With the draft over and all wrapped up, we thought it would be a good idea to get back on the phone with our buddy Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup," and talk about the NFL by division. Who did themselves the most favors in the draft, and who came up short when addressing their roster deficits?

We started off with the NFC West two weeks ago, and then jumped to the hyper-competitive AFC North last week. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the NFC South. Appropriate, given Greg's recent post on the NFL Films Blog about division quarterbacks Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, and Josh Freeman. With that in mind, we asked Greg what he thought the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to bolster their teams.

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Greg Cosell on the NFC South Draft

Related: [Cosell on quarterbacks, running backs/wide receivers, tight ends/offensive line, OLB/DE/DT stars, the ILB/DB class, and overall draft review]

On Atlanta Falcons second-round G/C Peter Konz: "I looked at him more as a athlete than as a strong, physical player. Not that he was a weakling -- I thought he had a nice combination of movement and strength -- but I certainly wouldn't call him a road-grader. But in tandem with his active feet, he was effective. He is an efficient player -- very assignment-disciplined. Do I think he could fit right in? Yes I could, and I did make a note that I thought he could play either guard or center.

On Carolina Panthers first-round linebacker Luke Kuechly: "I absolutely loved him, and the more I watched him, the more I loved him. I thought he played with his eyes as well as any linebacker I've ever evaluated. He beat blocks with play recognition. Now, the question is, will he do that in the NFL? I think he probably will, because I'm sure that comes from film study, and I don't think he'll be a slacker al lot a sudden. I thought he was the best linebacker in this draft without question, I think he's far more athletic than he's given credit for -- as I watched each game, I was actually more and more impressed with his athleticism."

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Greg Cosell on the NFC South Draft

On New Orleans Saints fourth-round receiver Nick Toon:

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In 2011, per the game-charting of NFL.com's Brian McIntyre, the Seattle Seahawks put two tight ends on the field 39 percent of the time, one of the highest figures in the NFL. However, they didn't get much production from those tight ends. Former Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller, acquired as a free agent before the 2011 season, caught just 25 passes on 44 targets for 233 yards and no touchdowns -- Seattle's injury-weakened offensive line put Miller in a position to block most of the time. Despite that, Miller led the team in all categories at the position.

On Monday evening, the Seahawks endeavored to become more productive with the 2-TE sets they prefer by trading for ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow. For assuming Winslow's contract, the Seahawks gave up just a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 (conditional sixth if Winslow meets certain performance guidelines). Winslow has three years left in a six-year, $36.1 million contract he signed in 2009, but the $3.3 million he's due this season in base salary is not guaranteed.

The eight-year veteran was deemed expendable by new Bucs head coach Greg Schiano after missing a recent round of OTAs, and it was Winslow himself who revealed the news -- last Saturday, Schiano told him that the Bucs were looking to make a deal and get him out of there. In his place, the Bucs signed former Indianapolis Colts TE Dallas Clark to a one-year deal.

[Related: Trading Kellen Winslow could be risky for the Buccaneers]

"It's kind of shocking, but that's what it is," Winslow told Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio on Monday morning. " [Schiano] said he was upset that I wasn't working out with the team in the offseason, and then, the first week of OTAs. But, look -- I've been there the last three years, and I've had a successful career so far, and you just don't get rid of one of your best players because of that. That's just what I was told, but I have nothing bad to say about coach Schiano -- it was just a disagreement on why I'm not there yet. I was training in San Diego, and I was going to start [in OTAs with the team] today, but I got the call on Saturday that they're looking for somebody else."

Winslow was especially surprised, given his claim that he has participated in a team event before in this preseason. "There was a previous minicamp -- I went to that. It was a three-day minicamp and then, I came back down to San Diego to train, and I was going to start [back with the team] today."

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The Monday morning news came straight from the mouth of Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow when he told Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio that his current team was looking to trade him -- and if that didn't work out, a release could be imminent.

"It's kind of shocking, but that's what it is," Winslow said. "He [referring to head coach Greg Schiano] said he was upset that I wasn't working out with the team in the offseason, and then, the first week of OTAs. But, look -- I've been there the last three years, and I've had a successful career so far, and you just don't get rid of one of your best players because of that. That's just what I was told, but I have nothing bad to say about coach Schiano -- it was just a disagreement on why I'm not there yet. I was training in San Diego, and I was going to start [in OTAs with the team] today, but I got the call on Saturday that they're looking for somebody else."

Winslow was especially surprised, given his claim that he has participated in a team event before in this preseason. "There was a previous minicamp -- I went to that. It was a three-day minicamp and then, I came back down to San Diego to train, and I was going to start [back with the team] today."

According to Winslow, he flew cross-country from San Diego to Tampa to hear that he was going to be gone. "They tried to catch me before I left, but that didn't work out."

