Ryan Neuzil is ready to take on the mantle, with an aim to keep it.
If stability is the keyword at tackle and guard, change is the one at center. Drew Dalman is gone, elevating Ryan Neuzil to the starter, and his direct backup will (as of today) be a player who has never made an NFL start. This has the potential to be a windfall for Atlanta if Neuzil and his future backup prove to be young, capable players, but there’s obviously the air of disaster around the whole thing if they…well, do not.
That’s what this summer and this season will ultimately tell us, but let’s break down who’s competing for roles at center for these Atlanta Falcons.
Starter
Ryan Neuzil
Undrafted free agents rarely get the chance to start. Undrafted free agents almost never change positions and then get to start, but Ryan Neuzil has been beating the odds his entire career now.
Neuzil is taking over for Drew Dalman, who bolted for the Bears in free agency, after entering the league as a guard and cross-training at center. The Falcons got a long look at Neuzil as a half season starter when Dalman got hurt last year, and he put together three of his strongest starts in his final four games serving in that role. That’s an encouraging sign for a player who is at least as good as Dalman in pass protection and doesn’t have the history of weird snap issues Dalman dealt with, but is miles behind arguably the best run blocking center in the league. The Falcons have so much confidence in him that they declined to give him any real competition, which speaks volumes.
I’ve likely come across as a Neuzil skeptic after being a big booster early in his career, but it would be more accurate to say that I think he’s an incredibly useful reserve and a largely unproven starter. If Neuzil can build on the strong moments from last year’s starting stint and improve as a run blocking center, he can seize this job for the long haul. I’m very much rooting for him to do so, both for his sake and the Falcons.
Reserves/roster hopefuls
Jovaughn Gwyn, Matthew Cindric, Michael Gonzalez
This group makes me wonder if center might be a post-cuts target for an upgrade, because there’s terrifyingly little experience here.
Gwyn was a seventh round pick in 2023 who hasn’t played, but has stuck around with Dwayne Ledford attempting to work his magic. All we’ve really seen of him has been some largely uninspiring preseason play, but Gwyn’s time with Ledford and the fact that the Falcons have been training him for this moment means he has a real shot to back up Neuzil.
Cindric arrives with practice squad stints with Atlanta and Minnesota in 2024 to his name, plus six years of experience as a right guard and center from his college days. Considering Neuzil, Gwyn, and Gonzalez all came to the NFL as converted guards with limited experience at center, the fact that Cindric made quite a few starts there might help him this summer.
Gonzalez comes to Atlanta from Louisville, where Ledford was the offensive line coach in 2019 and 2020. While the two didn’t overlap, Ledford likely recruited him at some point and will know all about him from his still-extant connections to the school, and the fact that they’re taking a player with no college starts at center and trying to move him there tells you there’s something there they like from the young lineman. Gonzalez probably has the longest road to being Neuzil’s 2025 backup out of this group, but figures to have a real shot at sticking on the practice squad if he takes to his new position well this summer.