Why the Atlanta Falcons will dominate the NFC South in near future

The Atlanta Falcons have not won the NFC South division title since the 2016 NFL season—five straight seasons without a division title.

The Saints followed the Falcons with four straight titles, followed by the Buccaneers taking the crown last year, but in the near future the Atlanta Falcons will take over the division.

Out of all the teams in the NFC South, the Falcons are best set up for the future

It does not take an expert to proclaim that the Falcons will probably not win the NFC South in 2022, they just do not have the talent quite yet, not to mention the Buccaneers got Tom Brady back which should make them the favorite, but they are well on their way to becoming the favorites in the future.

The Falcons may have hit the reset button recently but you can still see this roster taking shape. They have already established young superstars in A.J. Terrell, Chris Lindstrom, and Kyle Pitts. Really good veterans in Cordarrelle Patterson, Jake Matthews, Casey Hayward, and Grady Jarrett. Young talent with guys like Desmond Ridder, Troy Anderson, Drake London, Richie Grant, and many others.

Then throw in the fact that Atlanta will have some of the most cap space available in the entire NFL next year, and you can see where the team is heading.

When you look at the other teams, it becomes obvious that the Falcons are best set up for the future.

Let’s be honest, the only reason the Buccaneers have been competitive in the past couple years is because of Tom Brady. Not only because of his play on the field but because of how he attracts other players to him. Some of their free agents signings never would have happened without Brady.

Once Tom Brady is actually done, this team will likely go back to being a disaster. They will no longer have their best player and leader, they will not be an attractive landing spot for free agents, and they have no true successor to Brady on their roster. Not to mention, they are well over the cap next year.

Speaking of being over the cap, the New Orleans Saints have that problem every single year. Say what you want about them always finding a way out of it but it does limit what they can do each year. The effect of it might not be obvious but it does have a compound effect on the team.

Not only do they not have cap space but they also threw away a lot of draft picks this year in order to get a number two receiver in Chris Olave. So basically, New Orleans will have no money and fewer draft picks than most teams, not exactly the best situation to be in when building the future of your team.

Then you factor in that many of their star players are older, guys like Tyrann Matheiu, Mark Ingram, Cam Jordan, and Demario Davis are all over the age of 30. Michael Thomas has not played in basically two years, who knows what he will be like when he finally gets back. Not to mention, is anyone fully convinced that Jameis Winston is good enough to take the team far?

And finally there is the Carolina Panthers, a team who is predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league. It is obvious they have no solution at the quarterback position, as they have no choice but to  overpay for Sam Darnold. Possibly they have the longterm solution in Matt Corral but until he proves otherwise, the Panthers do not have a franchise quarterback

They do have a few young stars in Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Brian Burns but we all know how their best player, McCaffrey, cannot stay on the field.

If the Falcons are able to develop their young talent and take full advantage of all the cap space they have next year, they could be well on their way to becoming the powerhouse of the NFC South. Their division rivals are just not set up for the future like they are.