The Atlanta Falcons needed to set up their future at center and to do so, they had to take a guy like Matt Hennessy in the third round of the draft.

Hennessy has the long-term potential to be just as good as Todd McClure or Alex Mack have been for the Falcons at center. Without a good center, the Falcons’ offensive line fell apart from 2013 to 2015.

A great competitor, Hennessy is a guy who’ll be able to compete for a role early on at left guard in 2020. He’ll battle it out against Jamon Brown, James Carpenter, Matt Gono and Justin McCray. But after 2020, the Falcons will likely be without Alex Mack. And in that situation, they’ll need a competent center. Hennessy has the build, speed and intelligence to be that guy.

The rest of Atlanta’s offensive line is pretty much set with Jake Matthews at left tackle, Mack at center, Chris Lindstrom at right guard and Kaleb McGary at right tackle. If the Falcons decide to start Hennessy at left guard and allow him to get that hands-on experience early, they could wind up having one of the best young offensive lines in the NFL.

Why Matt Hennessy instead of OL Lloyd Cushenberry or EDGE Terrell Lewis?

The Falcons needed a long-term center with Alex Mack entering the twilight of his career, but Hennessy is a lot quicker than Cushenberry is. The team felt the need at interior offensive line was bigger than the need at edge at this point. Hennessy could end up being a competitor for the left guard role in 2020 as well.

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