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The Atlanta Falcons have had the quietest offseason of any NFC South team. But that doesn't mean they won't have some changes in their starting lineup.

Now that the NFL draft is over, let's take a look at my best guess at what Atlanta's starting lineup will look like in September.

OFFENSE

• QB Matt Ryan

• RB Michael Turner

• FB Ovie Mughelli

• WR Roddy White

• WR Julio Jones

• TE Tony Gonzalez

• LT Sam Baker (or someone not yet on the roster)

• LG Justin Blalock

• C Joe Hawley (I’m guessing he starts ahead of Todd McClure)

• RG Peter Konz (unless he ends up playing center)

• RT Tyson Clabo

DEFENSE

• DE John Abraham

• DT Corey Peters

• DT Jonathan Babineaux

• DE Ray Edwards

• OLB Sean Weatherspoon

• MLB Akeem Dent (Falcons would like him to beat out veteran Lofa Tatupu)

• OLB Stephen Nicholas

• CB Brent Grimes

• CB Dunta Robinson (Asante Samuel will play as much as Grimes and Robinson)

• SS William Moore

• FS Thomas DeCoud

SPECIALISTS

• K Matt Bryant

• P Matt Bosher

• PR Dominique Franks

• KR Jacquizz Rodgers

Time for a quick run through the Easter headlines from around the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and defensive tackle Amobi Okoye agreed to a one-year deal late Saturday night. Okoye, a first-round pick by the Texans in 2007, spent last season with the Bears. He provides some insurance at a position where the Bucs need that. They’re high on the potential of Gerald McCoy and Brian Price and also like Roy Miller as a rotation player. But Price and McCoy have had injury problems in their first two seasons.

Speaking of the Bucs and defensive tackles, former Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp reportedly has filed for bankruptcy. Documents filed by Sapp show he owes $6.7 million.

A third bidder has surfaced in the quest to buy the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets back from the league. John DeShazier speculates that it could be Saints’ owner Tom Benson and says he’d be a perfect fit for the Hornets. Despite recent issues with the bounty program, Benson and the Saints have been very successful in New Orleans since 2006 and that’s great. But Benson had a long track record before that where he wasn’t viewed as the world’s greatest owner. I’m not so sure the fit is perfect. Besides, I'm not sure Benson needs to be taking on a new franchise at the same time the Saints are dealing with a major crisis.

In this Insider post , Mel Kiper has the Atlanta Falcons taking Illinois offensive tackle Jeff Allen with their first draft pick (No. 55 overall) this year. Makes some sense because left tackle Sam Baker hasn’t established himself as a real force yet. But you don’t find instant stars at left tackle in the second round of the draft. Kiper says Allen could start off on the right side and eventually move to the left side. The only problem with that is Kiper would be starting off as a backup on the right side, where the Falcons already have Tyson Clabo. I’m not so sure the Falcons are looking for a backup with their first draft pick. Yes, they need options at left tackle, but they can find that elsewhere and I can see them going with a different position with their first pick.

Carl Nicks repeatedly has said he’d like to stay with the New Orleans Saints.

But, as we count down the hours until Tuesday’s start of free agency, Nicks said he still hasn’t received an offer from the only team he has ever played for. He also said he believes the Saints can’t afford him and don’t want to “disrespect’’ him by making him an offer that won’t make him the league’s highest-paid guard (more than $8.5 million per season).

Barring a last-minute surge in salary-cap room, the Saints probably will let Nicks hit the open market. As I’ve written before, NFC South rivals Atlanta and Tampa Bay could be in the market for Nicks. So could a lot of other teams around the league. That’s because Nicks is the league’s best guard and he’s only 26.

If the Saints lose Nicks, they’re losing a lot. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Nicks and teammate Jermon Bushrod led all offensive players in snaps played in 2011 with 1,177. In other words, Nicks and Bushrod played in every one of New Orleans’ offensive snaps. New England quarterback Tom Brady (1,149 snaps) and Atlanta Justin Blalock (1,147) and tackle Tyson Clabo (1,147) rounded out the top five.