So, there it is. The Bucs were apparently trying to swing a trade with the Bears involving Winslow a while back, but that never came to fruition. We know that Schiano has said a great many things about creating a new culture of accountability and responsibility for the Bucs (how he does that with a straight face after the circumstances surrounding the Butch Davis hire is another matter), but the plan to just jettison Winslow is a curious one, at best.

Winslow regressed in 2011, but he did so along with the rest of the Buccaneers' offense, and he played often despite a balky right knee weakened from six different surgeries through his career. In October, he leaped over New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer in a move that showed that he still has at least enough athleticism to help any team that's weak at the tight end position ... like the Buccaneers after Saturday night. Luke Stocker and Chase Coffman are now the relatively unproven incumbents.

"Honestly, I don't even know where that came from," Winslow said after a 26-20 Bucs win in which he caught five passes. "I didn't know I could do that anymore. I'm on one leg out there, but it's all about helping your team out there. You can hurt later."

Does that sound like a malingerer to you? Look -- Winslow has clearly gone through his share of off-field issues, and he's been tagged as a "character risk" as a result. But it isn't as if he's been "lollygagging around the field," to paraphrase the skipper in "Bull Durham."

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Winslow not wanted in Tampa Bay? Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio broke the news on his Twitter account this morning -- while hosting his show and talking to guest Kellen Winslow, Jr., it was revealed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under new head coach Greg Schiano want to go in a different direction, and are looking to trade the veteran tight end. Winslow said that he got the news Saturday night -- the Bucs will look to trade him to the right team, and if that doesn't work out (which it won't now ... public knowledge tends to kill trade value), he may be released. Winslow had one of his best seasons in 2010, but declined along with the rest of Tampa Bay's offense in 2011. Schiano may prefer more traditional blocking tight ends in what projects to be a run-heavy offense. He also said that the team was unhappy about his choice to work away from the facility this offseason.

Oh, look! It's the curl/flat again... Our buddy Chris Brown over at the indispensable Smart Football site has a brilliant article up today on the relatively simple passing concepts put together by the Indianapolis Colts of the Peyton Manning/Tom Moore era, and why they were so tough to stop despite the fact that the playbook was relatively simple and predictable (especially from a formation concept; the Colts were the ultimate three-WR/one-back team through most of the 2000s). Great read, as is most of Chris' stuff. If you want to get more into the schematic aspects of the game, check out his new book here.

The real value of minicamps. Matt Bowen at the National Football Post writes about the true meaning of OTAs -- despite what many think, it's less about finding sleeper prospects and more about getting back in shape and up to speed. For rookies, the real secret to those first "voluntary/mandatory" sessions is the ability to start real playbook install. In my opinion, it will be interesting to see if any second-year players will see ancillary benefits from this, as they were prevented from early install by the 2011 lockout.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, former Chiefs coach Todd Haley breaks down the offseason moves of the team that fired him at the end of last season. We have a bad feeling about this.

TODD HALEY: Wash your windshield, mister?

I don't scrub windshields for the money. I have a coaching job now as offensive coordinator for the Steelers. I carry this slop bucket because I like it. It's comforting to wash windows while the mad clown stares at me with his dead, gray eyes, whispering razor truths mortals dare not speak aloud, truths that pierce flesh and cut an inky scarlet line against the throat of the he-goat …

Sorry, my thoughts meander sometimes. The Chiefs had a productive offseason. At the skill positions, they added Peyton Hillis to a running back committee that already includes Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles, who is ahead of schedule rehabbing his knee injury. Kevin Boss joins Tony Moeaki, also on schedule to return from a knee injury, to give the Chiefs two tight ends who can block and catch. Two rookie wide receivers, Devon Wylie and Junior Hemingway, will provide extra depth behind Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and last year's top pick Jonathan Baldwin, who started to come on late in the season. Matt Cassel, yet another player who missed much of last season with injuries, won't have to worry about throwing to the likes of Keary Colbert or Anthony Becht.

That's right, everyone gets to come back to Kansas City but me, the guy who got blamed for not being able to build an offense around Tyler Palko and Terrance Copper, while the dead-eyed clown stares back at me from the mirror and cackles. "You ever played cornhole with the devil, son?" he asks, his raspy voice a rusty hypodermic needle scraping gutter concrete. "He don't use no beanbags, boy." And that he-goat just brays and brays like he sees the end coming and don't know whether to fight it or welcome it.

Moving on to the defense, Dontari Poe was one of the most physically gifted specimens in this year's draft class. The Chiefs have a bad habit of striking out with big defensive tackles, from Ryan Sims to Glenn Dorsey, so my former assistant Romeo Crennel will have to be careful about Poe's development and role if he doesn't want Poe to become an overpriced space-eater the greasepaint smears and the sharpened steel glints in the pickup truck headlights behind the barnyard. The loss of Brandon Carr is going to hurt at cornerback, because Stanford Routt is an adequate No. 2 corner behind Brandon Flowers. But the defense will be better if it is not  on the field as often, and when the muffled brays fade to pitch-black silence, vengeful darkness sated all-too-briefly by the still-quivering sacrifice.

