The Atlanta Falcons went into the 2020 NFL Draft with an immediate need at left guard and a long-term need at center. By selecting Temple’s Matt Hennessy in the third round, the team may have found someone that can do both.
The Falcons figure to let Hennessy compete for the starting left guard job this season, and potentially replace Alex Mack at center down the line.
Pro Football Focus was extremely high on Atlanta’s rookie lineman, ranking Hennessy as college football’s top center in 2019:
Some Matt Hennessy stats:
-86.9 overall grade was first among all Centers in 2019
-90.7 pass blocking grade in 2018 was 7th highest among all offensive linemen in college football (Chris Lindstrom was 6th)
-Allowed 1 sack over 1,380 pass blocking snaps in entire career at Temple pic.twitter.com/aU9XWR9cl0— PFF ATL Falcons (@PFF_Falcons) April 30, 2020
Hennessy’s overall PFF grade of 86.9 led the nation, but his pass-blocking ability is what separates him from the rest. The Falcons invested two first-round picks into the offensive line last season, adding right tackle Kaleb McGary and right guard Chris Lindstrom.
If Hennessy can translate his college success to the NFL, Matt Ryan should be more comfortable in the pocket than last season when the team allowed 50 sacks and 136 QB hits.
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