In addition to being a dominant pass blocker, Nicks also has been stellar in the running game. The Saints averaged 6.6 yards when running to the left last season. That average ranked No. 2 in the NFL.

Nicks and Jahri Evans have formed the best guard tandem in the league in recent years. Their play probably has helped center Brian De La Puente, Bushrod and right tackle Zach Strief.

If Nicks leaves, the Saints still have an elite guard in Evans. But they’ll no longer have an elite player on both sides of the offensive line.

Time for a look at Wednesday morning's top headlines from around the NFC South.

With the Panthers $9.6 million over the salary cap, Joseph Person writes that linebacker Thomas Davis, quarterback Jimmy Clausen, guard Travelle Wharton and punter Jason Baker are potential cap casualties.

Here’s the scouting report on LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers, who has been mentioned as a possible first-round target for the Panthers.

Atlanta’s Tyson Clabo graded out as one of the league’s top pass-blockers. Speaking of Clabo, here’s one writer’s explanation why he ranked Clabo among the top 20 tackles in the league and left Carolina’s Jordan Gross and Tampa Bay’s Donald Penn off the list.

Stephen Holder writes that the Buccaneers are likely to try to re-sign potential free agents Jeremy Zuttah and kicker Connor Barth. They’re two of Tampa Bay’s younger free agents. Zuttah has value because he can play center and guard and Barth has shown good accuracy. Age could work against running back Earnest Graham and safety Sean Jones as the Bucs look at their own free agents.

Here’s a pretty interesting item by Jonathan Bales from the DC Times. Bales ranks the top 20 offensive tackles in the NFL.

There’s only one NFC South tackle on the list and it’s probably not who most of you would name with your first guess. Or your second.

It’s Atlanta right tackle Tyson Clabo. Although he has a reputation for being a decent player, nobody has ever called Clabo elite. But that’s basically what Bales did by ranking Clabo as the No. 2 tackle in the NFL.

According to Bales, Clabo gave up quarterback pressures on just 1.4 percent of the snaps he took part in. That’s pretty impressive. It’s too bad the rest of Atlanta’s offensive line didn’t play like Clabo last season. The Falcons struggled with pass protection early in the season and there probably will be major changes on the offensive line this offseason. The biggest change could come at left tackle where Sam Baker entered last year as the starter. Baker got hurt and Will Svitek replaced him. When Baker was healthy again, the Falcons kept Svitek as the starter. There’s lots of speculation the Falcons will part ways with Baker and look for a new left tackle in free agency or the draft.

Going back to Bales’ list, I’m a little surprised that Carolina’s Jordan Gross and Tampa Bay’s Donald Penn didn’t make the top 20. Those are the two most scouts point to as the best tackles in the division.

In recent days, I’ve been sharing some details on 2011 playing time at various positions. We’ll continue to do that going forward and still have to touch on NFC South fullbacks and all the defensive positions.

But this is Iron Man Day, so we’re going to talk about offensive linemen. As a general rule, offensive linemen get a greater percentage of playing time than players at all the other positions. That’s part of the nature of the position -- teams want continuity.

In 2011, 42 NFL players took part in 100 percent of their teams offensive and defensive snaps. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Cleveland linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, St. Louis linebacker James Laurinitis, Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs, Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and Tennessee cornerback Cortland Finnegan all deserve special mention for taking part in 100 percent of their team’s snaps at positions where that’s pretty rare.

Aside from those six players, 36 others took part in all of their team’s offensive plays. All of them were offensive linemen and seven of them were from the NFC South.

Carolina guard Geoff Hangartner, Atlanta guard Justin Blalock, New Orleans guard Carl Nicks, Tampa Bay guard Davin Joseph, Atlanta tackle Tyson Clabo, New Orleans tackle Jermon Bushrod and Tampa Bay tackle Donald Penn each took part in every one of their team’s offensive snaps.