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(Note: The sheer number of people wanting to send thoughts, prayers, & messages of hope to Brian Price has been overwhelming. You can do so at Rajiv@Prestigefootball.com. Thanks.)

I remember interviewing then-UCLA defensive lineman Brian Price before the 2010 NFL draft, where he was taken in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I remember thinking that this kid from the mean streets of Los Angeles had everything it took to succeed in the NFL -- talent, work ethic and great intangibles.

What Price hasn't had through his NFL career is good luck of any kind. He's suffered many different injuries in the last three seasons, had a revolutionary surgery in which both of his hamstrings were re-attached to his pelvis, and has played in just 20 of a possible 32 games. But last season, he played 15 games, starting 14, and racked up three quarterback sacks.

Price's personal life has been even more difficult. He had previously lost two brothers to shootings, and last week, his 30-year-old sister Bridget was killed in an auto accident in Inglewood, Calif. Price was so distressed, he eventually had to be hospitalized for dehydration.

"He physically broke down," his agent, Chuck Price (no relation), told the Los Angeles Times. "He had a high fever, was dehydrated, and couldn't hold anything down. That stress just plays a wicked role."

Price, who took his sister's 7- and 9-year-old children to a Dodgers game the night before their mother was killed, now plans to adopt the children.

Through all the difficulties of his life, Price has persisted and tried his best to get back in the game -- now, he has even more inspiration to do so.

"This guy has been in pain for literally a year," Buccaneers trainer Todd Toriscelli said in September of 2011, as Price tried to find his way back after injuries so severe, he couldn't put on his shoes by himself. "I'm not talking about just mild discomfort. I'm talking about driving home he's got to sit on those bones, laying in bed, you just can't get away from it. Certainly trying to play professional football … it's just an absolutely remarkable thing, and a compliment to his drive and motivation. He is a very special person, I can tell you that."

When I talked to Brian Price, I thought he was pretty special, as well. If you have a few extra thoughts and prayers to send his way, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll breaks down his team's offseason moves.

PETE CARROLL: What an awesome day! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! Let me give a shout out to all the folks at The Circle Perk coffee shop for working so hard to keep all of us energized! And to all the crossing guards making sure kids get to school safely! And to the Seattle-area sewer workers: you guys are the thin line that separates good citizens from their own filth, and I cannot thank you enough!

Fans really need to get amped about our three-way quarterback battle. The front-runner is Matt Flynn, who got America totally stoked in that awesome Packers-Lions game in Week 17. Next, there's rookie Russell Wilson, who is short but fiery. Isn't that right, Russell?

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrrrr...

PETE CARROLL: I love this kid! He's like a feral cat! And finally, there's Tarvaris Jackson, the Taylor Hicks of NFL quarterbacks. You don't like him, you keep expecting him to lose, and then bang! He finds a way to win a starting job, if not many games.

But enough about the offense. Let's talk defense!! We are going to have one of the best front sevens in the NFL!! Defensive tackle Jason Jones had a great, if quiet, season for the Titans last year. First-round pick Bruce Irvin may have seemed like a reach, but that is only because West Virginia had this crazy idea that a 245-pound speedster was a good fit at defensive end. I like my defensive ends Red Bryant-sized! When I am not being enthusiastic about everything, you can find me in my office drawing up creative defenses, and Irvin is going to be everywhere the offense doesn't expect him to be!!!

Irvin and Wilson had awesome rookie camps. In fact, all of the rookies had awesome camps, as did our parking lot attendants and the people who work so hard to make sure the office wastebaskets are clean enough to guzzle energy drink out of!! Let me dedicate my Song of the Day to the rookies: "Dog Days are Over" by Florence + the Machine! That's right: I'm a 60-year old man who listens to Florence + the Machine!!! Nicky Minaj, too! And don't forget Ke$ha, who is tiny and has a nasty attitude, just like Russell Wilson!!!

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrr…

PETE CARROLL: Excellent growling, buddy!!

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Cardinals quarterback (at least for now) Kevin Kolb breaks down the Arizona Cardinals' offseason moves.

KEVIN KOLB: Howdy folks. Don't mind me. I'm just tyin' a few flies, polishin' up the outboard motor, gettin' ready to hit the lake. Goin' fishin' right after we're done. It won't take long, 'cuz the Cardinals didn't do much this offseason.

We didn't get a new quarterback for one thing. Sure, the team chased Peyton Manning, but that was one big river bass with a lot of fight in him. So the quarterback job is mine to lose. And don't you worry, I'm gonna lose it.

