Atlanta’s line powered a quality season from the offense.
Injuries cropped up at center in particular, but for a narrow majority of the season, the Falcons trotted out the same starting lineup in 2024 that they did in 2023. After years of rotating pieces at left guard and center, that kind of consistency was welcome, and it led to another fine year from this offensive line.
The team could elect to make it three years in a row for Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Drew Dalman, Chris Lindstrom, and Kaleb McGary, but circumstances may conspire against that. Dalman is a free agent, and McGary is now the blindside option for left-handed quarterback Michael Penix, with Matthews no longer fulfilling that role after spending over a decade doing so. There’s a non-zero chance that Dalman doesn’t come back, or the team elects to move on from a tackle.
That remains to be seen, though. Let’s take a look back at how this line fared in 2024.
Left tackle Jake Matthews
Age: 32 | Experience: 11 seasons
2024 Stats: 17 starts, 5 sacks allowed, 30 pressures, 8 penalties, 85.4 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 70.1 run blocking grade
If you go by PFF’s metrics, this was Matthews’ best season since 2018. Scratching past those, Matthews was penalized more frequently than in any season since 2016 and allowed five sacks, which tied last year’s total. But despite the small corner of the fanbase that has had antipathy for him basically since he was drafted, Matthews was a very good starting tackle in 2024, not to mention an absurdly durable one yet again.
The franchise record holder for most consecutive games played and the player in 7th place in terms of games played overall, Matthews was sturdier as a run blocking presence in Zac Robinson’s scheme and was customarily one of the ten or so best tackles in the NFL in terms of pass protection. The Pro Bowls and recognition haven’t been there for a player who has been good for over a decade, but Matthews delivered yet another quality season for the Falcons and shows very little sign of slowing down.
The question for Matthews heading into 2025 is whether the Falcons prioritize keeping him around given that he’s no longer protecting his quarterback’s blind side; I have to think his reliability and the importance the team places on their line means he’ll return for at least this coming season.
Left guard Matthew Bergeron
Age: 24 | Experience: 2 seasons
2024 Stats: 17 starts, 3 sacks allowed, 33 pressures, 12 penalties, 68.5 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 73.1 run blocking grade
After an uneven rookie season, Bergeron was an improved player in 2024, albeit one who was penalized more frequently than we’d like. The Falcons have been trying to settle the position since Wes Schweitzer left post-2019 season, and Bergeron’s improvement this past year indicates he’s the long-term solution. His work in run blocking was quite good all year long, and the pass protection is coming along nicely after Bergeron allowed double the number of sacks a year ago.
There’s still work to be done if Bergeron is going to be considered a high-end starter—we’d like to see those pressure numbers come down and we’d certainly like to cut the costly penalties in the red zone—but critically he was not a weak link the way he was at times in his rookie year, and is a quality left guard who is young and affordable. That makes him a hugely valuable player for the Falcons going forward, and in the same way I expected (and got) improvement in 2024, I expect a step forward in 2025.
Center Drew Dalman
Age: 26 | Experience: 4 seasons
2024 Stats: 9 starts, 2 sacks allowed, 10 pressures, 3 penalties, 66.6 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 79.8 run blocking grade
Dalman only appeared in nine games owing to injury this past season, but he was his customary self when he did play. The pass protection was a bit more solid than usual in a small sample size and his run blocking was among the very best in the league for the center position. There were, also as always, a couple of wonky snaps.
Because of the outsized importance of Atlanta’s ground game and the team’s reliance on outside zone, Dalman’s acumen and movement skills matter to this team a great deal. If they were to heavily tweak that run scheme and/or place more importance on pass protection from center, Dalman’s importance might diminish.
That’s not a small question right now, with the team preparing to start life with Penix under center and Dalman about to hit free agency, where a handful of center-needy teams might be prepared to throw a big bag of money at him. The Falcons need to decide if they want to pay Dalman like one of the best centers in football, and whether they do so likely depends on what they think they’ll value from the position over the next three-to-four years.
Center Ryan Neuzil
Age: 27 | Experience: 3 seasons
2024 Stats: 8 starts, 1 sack allowed, 10 pressures, 7 penalties, 63.6 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 60.5 run blocking grade
Asked to fill in for about half the season, Neuzil was solid but unspectacular as the team’s center, which is pretty terrific for a former undrafted free agent who made the shift over from guard. Neuzil offers this team similar pass protection abilities to Dalman—which is to say, decent—but was penalized frequently in 2024 and is not even in the same league in terms of his run blocking acumen. On balance, for a player being thrust into a difficult role, Neuzil held down the fort well.
