Josh Frey’s 2025 NFL Standings Predictions: NFC South
The NFL season is fast approaching now that teams have trimmed their rosters down to 53 players.
With that in mind, let’s take a look across the league and break down every division. Today, we continue that process with predictions for the NFC South.
AFC East predictions
NFC East predictions
AFC North predictions
NFC North predictions
AFC South predictions
NFL Standings Predictions: NFC South
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-6)
Tampa Bay has owned the NFC South division so far this decade, and it probably won’t be changing this year. Baker Mayfield has successfully resurrected his career with Todd Bowles as his head coach, and he will need another big year with Jalen McMillan sidelined for most of the year due to injury.
Defensively, the Buccaneers will be relying on growth from a number of young players to find success. Particularly off the edge, Tampa Bay needs big years from names like Chris Braswell and Yaya Diaby opposite of Hasson Reddick after David Walker suffered a torn ACL during training camp.
2. Atlanta Falcons (9-8)
The Falcons were hindered last year by the Kirk Cousins experiment, which has gone disastrously for Atlanta. In his final eight starts before being benched for Michael Penix, Cousins threw for 1910 yards, nine touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Falcons scored 34, 24, and 38 points in Penix’s three starts to finish the season. The young QB still needs to get more accurate before the Falcons can really be considered playoff contenders, but this year could be the start of an upward turn in Atlanta.
3. Carolina Panthers (6-11)
The Carolina Panthers saw some big improvements from Bryce Young down the stretch of his second NFL season. Over his final six starts of 2024, the Panthers may have gone 2-4, but Young totaled 1320 passing yards for 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Carolina may have gotten rid of Adam Thielen via trade and cut Hunter Renfrow, but the offense could get better this season after the Panthers took Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth overall pick. If Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette can live up to their new roles in the offense, Carolina could be a sneaky group. The offensive line remained in place too after seeing vast improvements in 2024.
4. New Orleans Saints (3-14)
The New Orleans Saints are a cesspool of aging players and uncertainty at the quarterback position. Spencer Rattler is going to start the year under center, but in six starts last season, the Saints went 0-6 and he threw for just 1317 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions in seven total games.
Alvin Kamara will have to do a lot to stabilize this offense, but how much can the Saints really put on their 30-year-old running back before injuries become an issue? He has missed at least three games in three of the past four seasons. There are some talented pieces here like Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave at the wide receiver position, but the Saints won’t be competing much in 2025.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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