The NFC South has been down a bit, with the Buccaneers extending their divisional reign by going 9-8 and 8-9 over the past two seasons, but the QB names don’t look horrible on the surface.
Granted, Young had a rough rookie season, and as solid as Carr and Mayfield were statistically, they’ll always have their share of doubters. Plenty of haters even scowled at the Falcons for dishing out $45 million per year (and $100 million in guarantees) for Cousins, who is coming off an Achilles injury. But you can’t say that there aren’t capable (or potentially capable) quarterbacks here.
If Cousins is healthy, he’ll thrive with Atlanta’s skill-position talent. The Falcons haven’t had this accurate a passer since Matt Ryan’s heyday. Is Captain Kirk a true game changer, though? We shall see, but he’s at least as close to one as exists in the division — a big reason why the South slots last.
The addition of first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. was a highly controversial move by Atlanta. But it’s not as if Penix isn’t a gifted slinger with big-game experience. The Falcons must get him ready if Cousins suffers a setback or is hurt again, and don’t get it twisted: Penix is enviable insurance in this aspect.
Carr had a bit of a strange first season in New Orleans, although he limited his fumbles and finished up with his best TD and INT numbers in several years. A hot December/January (74.4% completions, 1,343 yards, 15 TDs, 3 INTs) really helped. Can new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak roll that kind of play over to the 2024 campaign?
Mayfield loses Dave Canales to the Panthers, which surely will help Young. But can Mayfield break out of his good-season/bad-season career track? 2023 was arguably his most well-rounded NFL campaign, and the Bucs bring everyone back.
Young surely has a lot of work to do, but the offensive talent has improved a decent amount. If Canales can unlock the winning pedigree Young established in high school and college, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick might never be an elite quarterback but can win the same way Alex Smith did for years.
Is this a terrific QB division? No. But there are some redeemable elements for sure.