It's not that John Skelton is any better than me: he may have led just as many fourth-quarter comebacks as Tim Tebow last year (four), but only city slickers and TV blowhards in fancy suits pay attention to those cow chips. I just have no idea what to do in the pocket. So the third or fourth time I roll to my right and get dragged down by Aldon Smith or somebody, Coach Whisenhunt's gonna decide it's time to cut some fresh bait.

I know Larry Fitzgerald's happy about our new second receiver, Malcolm Floyd. Floyd liked to hit the honky-tonks in college, but he's a big guy, and when he wants to be, he can be as fast as a boar gettin' flushed by three hound dogs.

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MARTINSVILLE, N.J. — It wasn't the Christmas break that Delano Johnson had hoped for.

He sat in his father's house in Baltimore, Md., on Christmas Eve, a college freshman who had typical plans of unwrapping gifts the next morning, catching up with friends from high school during the next few weeks and of course, sleeping in. Lots of sleeping in. It was supposed to be a carefree time for Johnson, but instead what happened next forever changed his life. Johnson was set to lose a person who he called his "hero and inspiration."

The phone rang with a call that came from his aunt's house, telling him that his mother had passed away. He was raised by her along with his three brothers, a woman who he said "put all of us on her back." His mother had succumbed to a "health problem that she had."

Instead of planning his winter break from college, Johnson readied himself for a funeral.

"I walked into the room and she was passed out - she wouldn't wake up," Johnson told Yahoo! Sports.

"They called an ambulance. They tried to revive and bring her back. They couldn't."

It never was an easy life for Johnson, who remembers following his mother from "home to home to home" as she tried to make ends meet and keep the family together. At 12 years old he was taken to live with his father, where he learned "how to be a man."

But at no point in time did he think that he was going to lose his mother without warning. And certainly not at a difficult time in his life when he was adjusting from high school to college, all while playing two sports at Bowie State.

Johnson was understandably depressed afterwards. But his mother's death became a rallying cry for him over time. He was always blessed with incredible physical gifts, but now he began to harness his ability on the football field and in the weight room. Solace was found with his teammates and workouts.

"I believe it was all from God - He gave it to me as an opportunity to show me that I need to take advantage of this opportunity and get serious about school, serious about work," Johnson said.

"But just going back home, realizing my situation and where I come from - I dealt with depression, a lot. I'd be up at nights and crying. Then it hit me that 'It's your time.' It felt to me like God did this for a reason, that it was a wake-up call for me to take advantage of college and sports."

Having grown up as a basketball star at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Johnson picked up football in his junior year in high school. There was basketball offers from the College of Charleston and Kent State, and he was being recruited by Maryland, but he chose Bowie State because the school said he could play both sports. But after his mother's death, Johnson began to enjoy football a bit more. He gave up basketball after his sophomore season, focusing solely on his development as an outside linebacker.

"I wasn't thinking too much about playing football in college, but football was fun to me," Johnson said. "It's just a great game and lets you take away your mind from your stress and troubles.

"My second year in college, I started to put on some weight, started to understand the game more and I really fell in love with it. My coaches sat me down and helped me realize that I had an opportunity in football at the next level that I wouldn't have in basketball due to my size. It was an opportunity for me to help myself, help my family."

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson breaks down his team's offseason moves.

JERRY RICHARDSON: Why the hell do you need me to break down the offseason moves? Can't you dumb kids read a depth chart? Do I have to sit next to you and spell it out? C-A-M-N-E-W-T-O-N. Young people these days are about as sharp as a bag of packing peanuts. First, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees cannot read a revenue chart at the collective bargaining table without me holding their hands and giving them the See Spot Run treatment. Now, you Internet people cannot read a depth chart.

We drafted Luke Kuechly. He is going to be a starter at linebacker. He is my kind of player, because I know I won't have to check him for any weird tattoos or piercings after he gets his money. And thanks to the rookie wage scale, he won't get that much money. Though it is still too damn much. A kid plays in the NFL three years and he has enough money to own his own team. I played for two years and I only had enough money to buy a fast-food franchise. It's a totally different situation! Anyway, Kuechly made 532 tackles in three Boston College seasons, and he is a fine young man, unlike most of the ungrateful whelps in the league these days, with their collective bargaining and expectation of fair treatment.

Our major free agent acquisition was fullback Mike Tolbert. We already have running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and of course Cam Newton can run as well as throw, so I believe we should run the wishbone. Can't you see it? Fake the handoff to Tolbert, have Newton run right with two pitch options behind him. It would be great! We could have run it in 1959, with Alan Ameche, Lenny Moore, and Mike Sommer, and yours truly on the wing. But nooo. Johnny Unitas had to be a prima donna "dropback" passer.

That's right: I have a problem with Unitas, too. I'm an angry person. I fired my own sons, for heaven's sake.

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