. With Dontari Poe, Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, Marcus Peters, Sean Smith, Eric Berry (hopefully medically everything will be okay with him), and a lot of other solid players, they have a very threatening defense to go along with their offense. Great pick by the Chiefs.

Denver Broncos - Shane Ray, DE
Elephant in the room, let's get it out of the way. Shane Ray is a very good player, the value for the Broncos was great. That being said, what the hell Denver? Let's look at the Broncos current position, they have Peyton Manning for another year, maybe two. With how they have built their roster, it looks like they are going all out to win a Super Bowl before Manning retires. So what is the point to pick a pass rusher that will have to compete with Von Miller and Demarcus Ware for snaps when they should be trying to protect Manning or give him more weapons. The Broncos offensive line last year was not good. The Broncos could easily have picked D.J. Humphries, who was picked next by the Cardinals, to fill a void left by Orlando Franklin and even give a boost in pass protection. That would have been good value, and filled their biggest need. They did pick Ty Sambrailo with their second round pick, but there O-line still needs work and on top of that they didn't address the running back position at all in the draft. To sum up, good value, very confusing pick.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Bud Dupree, OLB
Depending on how the Steelers handle Dupree's development, this was a steal. The last few years the Steelers have had one mission. Get younger, faster, and more athletic on defense. They are accomplishing that. Between Cameron Heyward, Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones, Cortez Allen, and now Bud Dupree, there is talent on the Steelers defense. Now to focus on Bud Dupree, he is a very talented player. There was talk of Bud Dupree going top 10 before the draft, and the Steelers stayed where they were and got him at 22. He is a big and strong player, lacks a certain amount of consistency, but he landed in a terrific spot with the Steelers. He is extremely explosive, and this was a steal for a team that has a history of developing talented defensive players into stars.

New Orleans Saints - Stephone Anthony, ILB
The Saints had an interesting draft. I completely understand the direction they are trying to take with their team, and with Brees getting up there in age, it could pay off huge. I just did not like this pick at all. I thought there were 4 better inside linebackers then Stephone Anthony still on the board. Anthony is fairly raw in his technique, and he also has questionable instincts. Now that's not to say it's all bad, he's a heck of an athlete and he can grow into a great cover linebacker, which is a big need in the current passing NFL. If they were set on going ILB, I think Eric Kendricks would have been a better choice, or Benardrick McKinney. It is also a confusing pick because the Saints do have quite a few needs across the board. Malcolm Brown would have been a great pick, covering a big need as they need talent on defense and getting a very good value too. Or they could have drafted Randy Gregory which would have been huge for their defense giving Junior Galette a partner in crime to rush the passer.