Grading every Atlanta Falcons OL pick under Thomas Dimitroff

The “C” area of the draft is really easy for the Atlanta Falcons under Thomas Dimitroff as there have not been any; the offensive line draft picks have either been above average or below average.

Moving on to the B grades of the Atlanta Falcons offensive line picks under Thomas Dimitroff.

2008 – Sam Baker – University of Southern California – Pick #21

Thomas Dimitroff and the Atlanta Falcons really thought that they had picked both their franchise quarterback and their franchise left tackle in the 2008 draft. Baker was taken just 21 picks after the Falcons secured Matt Ryan with the third overall pick.

While some look back on Baker as a bust, which could not be further from the truth – when he was healthy. Baker was a great left tackle and played like that when he was on the field. The biggest problem with Sam Baker was his inability to stay healthy. He would play all 16 games just twice in his NFL career – 2010 & 2012. You could make the argument that those were the two best Falcons teams of all time as well.

Baker would appear in just 75 of the possible 112 games he was with the Falcons because of those injuries. The Falcons had been hopeful that Sam Baker and Jake Matthews would be the best pair of tackles in the NFL.

That obviously never happened.

2010 – Joe Hawley – University of Nevada Las Vegas – Pick #117

Hawley was the type of offensive lineman that you want on your team. He was always ready when his number was called and there was no discernible drop off when he was in the lineup. Hawley saw significant time in both 2010 and 2012 when the Falcons won the NFC South.

2019 – Kaleb McGary – University of Washington – Pick #31

Obviously still really early to determine how good (or bad) Kaleb McGary is going to be, but he showed signs of why he was taken in the first round by Thomas Dimitroff. He had to spend a lot of his rookie season playing against some of the league’s best pass rushers and for the most part, he handled himself as well as one could expect a rookie too.

At this point, there is no reason to believe that he will not continue to grow and develop into one of the better right tackles in the National Football League.