The Falcons made a conscious effort to upgrade their offensive line in the offseason. However, injuries to three starting linemen and multiple backups have hindered this group from building chemistry.
Atlanta selected two offensive linemen in the first round and both have dealt with injury/health issues. Chris Lindstrom broke his foot in Week 1, and Kaleb McGary needed a cardiac ablation procedure during training camp.
McGary has dealt with other nagging injuries, but managed to fight through them and stay on the field for the most part. It’s a lot to ask any rookie to start on the offensive line, but his teammates have raved about his toughness.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t calculate toughness though, and has been highly critical of McGary’s pass blocking. In PFF’s 2019 rookie grades.he received a PFF grade of 50.0 through five games.
Read what it had to say about Atlanta’s rookie right tackle below.
The Falcons right tackle had a torrid time in pass protection in Week 5. He allowed one sack, two hits and two hurries from his 54 pass-blocking snaps and ended the game with a 31.4 pass-blocking grade, the lowest mark of his career to date.
McGary has struggled, but the Falcons’ play-calling has left much to be desired. The team has been playing from behind all season, leaving the offensive linemen in the unenviable position of having to block defenders that are teeing off on Matt Ryan.
Plus, McGary has started his career with essentially a revolving door next to him at right guard. Lindstrom went down in Week 1, Jamon Brown missed time with a concussion and Wes Schweitzer has been dinged up.
So while McGary’s had a predictably up-and-down rookie season, his future looks quite bright as Atlanta’s starting right tackle.
