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Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

New Orleans Saints: 7-1

The New Orleans Saints fell into a cycle of mediocrity during the past three seasons, finishing 7-9 in each campaign.

With quarterback Drew Brees operating in the final year of his contract, this may be the last chance for the 38-year-old signal-caller and his head coach, Sean Payton, to make a run.

The offense has never been a problem. Brees is still one of the league's most prolific passers. The defense hasn't provided him with much help.

General manager Mickey Loomis tinkered with the roster to try to improve upon last year's 27th-ranked defense. The additions of A.J. Klein, Manti Te'o and Alex Okafor in free agency along with Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams in the draft were meant to overhaul the group.

Will it be enough? It seems unlikely in a division that already features the Atlanta Falcons and an up-and-coming squad in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Carolina Panthers: 3-1

Which Carolina Panthers squad will appear this fall? Will it be the one that finished 15-1 and reached the Super Bowl during the 2015 campaign or the team that fell to 6-10 and last place in the division in 2016?

Cam Newton's progress will be the biggest determining factor. The quarterback required offseason shoulder surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. Newton started to throw just before camp, and it'll take time before he's completely back to the player everyone knows.

When the 2015 league MVP reaches that stage, he'll need to integrate himself into a new offensive approach. The Panthers coaching staff wants Newton to run less and be more precise in the short passing game. The front office added Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel with its first two picks in the draft in April to take some pressure off the quarterback, hoping they can create chunk plays as outlet receivers.

"We're going to look at maximizing our personnel, all of them, no matter who's here when they're in the game," offensive coordinator Mike Shula said, per The MMQB's Jonathan Jones. "Finding guys who can best make plays for us and finding ways to get them to ball."

Carolina will attempt to adapt after its disastrous 2016. The results will be determined by Newton's ability to makes changes within his game.

Atlanta Falcons: 5-2

Mental toughness will define the Falcons in 2017.

The team was one or two plays from being crowned Super Bowl champion. The roster is as talented today—if not more so—than it was in February.

The Atlanta defense will almost certainly be better than the one that finished 25th overall last year. Deion Jones, Keanu Neal and Brian Poole enter their second seasons after having developed into key contributors. The organization signed Dontari Poe to pair with Grady Jarrett on the interior. Desmond Trufant will also return after missing 10 games, including the playoffs, with a shoulder injury.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons will return 10 of 11 starters from last year's No. 1 scoring offense. Only right guard remains undecided, with Wes Schweitzer and Ben Garland competing to replace the retired Chris Chester.

Atlanta must avoid the dreaded Super Bowl hangover, however, because each of the teams in the division has the ability to supplant it atop the standings.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-1

The Buccaneers are this year's chic pick to make the playoffs and potentially knock the Falcons off their perch.

The reason why is threefold.

First, Jameis Winston will continue to develop after becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to post a pair of 4,000-yard passing efforts in his first two seasons. Second, the front office built around its young signal-caller, adding veteran receiver DeSean Jackson and the top tight in this year's draft, O.J. Howard. Finally, the defense is entering its second year in Mike Smith's scheme. That unit needed time to fully adjust to his system and excelled during the second half of the 2016 campaign.

Questions remain about the running game, and the offensive line has been reshuffled. Even so, Tampa Bay appears poised to take over the NFC South if Atlanta regresses this fall.