Several other NFC South offensive linemen also came close to achieving that honor. Here’s a look at the other NFC South linemen that played more than 90 percent of their team’s offensive snaps.

• Carolina center Ryan Kalil, 99.3.

• New Orleans guard Jahri Evans, 96.8.

• Carolina guard Travelle Wharton, 95.6.

• Carolina tackle Jordan Gross, 92.5.

• Tampa Bay tackle Jeremy Trueblood, 92.1.

• Tampa Bay center Jeff Faine, 90.5.

We won’t start our leaguewide Stock Watch feature until next week. But I’m going to go ahead and do one for the NFC South this week because we have more than enough to work with.

FALLING

Aqib Talib, cornerback, Buccaneers. We’re starting his stock low because he had a turbulent offseason and he’s going to be under the microscope. This guy can’t afford a wrong move on or off the field. He’s got to stay focused on football and get his career on a good path.

Mike Peterson, linebacker, Falcons. All indications are the veteran has lost his starting job to Stephen Nicholas, who got a big contract to stay with the team. Peterson re-signed for the veteran minimum and Nicholas got first-team work throughout the preseason. But the good news is Peterson’s the kind of guy who can handle a backup role and be a mentor. He also still might be able to step in and play a little bit, if needed.

John Kasay, kicker, Saints. He starts off the season on the hot seat after missing a field goal and an extra point in his preseason debut with New Orleans. Released by Carolina earlier this summer, Kasay’s a proven veteran who has made many big kicks throughout his career. He was signed to fill in while Garrett Hartley is out with a hip injury. But coach Sean Payton isn’t the most patient guy in the world when it comes to kickers, so Kasay better get on track in a hurry.

RISING

Garrett Reynolds, guard, Falcons. He won the starting job at right guard by beating out Mike Johnson. This is a chance for Reynolds to pave the way to a nice, long career. He’ll be playing next to right tackle Tyson Clabo and that will help. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau is a master at working with guys who were drafted late or not at all and turning them into reliable players.

Sione Fua and Terrell McClain, defensive tackles, Panthers. Ready or not, the two rookies are going to play extensively. The Panthers tried to buy them some time by signing free agent Ron Edwards, but he got hurt. The Panthers tried a few other veterans, but they either couldn’t play or were hurt. The Panthers are just going to have to throw McClain and Fua out there and hope they grow up in a hurry.

Julio Jones, receiver, Falcons. We’re going to start this rookie’s stock very high because that’s exactly what the Falcons have done in the preseason. They’ve showcased their first-round draft pick, throwing to him often and letting him run reverses. You generally like to save those things as surprises for the regular season. But my guess is the Falcons wanted to go ahead and make opposing defenses very aware of Jones because that may free things up for some other offensive players.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith just told the media that veteran center Todd McClure, who recently had knee surgery, will not be available to play in the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at Chicago.

Unless the Falcons go out and find a veteran, that almost certainly means second-year pro Joe Hawley will start in McClure’s place. A fourth-round pick out of UNLV last year, Hawley never has started an NFL game. But he’s worked behind McClure since last year and appeared in 15 games, mostly as a special-teams player, last year.

The news also means McClure’s franchise-record 144 straight starts will come to an end. Smith wouldn’t speculate about McClure’s availability beyond the Chicago game, but it’s possible he could miss more time. He’s 34 and has played through lots of other injuries through the years.

The Falcons drafted Hawley as an eventual replacement for McClure. Atlanta’s offensive line already will have one new starter at right guard with either Garrett Reynolds or Mike Johnson taking over after Harvey Dahl left via free agency.

Right tackle Tyson Clabo and left guard Justin Blalock were also free agents, but the team re-signed them in large part because the front office and coaching staff wanted to keep as much continuity as possible on the offensive line. Now, the Falcons will have to play at least one game with two new starters on the line.

