Buccaneers Rankings: How the secondary rates among NFC South rivals
Since we’ve tallied the marks and seen how the Buccaneers stacked up at each level of the secondary, there’s one question remaining.
Where do they stand overall?
4. New Orleans Saints
The Saints have consistently found themselves at the bottom of these defensive rankings.
This is no different, as the secondary has some potential, but has yet to prove much.
Vonn Bell should add some ability to the secondary, and if Delvin Breaux finds health this year, then there will be growth in “The Big Easy”.
3. Carolina Panthers
While the Panthers defense has fallen off a bit since their Super Bowl appearance, no other unit has dropped as far as the secondary.
Losing Josh Norman was just the beginning.
All this being said, there’s some youthful talent on the squad, and if I’m wrong about Mike Adams then maybe we’ll see a resurgence.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last year, the Buccaneers secondary would have come in here third overall. So, there’s
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improvement.
How much improvement is still to be seen though between Mike Smith’s first and second seasons.
Fans are going to be tentative before fully supporting Chris Conte as a starting safety, and they may get their wish sooner rather than later.
Justin Evans and J.J. Wilcox will challenge for snaps, but at the end of the day, trust in Jason Licht and his coaches.
1. Atlanta Falcons
By a slim margin, the Falcons have the best secondary in the NFC South entering the 2017 season.
Once the Buccaneers figure out who their third corner will be though, things could change a bit.
Keanu Neal is a stud and should become one of the best safeties in the NFL soon.
Whether or not this unit will bring Atlanta to another Super Bowl isn’t a sure thing, but they should be able to do enough against the NFC South to keep the Falcons in the playoff race late in the year.
These are the rankings as I see them, let me know what you think in the comments, on Twitter or at walkingtheplankpodcast@gmail.com.
Then, check out the rankings for the defensive line, offensive line, quarterbacks, linebackers, and receivers!