Some folks consider the NFC South to be the best division in the NFL heading into 2017. We’ll be taking a look at each position group for each team in the division and ranking them leading up to the season, hoping to give you a better feel for the teams the Panthers will be facing twice on the schedule, as well as the hometown team itself. Check out our previous editions in which we rank the head coaches, pass catchers, and defensive line units. In this edition, we’ll rank the linebackers. The linebackers factor into both pass coverage and run stopping and have an effect on almost every play on the defensive side of the ball; a good group can alter the entire face of your defense. Even before clicking on this article, I’m sure all can take a pretty good guess at who has the best group in the NFC South. But before we get to number one, we must first start at number four.
4) Saints
Photo: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Last year, New Orleans brought in James Laurinaitis in hopes to fix their mess at linebacker, and by November, he was placed on IR after a sub-par season. Luckily, Craig Robertson played well for the Saints, racking up 70 tackles in just 15 starts.This year, the Saints brought in former Panthers backup A.J. Klein as well as Manti Te’o, in hopes to add much needed depth to the middle linebacker spot. Dannell Ellerbe and Stephon Anthony will occupy the outside, and If the Saints can stay healthy, and the linebackers can all contribute well together, they should rank in the top half of the league. Unfortunately for the linebackers, new linebackers coach and former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan does not have a lot to work with.
3) Buccaneers
Photo: Bucaneers.com
2) Falcons
Photo: John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports
The Falcons have a rising star in middle linebacker Deion Jones. The second year pro had the most tackles of any rookie (108) and had two interceptions which he returned for scores. Jones is agile and explosive, part of the next generation of linebackers, and when he is flanked with De’Vondre Campbell and Duke Riley, this young and fast squad will easily move up these rankings within the next few years. While Vic Beasley is technically a defensive end, he starts most plays standing up, so we’ll add him into this group. If Beasley can prove that he wasn’t just a one-year wonder in 2016 ( 15.5 sacks in 2016 vs. only 4 in 2015), then the Falcons may challenge for the best group in the division.
1) Panthers
Photo: Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports
This should come as a surprise to nobody as the Panthers not only have the best linebacking corp in the South, but arguably the best in the entire league, starting with the man in the middle in Luke Kuechly. Kuechly has it all – speed, power, strength, and intelligence. The former NFL Defensive Player Of The Year is all over the field on every play, a confident one-on-one tackler and pass defender, and the quarterback of the defense in the huddle. When you stack another Pro Bowler next to him in Thomas Davis Sr. and a player constantly rising every season in Shaq Thompson, the Panthers linebackers give opposing offenses long days on Sundays. As the team slowly makes the transition from Davis to Thompson, both players will be on the field at the same time for a lot of plays, which works well as they can account for each others weaknesses. For Thompson, his hybrid linebacker-safety style lends itself to excellent coverage, where Davis looked a little slower last year; for Davis, helping to teach his instincts and tackling will help Thompson to learn and grow to the elite linebacker level.
So far the position rankings have been split pretty evenly:
- Defensive Line: Carolina Panthers
- Head Coach: New Orleans Saints
- Pass Catchers: Atlanta Falcons
- Linebackers: Carolina Panthers
- Offensive Line: ?????
- Running Backs: ??????
- Secondary: ??????
- Quarterbacks: ??????
Be sure to check back soon for the next set of rankings, featuring everyone’s favorite group: The offensive line!
