2026 NFL Draft Focus: NFC South

Every team in the NFC South has its long-term quarterback. Now they just need to build around those QBs. Ian Stuart Martin covers which prospects fit each team’s needs.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints took a gamble on older quarterback prospect Tyler Shough last year. That gamble has paid off. Shough has stepped up and looks ready to fill the role that’s been empty since Drew Brees retired. Head Coach Kellen Moore and GM Mickey Loomis have several intriguing prospects available at pick 8. 

Makai Lemon (WR, USC)

At 5’11⅛”, 192 lbs., Makai Lemon leverages his elite acceleration and competitive fire to secure catches with great hands. Lemon is a wide receiver first, athlete second. He isn’t the fastest, biggest, strongest, or tallest. But he is one of the toughest. Lemon lives for yards after the catch. 503 of his 1,156 yards this past year came after the catch. Who needs a large catch radius when every ball thrown is nearly guaranteed to be caught? Lemon dropped only two passes all year. He is an elite talent.

Chris Olave can’t be the sole focus of defenses. Juwan Johnson is a great receiving tight end who helps, but the other two projected starting wide receivers aren’t scheme-shifters. Mason Tipton is a return specialist, and Devaughn Vele has flashes but got injured and only managed 293 yards last year. The Saints could use a speedy, sure-handed bulldog in the slot like Makai Lemon.

David Bailey (EDGE, Texas Tech)

At 6’3⅝”, 251 lbs., with 33¾” arms, David Bailey is a pure pass-rusher. He has an incredible first step, blazing speed, great bend, and reads offensive linemen well. Bailey’s speed is one of football’s top weapons. His entire game is based on the threat of him catching a tackle flat-footed. He uses this to great effect: 14.5 sacks and 19.5 TFLs are the result of developing his long-arm and spin move. However, he lacks enough lower-body strength to continue his rush if a tackle gets solid contact on him. Additionally, his size has made him solely reliant on technique to win in the run game.

The Saints scheme should maximize Bailey. They’re projected to use a 3-4 scheme, and putting Bailey at outside linebacker gives him the biggest runway to spin up his engines. Currently, the Saints’ primary edges are a resurgent Chase Young and soon-to-be-30 Carl Granderson. Beyond that, they have no developed rotational rushers, so if either goes down, the Saints need Bailey. Over time, Bailey could add weight, evolve his game further, and join elite company. At minimum, he’s a scary third-down pass-rusher who will run up the sack count.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Head Coach Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht had the Bucs playing like true contenders at the start of last year. However, injuries at almost every position caused the hot start to sputter. Baker Mayfield is in the last year of his deal, and with a roster this good, they need contributors from this year’s draft. At pick 15, several pro-ready prospects stand out.

Akheem Mesidor (EDGE, Miami)

Mesidor is the most technically refined player in the draft. At 6’3”, 259 lbs., he’s an older prospect at 25 years old. The room for growth is small, but Mesidor already has a long list of pass-rush moves developed over his long college career. He also brings versatility and experience along the defensive line, having started as a nose tackle at West Virginia.

The Bucs need more juice on their defensive line. Free-agent addition Al-Quadin Muhammad, veteran nose tackle Vita Vea, and one-year rental A’Shawn Robinson are all 31 years old. Yaya Diaby has developed well but is still coming into his own. Calijah Kancey is good but has been nagged by injuries, including losing most of last year to a pectoral tear. Mesidor is a floor-raising prospect who can shift along the line, produce immediately, and be the glue bringing together this talented but flawed defensive front. 

Jermod McCoy (CB, Tennessee)

Jermod McCoy has the highest ceiling of any cornerback in this draft. He might even have the highest floor. However, an ACL tear in January 2025 wiped out his junior season. Not returning to football in 2025 could signal his knee is still a concern, or it could mean he focused on fully recovering. Looking at what McCoy was before the injury, the Bucs must take that gamble and add him to a young, growing cornerback room.

At 6’0¾”, 188 lbs., with 31¼” arms, McCoy is a lengthy, smooth press corner. He has the speed, change of direction, acceleration, and, most importantly, fluidity to stick to even the shiftiest wide receivers. McCoy needs to develop his instincts and play recognition further if the Bucs plan on using him in zone. But at minimum, with a fully healed knee, he can take the hardest assignments and free up the Bucs' elite safeties to roam and show off.

Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young has arrived and shown why he was selected first overall. Last year, with a conservative passing game, Young helped lead the Panthers to the playoffs. Head Coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan need to build on this momentum and add splashy prospects at pick 19.

Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State)

The Panthers’ signing of safety Tre'von Moehrig brought much-needed physicality, tough tackling, and blitzing to the position. However, Moehrig struggled in coverage without a solid running mate. Free-agent addition Nick Scott is a solid veteran safety, but adding Caleb Downs would elevate the entire defense. Downs is a complete safety, with good, not great, athleticism, but great body control and physicality. He can also fill in as a linebacker or nickel corner, with the IQ and instincts to hunt the ball from anywhere on the field.

Downs is one of the top prospects in the class at 5’11⅝”, 206 lbs. He has well-developed instincts, play recognition, and body control for a 21-year-old. Downs, Moehrig, and top free-agent linebacker Devin Lloyd would help turn around a middling run defense at the second level. In the passing game, Downs’ communication, IQ, and versatility allow the Panthers to run a more exotic defense with feints and post-snap rotations. The Panthers would need to trade up to acquire Downs. However, because of the positional value of safety, he may slip far enough that trading up becomes more tempting than juicy turkey on Thanksgiving.

Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon)

The Panthers need more receiving threats for Bryce Young to develop further. They found their WR1 in last year’s first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan. Xavier Legette has been disappointing, but should be given more time to develop and turn it around. An area to upgrade without pushing out developing receivers is tight end. They already have diverse skillsets at the position, but adding 6’3⅛”, 241 lb. Oregon product Kenyon Sadiq would elevate the offense.

With his athleticism, Sadiq could transition full-time to wide receiver. Running a 4.39 forty and jumping a 43.5” vertical at 241 lbs. is truly special. However, Sadiq is more than a big-bodied red-zone threat. He has legit receiver skills with positionally great route running and sure hands. This isn’t to suggest Sadiq should actually convert. Don’t discount him as a tight end, Sadiq is a solid blocker. He can still be overpowered because of his lean size, but with time and coaching, he can become a top tight end in the league.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons traded this year’s first-round pick to get another first-rounder in the last draft. That limits what new Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and new GM Ian Cunningham can do to build around Michael Penix Jr. And if Penix is slow to recover from his ACL tear last year, new addition Tua Tagovailoa is looking to prove the Dolphins wrong. With the 48th overall pick, several prospects fit the Falcons’ needs.

Christen Miller (DT, Georgia)

At 6’3¾”, 321 lbs., with 33” arms, 21-year-old Christen Miller has the standard build of a defensive tackle. In fact, a lot of Miller’s game is standard. He isn’t elite at any single trait or skill, but he’s good to great at everything. Georgia tends to develop solid tackles like Miller. He’s a solid run-stuffing tackle with good hands, good block-shedding, and a good feel for exploiting gaps. He can play at nose or at 2i. He has a set of basic but well-polished pass-rush moves that will generate pressure at the next level.

The Falcons need a player like Miller for their defensive front. With the loss of nose tackle David Onyemata to the Jets, they lost a core piece of their run defense. Miller has the size and athleticism to step in as a high-floor run-stuffing replacement. Without a veteran defensive tackle on the roster, Miller can earn his playing time early and work on developing further. His jack-of-all-trades profile means he can grow in multiple areas. He could add more pass-rush moves or refine his anchor to become the primary nose tackle. He has so many versatile ways to contribute that his consistent standard could set the standard for the Falcons’ defensive line.

Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, UCF)

The Falcons’ standout 2025 rookie James Pearce Jr. is questionable moving forward because of legal issues. Even if Pearce returns, Jalon Walker is the only other long-term edge on the roster. UCF’s Malachi Lawrence is a solid pass-rusher with elite tools to develop. At 6’4⅜”, 253 lbs., with 33⅝” arms, Lawrence is a long, speedy edge with well-developed pass-rush moves. Early on, Lawrence was seen as a second-to-third-rounder. Then he went to the combine. A 4.52 forty, 40” vertical, and 10’10” broad jump are all elite for the position and point to even more room to grow.

Lawrence is a long-term project. His pursuit is amazing, but he has a missed-tackle issue. His frame appears at its limit for adding muscle and weight. He struggles with handling power runs and gets pushed aside. He will need to improve his run defense before he can move beyond being a rotational edge. However, with explosiveness not only on tape but in testing, he can work on his technique and finesse to become a solid run-stuffer. The Falcons have a proven head coach in Kevin Stefanski; handing him high-upside prospects to manage and develop is the blueprint for success in Atlanta.