3 Changes that help the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South

2. Shaq Barrett and Carlton Davis leave the division

Tampa Bay and Atlanta are winning the offseason so far in the NFC South. It will be one of these two teams hosting a playoff game at the end of the season and Atlanta has reason to believe they are in the early lead. Yes, locking up Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans is a great step towards contention.

However, this team was barely over .500 with both of these players and now lost two key defenders. Tampa wasn't in the strong cap position Atlanta was in as they still work to recover from their Super Bowl run and years with Tom Brady.

Tampa has handled it well but it is going to continue to take a toll as it has here with Tampa opting to move on from two key pieces. This helps the Falcons indirectly and clearly leaves more question marks for the Tampa defense. Bringing back Baker is a win for this team but what version of Mayfield will they get in the 2024 season?

Atlanta has more stability on both sides of the ball and that is helped by losing two players that have both hurt Atlanta over the past few seasons.