Recognition is hard to come by in the NFL, especially if you’re not a quarterback, wide receiver or an assistant on Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff.
Offensive linemen are oftentimes the most overlooked players despite how important they are to an offense’s overall success. As we learned in Super Bowl LVI, it doesn’t matter if your team has Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, if you can’t block Aaron Donald, it’s going to be a rough day.
This is what the Atlanta Falcons were thinking back in 2019 when they devoted nearly all of their resources to rebuild their offensive line. The team selected both Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary in the first round, and signed veteran free agents James Carpenter and Jamon Brown.
Unfortunately for former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, three of these four acquisitions never panned out. McGary has been inconsistent and the team recently declined his fifth-year option. Carpenter and Brown have both since been released, but Lindstrom has been a home run for Atlanta.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar included Lindstrom on his list of the NFL’s most underrated offensive players. Farrar goes deep in his analysis of the former Boston College standout, touching on why his play has gone unnoticed and what he does well.