Chris Lindstrom and…Kaleb McGary?…make the list.
When we think great draft picks of the last decade, we don’t often linger on the Atlanta Falcons. Grady Jarrett was an all-timer, Deion Jones and Keanu Neal were briefly stellar, and the Falcons have certainly scooped up terrific players like A.J. Terrell, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts along the way. If we’re talking about the very best picks at a given draft slot in the first round, as Pro Football Focus did recently, you might struggle to think of where the Falcons would be listed.
They actually made the list twice, with one expected selection and one that might cause you to do a double take. Those two selections actually came from the same (controversial) draft class back in 2019, as PFF named Chris Lindstrom (#14) and Kaleb McGary (#31) as the top picks at their respective slots.
When you go back to 2015, neither selection actually seems that surprising. Lindstrom’s only real competition is Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (2022), a terrific player who hasn’t played quite enough yet to overtake him. The rest of the list is filled with players who either have kind of worked out (Javon Kinlaw, Broderick Jones, DeVante Parker) or players who really haven’t (Marcus Davenport, Karl Joseph). Given that PFF tends to list Lindstrom as the best guard in the NFL and given that he’s certainly played at that level over the past couple of seasons, this feels more than fair.
McGary, of course, is a more controversial selection. He has steadily improved over the past couple of seasons, especially in terms of pass protection, but plenty of Falcons fans still see him as the hapless quarterback protector he was early in his career. McGary’s last three seasons have been pretty good, however, and his competition here is pretty limited. When you’re talking about Sony Michel (3,200 career rushing yards) and Germain Ifedi (hey, we know him!) as being the closest in value to McGary besides players taken in the last year or two, he kind of stands alone. The hope is that an improved offense in 2024 and a strong year will help McGary’s reputation catch up somewhat with his recent results.
Either way, it’s fun to see the 2019 class getting this kind of love, and if nothing else Thomas Dimitroff landed three quality long-term starters for the Falcons in his last couple of draft classes.