Tag: Chris Lindstrom

Falcons nominate Chris Lindstrom for Walter Payton Man of the Year

Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom is the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award

The Atlanta Falcons have selected right guard Chris Lindstrom as their 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. Lindstrom was drafted by the Falcons in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft and has developed into one of the league’s truly elite offensive lineman.

The award, as explained below, recognizes players who also make a difference off the field:

“The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donated to the winner’s charity of choice. All other 31 nominees receive up to $40,000 donated to their charity of choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide. The 2022 winner will be revealed during NFL Honors ahead of Super Bowl LVII.”

Lindstrom has been making a difference since joining the team in 2019, both on and off the field:

“The fourth-year offensive lineman also cooked dinner for a breast cancer fighter and her family at the Atlanta Falcons Dazzle & Dine event, provided Thanksgiving meals to those in need on Atlanta’s Westside during Falcons Feast, took part in the organization’s visit to Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington, spent time with hospital staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for their season kickoff party and cleaned Anderson Park on Atlanta’s Westside during the Falcons Hometown Huddle event,” wrote Falcons communications coordinator John Deighton.

Watch as Lindstrom learns he’s received the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination below.

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PFF Grades: Damiere Byrd, Caleb Huntley led Falcons in Week 8

PFF Grades: Damiere Byrd, Caleb Huntley and Chris Lindstrom were the three highest-rated Falcons in Week 8

The Atlanta Falcons got some lucky breaks during their 37-34 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but you don’t apologize for winning in the NFL. At 4-4, the Falcons are in position to win their first NFC South title since 2016.

Before we begin to look ahead to Week 9, let’s check out the top performers from Atlanta’s victory over the Panthers. WR Damiere Byrd, RB Caleb Huntley and RG Chris Lindstrom earned the team’s highest overall Pro Football Focus grades on Sunday.

Here’s a look at PFF’s 20 highest-rated Falcons from Week 8.

Secret Superstars for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season

Taysom Hill, Rhamondre Stevenson, Daymi Brown, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Baron Browning are among Doug Farrar’s Secret Superstars for Week 5.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated and unsung.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Or, their efforts are relatively unnoticed among their more celebrated teammates. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 5 of the 2022 regular season featured players at just about every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Rhamondre Stevenson, Dameon Pierce, Daymi Brown, Taysom Hill, Ethan Pocic, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Matt Judon, Baron Browning, Osa Odighizuwa, Teair Tart, Dre Greenlaw, Camerson Dantzler, and Caden Sterns are our Secret Superstars for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season.

Here’s why each of them made the cut.

Watch: Clemson vs. Boston College trash talk with A.J. Terrell

Former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, and Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom, a Boston College product, talked some smack ahead of this weekend’s matchup between the Tigers and Eagles. Watch Terrell talk about …

Former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, and Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom, a Boston College product, talked some smack ahead of this weekend’s matchup between the Tigers and Eagles.

Watch Terrell talk about why Clemson Football is better, reflect on the game against BC in 2017 when he recorded his first college interception, give his score prediction for Saturday night’s game and more in the following “College Trash Talk” video from the Falcons:

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

PFF: Chris Lindstrom leads all Falcons starters after 4 weeks

Falcons RG Chris Lindstrom is PFF’s highest-rated guard after the first four weeks of the season.

The Atlanta Falcons made some big strides on offense during their 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 4, but the defense didn’t have its best day. Nonetheless, the Falcons made enough timely plays on defense to overcome the Browns’ 403 total yards of offense.

Atlanta rushed for 202 yards on the ground in what was a dominant performance by the offensive line. After four weeks, right guard Chris Lindstrom is the team’s top-rated player with an elite Pro Football Focus grade of 91.3 — the highest rating of any guard in the NFL this season.

Let’s check out the PFF grades for each Falcons starter through the first four games.

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with his 11 best offensive guards in the NFL today.

While a lot of our positional lists for the 2022 NFL season feature all kinds of new players bumping previous stars off their podiums, our list of the best offensive guards is very consistent from then to now. Only two of the guards who made the list last year are off this year — Ali Marpet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who retired, and Brandon Scherff, formerly of the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders and now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose injury history and overall excellence when healthy took a  turn in a different direction.

