Ranking the NFC South receiving corps as training camp nears

It’s no secret, the NFC South is a division that is loaded with offensive weapons all over the place. In fact, it is probably the deepest and most talented division across the NFL in terms of offensive skill players.

One position that comes to mind that is loaded, is the wide receivers. A legitimate argument can be made that three of the top five receivers in the NFL have homes in the NFC South.

Below, I will rank the receiving corps of all four teams in the NFC South.

4. Carolina Panthers: I know. I just said that every team has insane talent and depth at the position, but I lied, just a little bit. The Panthers don’t really have that true #1 receiver like the rest of the teams in the South, but they do have a bunch of solid #2 and #3 options, starting with Chris Hogan and D.J. Moore. Obviously, you have to factor in Christian McCaffrey because of his receiving ability, but it still isn’t enough to put them ahead of the other three teams.

3. New Orleans Saints: If it wasn’t for Michael Thomas, who has quickly emerged as a top five receiver in the league, the Saints would have a pretty ugly position group. With that being said, year in and year out it seems like undrafted rookies or players cut by other teams come to the Saints and make a name for themselves. Soon to be Hall Of Famer Drew Brees is a massive part of that, but guys like Ted Ginn Jr, Cameron Meredith and Tre’Quan Smith just seem to fit in the offense with their skill set.

Every week there seems to be a “who is that?” moment with the Saints offense, but the guys just make it work and you have to give credit where credit is due. If the Saints find a true #2 receiver in the coming years to pair with Michael Thomas, it’s going to be extremely fun to watch.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It’s close. Actually, it’s very close between the Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons, but I give the slight edge to Atlanta. Some may say, how can a trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Breshad Perriman not be the best in a division, but they aren’t. The three will have an electric season under Bruce Arians and all will most likely put up massive numbers, but it isn’t the best and that says a lot.

This is how I rank the two teams top three. Julio>Evans, Godwin>Ridley, Sanu>Perriman.

With that being said, the Buccaneers trio is a top five group in the league, but the Falcons have a slight edge.

1. Atlanta Falcons: I sort of explained it before, but Atlanta has the slight edge. Jones, is considered by many as a top three receiver in the league, Ridley is coming off an electric rookie season and Sanu has been doing it for a long time in this league. I also really like Justin Hardy as the teams fourth receiver.

It will be fun to revisit this topic throughout the season because the Buccaneers have a chance to reclaim that #1 spot if guys like Justin Watson and BoBo Wilson step up as the fourth and fifth options on the team.