Real quick, name the top two players in the NFC South?

Off the top of my head, I’d say Drew Brees and Roddy White and you could flip a coin on the order. Well, the folks at Madden NFL 12, who are pretty good at what they do, came up with two different players when they did their annual rankings for the video game.

According to them, the best player in the division is New Orleans guard Jahri Evans, who ended up with a 98 overall grade. Carolina linebacker Jon Beason is next with a 97. I wouldn’t argue too much with either of those rankings. Evans and Beason are very good, but play positions where they sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve. White and Brees came in right behind them, each with a 96 grade. That ties them with New Orleans guard Carl Nicks, who some scouts say may be better than Evans.

After those five, here’s the list of NFC South players with grades of 90 or better.

• Ovie Mughelli, fullback, Falcons: 94
• Michael Turner, running back, Falcons: 93
• Tyson Clabo, tackle, Falcons: 93
• John Abraham, defensive end, Falcons: 93
• Jordan Gross, tackle, Panthers: 92
• Tony Gonzalez, tight end Falcons: 92
• Jonathan Vilma, linebacker, Saints: 91
• Matt Ryan, quarterback, Falcons: 90
• Jabari Greer, cornerback, Saints: 90
• Curtis Lofton, linebacker, Falcons: 90

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t have a player crack the 90 mark, but they came close. Tight end Kellen Winslow is at 89, guard Davin Joseph is at 88 and quarterback Josh Freeman and tackle Donald Penn each graded out at 87. Since I know there’s big interest, Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton had an overall grade of 77.

To see complete team rankings, click the Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers.

Ever since they made a daring draft-night trade to move up and get wide receiver Julio Jones, there’s been a perception the Atlanta Falcons have a sense of urgency. Some say they’re “all-in’’ and others term it as a “win-now’’ mode.

When I visited Flowery Branch, Ga. last week, I asked general manager Thomas Dimitroff if those descriptions are fair and accurate. He didn’t dispute them.

“I really believe everyone in the NFL is about winning now,’’ Dimitroff said. “This league is driven to win. We all know the adage of “not for long’.’ We have a lot of players who are going into their fourth year in this system and they’re very battle tested. We’ve added some players and we’re very encouraged by that. We want to win as many games as possible. There’s no question about that and we want to achieve our ultimate goal. We’re focused on taking it one game at a time, but our expectations here are very high. We’re focused on continuing to grow together and I like where we are.’’

Dimitroff didn’t elaborate on the “ultimate goal’’. He didn’t have to because it’s obvious. The Falcons are out to win a Super Bowl and they’ve been very aggressive in the offseason. The Falcons were transparent during the spring when they kept talking about adding an explosive player on offense and one on defense.

They took care of the offensive need in the draft. The defensive need had to wait as the lockout dragged on. But, as soon as it was over, the Falcons went out and signed defensive end Ray Edwards. They also made it a point to keep their offensive line intact as much as possible. They gave tackle Tyson Clabo and guard Justin Blalock big contracts to stay. Guard Harvey Dahl left as a free agent, but the Falcons have drafted several offensive linemen the last few years and believe one of them can step into the starting lineup.

“Our additions this year will definitely help our team continue to take it to another level,’’ Dimitroff said. “I believe the team is excited. Our coaching staff is definitely excited and the fan base is as well. I think it’s very important that everyone realizes we accomplished what we needed to accomplish. A lot of people in the offseason, prior to free agency opening, were thinking we came up short because we went out and made a bold move for our receiver and we were short of our defensive end acquisition. For us, we were very focused on getting that defensive end once free agency opened and we did.’’

As happy as he is with the drafting of receiver Julio Jones, Matt Ryan is equally pleased about the return of most of his offensive line.

The Falcons faced the possibility of losing three starters from the line because right tackle Tyson Clabo, left guard Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl were all unrestricted free agents. The Falcons were able to re-sign Clabo and Blalock.

