NFC South Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, the Buccaneers aren’t expected to be interested in Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette, as Tampa Bay likes the depth of this year’s draft class at running back. 
• Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes that if the Buccaneers trade TE O.J. Howard, it has as much to do with not wanting to pick up and guarantee his fifth-year option than Howard not being a fit with HC Bruce Arians.

Falcons

• NBC Sports’ Peter King lists the Falcons as a potential landing spot for Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts.
• Per Kelsey Conway of the team website, Falcons HC Dan Quinn said the rehab for DE Takkarist McKinley, S Keanu Neal and S Ricardo Allen is going well.
• Quinn believes McKinley will be able to continue his progress that was stopped by a shoulder injury last year: “I’m fully expecting Takk to come back and play at the level we want him too.” (Conway)
• Quinn expressed faith in 2019 fourth-round CB Kendall Sheffield to be a No. 1 corner for Atlanta. (Michael Giardi)
• The Falcons plan to keep DB Damontae Kazee at safety going forward. (Jason Butt)
• Per Quinn, Falcons WR Brandon Powell is “the leader in the clubhouse” for the return job. (Conway)
• Regarding LS DE K’Lavon Chaisson, a potential candidate for Atlanta in the first round, Quinn highlighted his youth: “I think moving forward you’re going to see a lot of good football from him.” (Conway)
• However, Quinn added it’s harder to find interior pass rushers than it is edge rushers. (Conway)
• As opposed to last year, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said there’s a cluster of players they’re eyeing as opposed to one guy, though he does have a preference. (Butt)
• Asked about a report about Atlanta having interest in some quarterbacks, Dimitroff elaborated: “Look, Matt Ryan is our [QB]. We have the big and best faith in him that he’s going be the [QB] that we need to takes us to where we need to go, plain and simple. I’m always interested in [QBs] coming out of the draft. That is a fact. I’m always trying to continue to work on my skills to make sure that I’m fresh on evaluating [QBs]. That’s always an important thing, I think, as a team-builder. Of course there are some really interesting guys in this year’s draft.” (McClure)
• LSU S Grant Delpit has had video conferences with 15 teams, including the Falcons. (Aaron Wilson)

Panthers

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Panthers are among the teams that have done “serious homework” on Utah State QB Jordan Love.
• Per NBC Sports’ Peter King, former NFL GM Scott Pioli thinks new Panthers HC Matt Rhule could give Carolina an edge in undrafted free agency this year because he’s also fresh out of the college game: “It’ll be interesting to see how many players Matt Rhule gets who he knows . . . because he and the Baylor guys on his staff have recruited some of these guys out of high school. He’ll know some of the moms, I bet. And this very often is a recruiting game.”
• Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey was thrilled the team prioritized his extension: “It means a lot. More than the money, it just shows the Panthers believe in me.” (Joe Person)
• McCaffrey told reporters he already bought a house in Charlotte before signing his new deal and wants to be a Panther his entire career. (Jourdan Rodrigue)
• McCaffrey added he was happy the deal was done early and he “didn’t have to miss anything,” like sitting out virtual OTA’s. (Rodrigue)

Saints

• The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell writes she wouldn’t be surprised if both the Saints and RB Alvin Kamara want to play out the 2020 season and see where things stand before entering into contract negotiations. 
• Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline mentions the Saints like TCU WR Jalen Reagor and would consider him late in the first round. 
• Saints QB Taysom Hill won’t sign his restricted free agent tender soon, however, he doesn’t plan to skip voluntary OTAs. (Pro Football Talk)