Atlanta Falcons’ Chris Lindstrom tops PFF’s guard rankings

THE Atlanta Falcons surprised many experts with the selection of Michael Penix Jr. this year. But this wasn’t the first time the Falcons made a shocking first-round pick.

Former Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff surprised many fans by selecting safety Chris Lindstrom 14th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

But the selection worked. On June 5, Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked Lindstrom as the best offensive guard in the NFL.

“Lindstrom got off to a slow start to his NFL career, but his year-over-year improvement has made him one of the best guards in the NFL over the past three years,” wrote Valentin. “The former first-round pick earned second-team All-Pro honors in consecutive years and has been the league’s highest-rated guard since 2022.

“Lindstrom is a force in the running game, using his athleticism and physicality to create lanes. And his pass blocking has improved, earning him a 78.6 pass blocking grade in 2023 after allowing just 15 pressures.

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The 27-year-old leads PFF’s guard rankings a season after finishing with an 87.6 PFF player rating. This classified first among guards with at least 200 snaps.

Lindstrom’s recognition might come a year late considering he was PFF’s highest-rated player at any position in 2022 with a staggering 95.0.

Lindstrom won a PFF player rating of at least 83.7 in each of the last three seasons.

The Atlanta right guard isn’t the only Falcons offensive lineman to receive recognition from PFF recently. Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus named Falcons center Drew Dalman, the team’s most underrated player.

Playing alongside each other, Lindstrom and Dalman helped form perhaps the best interior offensive line unit in the NFL last season. Like Lindstrom, Dalman was one of the best at his position. Dalman earned an 82.3 PFF player rating, which was third best among centers with over 10 snaps played last year.

At left guard, the Falcons started rookie Matthew Bergeron, who was useful in his first season in the league.

Perhaps the lesson learned with Lindstrom is that fans shouldn’t buy too much into the initial draft’s reaction to a first-round pick. Sometimes it takes a few years for a player to become a star.

The Falcons hope Penix will be the next developing star in Atlanta.

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