NFC South Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

New Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians mentioned that they would welcome DT Gerald McCoy with “open arms” at practice. 

“It’s up to him,” Arians said, via Greg Auman of The Athletic. “We have open arms. If he wants to be here at practice, that’s great. He’s under contract and part of the team. That’s a player’s decision.”

• If the Buccaneers stay at No. 5 overall, Todd McShay says they’ll likely end up with either Josh Allen or Devin White. 
• According to Tom Pelissero, Arians says there are five or six once-in-a-generation-type players at the top of the draft that he loves, which could mean they aren’t considering trading back from No. 5 overall. 
• DT Gerald McCoy, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, LB Lavonte David and OT Donovan Smith were not in attendance for the start of voluntary minicamp. (Rick Stroud)

Falcons

Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said he already knows who his top choice for the Falcons at No. 14 is and the bigger question now is what to do if he’s not available.

“At times, you might not get exactly who you want,” Dimitroff said via Kelsey Conway of the official team site. “You hope to have two, three or four guys that you really do want. That’s a big thing for me to be positive about. If you’re only focused on one person and that doesn’t work, that’s a tough thing to be in the room, everyone can feel the energy.”

Saints

The Saints are hoping for big things from a healthy DE Marcus Davenport this year after trading their 2019 first-round pick to acquire him during last year’s draft. 

“When a guy is dinged and injured and he’s playing through it, tough as heck, that slows development,” Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland said via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “But certainly, we’ve got a plan for him. He’s going to get healthy, that’s No. 1, and then there will be a little bit of starting back, taking from scratch a little bit. But he’s a fast learner and a tremendous athlete, so his development should be pretty quick I’d hope.” 

• According to Josh Katzenstein, Saints GM Mickey Loomis says the team would be open to trading back. 
• Loomis declined to comment on fifth-year options for DT Sheldon Rankins or CB Eli Apple. (Katzenstein)