Perhaps the consistency is inherent to the position — is it possible that guards have less of a performance variance from season to season than players at other positions, even when they switch teams? Joe Thuney went from the Patriots to the Chiefs in the 2021 offseason with a five-year, $80 million contract, and he was just as good in a very different system. Kevin Zeitler went from the Giants to the Ravens, proved to be a perfect fit in Baltimore’s system, and might have been even better than he was before.

That’s potentially good news for former Patriots guards Ted Karras and Shaq Mason, who have new homes with the Bengals and Buccaneers, respectively. Not to mention former Rams and Titans guard Rodger Saffold, now with the Bills, and ex-49ers guard Laken Tomlinson, now with the Jets.

Last year’s list was compiled by our own Mark Schofield, and this year’s list by yours truly with no cribbing, so there you go. And while this list of guards is very much in line with our 2021 version, there is some movement inherent in these rankings. There’s a new guy at the top, while the former guy at the top could very well be there again with more consistent teammate health, and a much, much, MUCH more consistent quarterback than he had last season.

With all that out of the way, here are Touchdown Wire’s top 11 guards in anticipation of the 2022 NFL season.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers

The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders

The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen

The NFL’s top 12 centers

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with his complication of the NFL’s 11 best offensive guards.

While a lot of our positional lists for the 2022 NFL season feature all kinds of new players bumping previous stars off their podiums, our list of the best offensive guards is very consistent from then to now. Only two of the guards who made the list last year are off this year — Ali Marpet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who retired, and Brandon Scherff, formerly of the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders and now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose injury history and overall excellence when healthy took a  turn in a different direction.

Perhaps the consistency is inherent to the position — is it possible that guards have less of a performance variance from season to season than players at other positions, even when they switch teams? Joe Thuney went from the Patriots to the Chiefs in the 2021 offseason with a five-year, $80 million contract, and he was just as good in a very different system. Kevin Zeitler went from the Giants to the Ravens, proved to be a perfect fit in Baltimore’s system, and might have been even better than he was before.

That’s potentially good news for former Patriots guards Ted Karras and Shaq Mason, who have new homes with the Bengals and Buccaneers, respectively. Not to mention former Rams and Titans guard Rodger Saffold, now with the Bills.

Last year’s list was compiled by our own Mark Schofield, and this year’s list by yours truly with no cribbing, so there you go. And while this list of guards is very much in line with our 2021 version, there is some movement inherent in these rankings. There’s a new guy at the top, while the former guy at the top could very well be there again with more consistent health, and a much, much, MUCH more consistent quarterback than he had last season.

With all that out of the way, here are Touchdown Wire’s top 11 guards in anticipation of the 2022 NFL season.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers

The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders

The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen

The NFL’s top 12 centers

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

A.J. Terrell, Chris Lindstrom make TD Wire’s most underrated team

Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell and right guard Chris Lindstrom were named to Touchdown Wire’s most underrated players list.

As Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith recently stated, “any good team knows how to rebuild every year.” When you have the same quarterback for 14 years, though, it can cover up for a lot of other areas.

The Falcons finally ripped the band-aid off and traded Matt Ryan back in March, opening the door for a new era of football in Atlanta. While it may be a bit rocky at first, the future looks bright with young stars like cornerback A.J. Terrell, tight end Kyle Pitts and guard Chris Lindstrom in place.

Terrell and Lindstrom were recently named to Touchdown Wire’s most underrated offensive and defensive teams. Here’s what Doug Farrar had to say about each player.

Chris Lindstrom named one of NFL’s most underrated players

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar included Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom on his list of the NFL’s most underrated offensive players.

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.

The NFL’s most underrated offensive players

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar reveals his All-Underrated offense heading into the 2022 NFL season.

In the NFL, players are underrated for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes, they’re second banana to a superstar whose deeds take up all the oxygen. Other times, it may be that the player has to climb up the depth chart as a little-regarded contributor, and the media hasn’t caught up yet. It’s also possible that the player has an incandescent talent that’s hidden by an unfavorable scheme. And it could also be that the player has had one great season, and everyone’s waiting to see if it’s a fluke.

If we were to assemble a team made out of underrated players, how far could that team go? Given the talent on this All-Underrated offense, we tend to think that opposing defenses would not enjoy their prospects.