The hotly anticipated release of Madden 16 is less than two weeks away and EA Sports has been revealing rating after rating over the last few weeks. We are nearing the end with only two divisions to go and the first of those is the NFC South, which may be one of the more mediocre divisions, but also may be one of the most competitive.
The top rated team in the NFC South is also the lowest rated top team of all the divisions, with the Carolina Panthers at an 80 OVR. The team did win a Wild Card playoff last season, with only a 7-8-1 record. This was largely due to the team’s fantastic defense led by MLB Luke Kuechley and LOLB Thomas Davis, but the offense is no slouch with QB Cam Newton having targets TE Greg Olsen and WR Kelvin Benjamin to throw to.
Just beyond them are the always dangerous New Orleans Saints with a 78 OVR. Led by top tier QB Drew Brees, the team did lose a big weapon in Jimmy Graham, but young WR Brandin Cooks could be even better this year. The defense is going to be a weakness here though, with RE Cameron Jordan and FS Jarius Byrd the only real standouts.
The Atlanta Falcons were one of the most disappointing teams of 2014, which has translated over to a 77 OVR rating. A new coach has taken over, but QB Matt Ryan is back again with WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White out there to throw to once again. The RB position is a big question mark though, which definitely needs to be sorted out. Defense should get some improvement with the addition of rookie RE Vic Beasley Jr., along with Cb Desmond Trufant, but don’t expect any miracles right away.
The last lowest rated team in the NFC South comes in with a 74 OVR rating that is pretty fitting of their league worst finish last year. That team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who has not only a new coach, but the exciting Jameis Winston at QB. He does have talented WRs to throw to with Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, but the offense outside of that is pretty questionable. The defensive side has one of the best DTs in the game with Gerald McCoy, so they could see some improvement there.
