An NFL.com analyst seems rather bullish on Atlanta’s two first round selections.
The next step in the NFL offseason after the NFL draft is projecting how well the new rookies will do, and how they’ll impact their teams’ seasons. NFL.com analyst Chad Reuter has taken that step, in projecting what the league’s All-Rookie team may look like at the end of this upcoming season.
The Atlanta Falcons see both of their first round selections, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, given a place on Reuter’s list. While this isn’t something that should be taken as Gospel, it’s a fun little thing to look at with actual football nowhere in the near horizon.
Here’s what Reuter had to say about each of Atlanta’s selections:
Interior O-line: Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons (Round 1, No. 14).
While not quite on the level of the Colts’ Quenton Nelson -- the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft -- as a prospect, Lindstrom was a legitimate mid-first-round talent who will shore up a trouble spot for the Falcons.
Lindstrom was always seen as one of the safest players in this year’s draft, and he’s been projected as the consensus top guard in the class by most analysts.
With the instant impact he’s expected to make at the NFL level, Lindstrom feels like not only a lock for an All-Rookie spot, but he may also have an outside chance at a Pro Bowl selection in his first professional season. You can read the Falcoholic scouting report on Lindstrom here.
Offensive tackle: Kaleb McGary, Atlanta Falcons (Round 1, No. 31).
McGary and Lindstrom will work together to solidify Atlanta’s offensive line, much in the same way Nelson and second-round pick Braden Smith did for the Colts in 2018.
If fans were mildly surprised with Atlanta’s selection of Lindstrom at 14, they were likely legitimately shocked when the team double dipped on offensive line talent by trading back into the first round to select McGary at 31.
Kaleb McGary projects to beat out Ty Sambrailo for the team’s starting right tackle role in 2019.
McGary was one of the best run blocking tackle prospects in this draft, and figures to give Atlanta some serious pop on the opposite side of Jake Matthews, with his relentless aggression and mean streak. You can read the Falcoholic scouting report on McGary here.
A common theme in Reuter’s analysis is his comparison of Atlanta’s new rookies to Indianapolis’ stud rookie lineman from last year. It’s a comparison I noticed as well, and even wrote about in a recent article comparing Indy’s O-Line revamp last offseason to Atlanta’s this offseason. Things seemed to have worked out quite well for the Colts after they added two offensive lineman with premium draft picks in 2018 (along with two new guards in free agency just a couple of months earlier).
Reuter seems to think that both of Atlanta’s first round selections will end up being successful hits in 2019. If his prediction comes to fruition, then the Falcons will likely project to have one of the five best offensive line units in football.
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