The NFC South had Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay finish with 10 wins or more last season, and even though the Panthers did their best to play catch up with the rest of the division by drafting a potential star franchise quarterback in Cam Newton first overall, the other three teams all got considerably stronger on Thursday night's first round of the NFL Draft.
Carolina had to take Newton or risk being lapped by the Saints, Falcons and Buccaneers at the game's most important position -- each of them have top-flight passers in Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman.
As the Panthers made the move to breathe life in their passing game, Atlanta raised its budding offense another notch by boldly going after a great wide receiver prize, Julio Jones.
The Bucs, who needed to boost both their run defense and pass rush, added end Adrian Clayborn who should fit very nicely at with two good 2010 draft picks at defensive tackle, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price.
The Saints followed the Falcons in being aggressive in the trade-up game. With a crowded backfield, it would seem Mark Ingram wasn't needed, but the team's first Heisman-winning back since Ricky Williams is the ideal red-zone finisher for their high-flying offense. Their other first-round pick yielded a pass rusher whom defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will love: Cameron Jordan. They also got great values with where they drafted each player, 28th and 24th, respectively.
This division figures to be much more competitive in 2011 as it just got a lot more talented.
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