“It all starts right there, up front Ryan said. “We kept four of our five intact. You hate to lose Harvey, but you’re happy for him and his family because he’s in a great situation. But for us to bring two of those three guys back is huge.’’

We’ll have more on the battle to replace Dahl in Sunday’s Camp Confidential segment on the Falcons. But third-year pro Garrett Reynolds appears to be the early leader. Second-year pro Mike Johnson also is in the mix.

There’s one other surprise candidate. That’s seventh-round draft pick Andrew Jackson. Coaches are saying he's been one of the most pleasant surprises in camp so far. Even if Jackson doesn’t end up starting, he appears well on his way to a roster spot. He can be a key backup because he has the ability to play guard and tackle.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- For the first time this training camp, the Atlanta Falcons had their full team on the practice field Thursday night.

Guys like defensive end Ray Edwards, tackle Tyson Clabo and cornerback Brent Grimes, who were hung up in post-lockout limbo, were in pads and practicing. The Falcons had seven players who were unable to practice until the new labor agreement was fully ratified. That didn’t happen until late Thursday afternoon and the Falcons pushed back the start of practice several times in hopes they’d get everyone on the field.

“We pushed it back because we felt like it would give us a better chance of having everybody out here,’’ coach Mike Smith said. “We wanted to get them some work before we practice at Norcross High School (in a Friday night scrimmage)’’.

Smith emphasized that the Falcons will continue to “ease’’ those seven players into practice work because of the time they missed. But the Falcons at least got a first real look at Edwards, whom they signed away from Minnesota. They also got Grimes back on the field after he signed his $2.6 million tender as a restricted free agent.

“It was good to get out here and do what I love to do,’’ Grimes said. “That’s play football. The whole goal was to come back here.’’

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It’s a very interesting day here as the Atlanta Falcons continue juggling their practice schedule.

Initially, they were supposed to do their padded practice Thursday morning. But that plan changed Wednesday night because there was hope that the collective bargaining agreement would be fully ratified in time to get some veterans, who have been forced to watch the early stages of camp from the sideline, into the action this afternoon.

The Falcons are still hoping that will happen, so they can get their first real look at free-agent defensive end Ray Edwards and also get some of their own veterans, such as tackle Tyson Clabo, on the field. But the deal has not officially been ratified yet.

That’s why the Falcons just pushed back their practice time again. They now are scheduled to go at 5:20 p.m., but I wouldn’t be surprised if the schedule is pushed back at least another time slot or two.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A quick bit of news as I sit on a plane at Tampa International Airport, waiting for takeoff.

The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms on a six-year contract to keep guard Justin Blalock, according to a league source. That comes after the Falcons re-signed right tackle Tyson Clabo, but let guard Harvey Dahl escape to St. Louis through free agency.

That means Atlanta has four of five starting offensive linemen from last year. The Falcons prepared for this situation by drafting Mike Johnson and Joe Hawley last year. Those two are likely to compete for the starting spot.

It’s been a wild start to free agency across the NFC South. All four teams already have made major moves and there likely are more on the way.

The Carolina Panthers have done a nice job of keeping their own – Charles Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, James Anderson and Thomas Davis. They’ve also gone out and traded for Greg Olsen.

The New Orleans Saints let Reggie Bush go in a trade with Miami. Then, they turned around and replaced him with Darren Sproles. They’ve also agreed to deals to keep some of their own key free agents, such as Lance Moore, Scott Shanle and Jermon Bushrod.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept guard Davin Joseph with a huge contract and also went out and got punter/kickoff specialist Michael Koenen.

The Atlanta Falcons made it a point to keep tackle Tyson Clabo, kicker Matt Bryant and linebackers Mike Peterson and Stephen Nicholas. They also parted ways with former first-round picks Jamaal Anderson and Michael Jenkins.

With all that (plus a few other moves here and there), we ask you to take a look at our Call It poll to the right and cast your vote for the team you think has done the most to help itself so far.