A restricted free agent, Neuzil should be a priority re-signing for Atlanta whether they bring back Dalman or not, as he can play guard or center and is a solid option for either spot at a likely affordable price point. I wouldn’t commit to him as the starter if Dalman doesn’t come back, but as depth he’s an extremely useful piece who has now shown in multiple starting stints that he can step in if called upon and acquit himself pretty well as a starter.
Right guard Chris Lindstrom
Age: 27 | Experience: 6 seasons
2024 Stats: 17 starts, 1 sack allowed, 31 pressures, 8 penalties, 68.0 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 94.6 run blocking grade
There just isn’t a better run-blocking guard in football than Lindstrom, who bulldozes people. Running behind Lindstrom is a cheat code.
The pass protection grade lags behind the last couple of years, which makes sense given that Lindstrom was “credited” with giving up more pressures by far than the last two years. I’ll defend him (and really the whole line) by noting that Kirk Cousins couldn’t escape a slowly toppling statue on a scooter in 2024, but obviously we’ll hope that number comes way down in 2024.
Make no mistake, though: Lindstrom is one of the best guards in football and has a credible case as the best, and he’s fresh off another terrific season that was absolutely vital to Bijan Robinson’s big breakout.
Right tackle Kaleb McGary
Age: 29 | Experience: 6 seasons
2024 Stats: 16 starts, 6 sacks allowed, 32 pressures, 3 penalties, 63.8 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 77.8 run blocking grade
McGary is not great in pass protection, but he’s no longer the massive liability he was earlier in his career, either. That improvement and his always quality run blocking ensures that he’s a much more useful starter than he’s given credit for being, and he was in 2024. Working to keep an immobile Kirk Cousins safe and then serving as Michael Penix’s blind side protector, he did an admirable job up until an implosion against Carolina to end the year, and was integral to the team’s ability to run to the right side with impunity.
McGary is very nearly 30 and will have a big job in 2024 keeping Penix safe, but replacing tackles is very rarely easy and the veteran has done a good enough job to hold down the fort in 2025 if the Falcons are inclined to keep him. After the past couple of seasons, I have to think they are.
Tackle Storm Norton
Age: 30 | Experience: 8 seasons
2024 Stats: 1 start, 0 sacks allowed, 3 pressures, 0 penalties, 50.8 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 67.1 run blocking grade
Norton continues to be a solid fill-in swing tackle option. He struggled against the Saints in his lone start, but we know by now that he is capable of starting for McGary in particular for the one or two games he tends to miss per year and do solid work. Given that he’s cheap, reliable, and familiar with the staff, he ought to return again in 2025.
Guard Kyle Hinton
Age: 26 | Experience: 5 seasons
2024 Stats: 0 starts, 0 sacks allowed, 4 pressures, 1 penalty, 32.4 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 69.6 run blocking grade
Like Norton, Hinton is versatile and fairly reliable. He had a rough fill-in stint against the Seahawks at left guard and scuffled a bit in a brief appearance at right guard against the Broncos, but fared much better at RG against the Buccaneers and Giants when called upon. Also like Norton, the fact that he’s affordable and familiar likely means he’ll return, even if his pass protection scuffles in 2024 remind us that the team could seek out an upgrade.
Center Matt Hennessy
Age: 27 | Experience: 5 seasons
2024 Stats: 0 starts, 0 sacks allowed, 0 pressures, 0 penalties, 70.7 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade, 60.4 run blocking grade
Hennessy briefly returned to pull down 13 snaps in relief of Ryan Neuzil against the Seahawks and Cowboys and fared just fine; he finished the season with the 49ers. If Jovaughn Gwyn is ready to be the team’s third center option in 2025, then there’s no need to bring Hennessy back, but otherwise he’d be a fine, cheap option to fill that role.
Tackle Elijah Wilkinson
Age: 29 | Experience: 8 seasons
2024 Stats: 0 starts, 0 sacks allowed, 0 pressures, 0 penalties, 60.0 run blocking grade
He took one snap at right tackle, but was another familiar face called upon to jump in.