The NFC South was the worst division in the NFL this past season, with no team winning 10 games on the year. But someone had to win it and the race to get there was an exciting one. Here, we look at the NFC South futures odds and make our NFL betting picks for the division as its four teams look to improve from last year’s underwhelming campaign.
NFC South Futures Betting Odds
| Team | NFC South Odds |
| Atlanta Falcons | -450 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +400 |
| New Orleans Saints | +2800 |
| Carolina Panthers | +12500 |
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons blew their chance to win the NFC South last season, losing several games down the stretch in the regular season. They could not find any quality quarterback play from Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder this season. That, combined with some poor coaching, led to the firing of head coach Arthur Smith. This year, Raheem Morris takes over as head coach, with Kirk Cousins as his starting quarterback, which has resulted in a trip to the top of the division standings. Now, Cousins and the Falcons will attempt to hang onto their lead over the rest of the teams in this division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the winners of the NFC South with a 9-8 record. The Bucs were inconsistent offensively, with Baker Mayfield having the same ups and downs that we are accustomed to seeing from him. But he did enough to get his team to the top of the standings and he even led the team to a win in the playoffs. Mayfield and the Bucs got off to a good start this season but a lack of consistent play on defense has resulted in them having to chase the Falcons in the South.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints finished second in the NFC South and narrowly missed out on making the playoffs a season ago. Derek Carr had his moments of brilliance as the quarterback of the Saints, but those moments were too few and far between. This team won its first two games of the season, but has fallen apart after that. Injuries to Carr and a lack of quality defensive play has the Saints looking ahead to next season already.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers were the worst team in the NFL in 2023. They won just two games and rookie quarterback Bryce Young engineered an offense that did not hold a lead at any time in the fourth quarters of their games, winning twice on game-ending field goals. Making matters worse, the Panthers did not have their first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, having sent it to the Chicago Bears in the deal they made to get Young last year. This has been another long year in Charlotte, but the Panthers have already exceeded last year’s season win total, which is deserving of some praise even if they have a long way to go to become a truly good team.
2024 NFC South Futures Prediction
This season will be an interesting one in the NFC South, as someone simply has to improve to take over this division. We will pick the Falcons to be that team, as they at least have a capable quarterback in Cousins to lead them. Meanwhile, the defense and running game of the Falcons are both dangerous, meaning they should stay in division title contention for the remainder of the season.
