Assigning grades to each of the eight offensive positions for the Atlanta Falcons
Don’t you just love grades? All of that hard work you put in and all you get in return is an alphabetical letter. You thought that football would be an escape from the world of school but here we are assigning a letter grade to each offensive position for the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
One facet of the offense was spectacular, while the other was dismal. Their offensive scheme changed dramatically from 2021 to 2022 as they went from a team not able to run the ball to a team that ran the ball more than anyone.
Anyways, here are the grades for each position, starting with fullback:
Fullback:
- Keith Smith
- Parker Hesse
Keith Smith is clearly the Atlanta Falcons’ primary fullback but the team also lined up Parker Hesse in the backfield for a significant number of snaps.
They both were viable players at a position that isn’t used too often in the NFL anymore. Neither Smith nor Hesse was amazing, but they also weren’t bad. They played about how you would have expected going into the season.
Grade: B-
Offensive tackle:
- Jake Matthews
- Kaleb McGary
We will split the offensive line for the Atlanta Falcons into three with tackle, guard, and center.
The last of the team’s worries were at offensive tackle as both Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary played well. Matthews had his typical fly-under-the-radar-type year. He doesn’t get much credit because he just goes out there and plays every week.
As for McGary, he was among the best run-blockers in the NFL which is so valuable for this team. He also improved himself in pass protection in a surprising year.
Grade: A-
Offensive guard:
- Chris Lindstrom
- Elijah Wilkinson
- Colby Gossett
- Matt Hennessy
- Chuma Edoga
Chris Lindstrom had one crazy good season that made him the highest-graded player in the NFL during the regular season. There isn’t much else you need to say. He was a dominant run blocker and a superb pass blocker as he established himself as the league’s best offensive guard.
On the left side, there were a lot of different names who played over the entirety of the season. However, all things considered, the group was solid on the left side. Elijah Wilkinson played the most and was somewhere between average and good, then Matt Hennessy and Chuma Edoga switched to the position in a pinch and played surprisingly well. Colby Gossett was the only true weak link.
Chris Lindstrom is still 90% of the reasoning for the grade being so high as the other side was a revolving door.
Grade: B+
Center:
- Drew Dalman
The Falcons were certainly loyal to Drew Dalman this past year as they chose him to be their center throughout the entire year.
His blocking wasn’t anything special, especially in pass blocking. He is susceptible to bullrushes which can be a big problem considering he is at the center of the line. Where the true problem arose was his inconsistent snaps. It was routine to see the two quarterbacks reaching every which way to pull the football in and that is inexcusable. No matter how great you are as a center, if you can’t snap the ball on target 99% of the time, you shouldn’t be in the game.
Perhaps I am being too harsh on him but it is frustrating to see timing thrown off by off-target snaps. We are lucky to have not had more fumbles.
Grade: C-
Tight ends:
- Kyle Pitts
- Mycole Pruitt
- Parker Hesse
- Anthony Firkser
This was a disappointing year for the Atlanta Falcons tight ends. What seemed to be a position that could put up big numbers, ended up doing the polar opposite.
Kyle Pitts did not get enough chances, simple as that. Much of it was due to limitations at quarterback and then his injury that kept us from seeing what he and Desmond Ridder could do. It was just a maddening year for Pitts that involved a lot of blocking.
Mycole Pruitt took over for Kyle Pitts and was decent. He was able to catch Ridder’s first touchdown pass and catch a game-sealing first down.
Anthony Firkser was alright and Parker Hesse was used at multiple positions. Overall, the group was disappointing, especially considering the expectations.
Grade: C
Wide receivers:
- Drake London
- Olamide Zaccheaus
- Damiere Byrd
- KhaDarel Hodge
- Frank Darby
- Bryan Edwards
If you would have told Atlanta Falcons fans prior to the season that Bryan Edwards would have three catches the whole year, everyone would have been panicking. I say this because most of us thought Edwards would be the primary receiver opposite of Drake London but that was the furthest thing from the truth.
However, the position wasn’t awful. Of course, you have Drake London who did everything he could. If he would have been in a pass-heavy offense, who knows the number of yards he would have been able to accumulate.
Olamide Zaccheaus took on the responsibility of being a number-two receiver but stumbled a bit when Desmond Ridder was under center. Finally, Damiere Byrd and KhaDarel Hodge were surprisingly solid in rotational roles.
Overall, I think the production as a whole was about what we all expected to start the season.
Grade: B-
Running backs:
- Tyler Allgeier
- Cordarrelle Patterson
- Caleb Huntley
- Avery Williams
This is the position in the Falcons’ offense that really shined. Each one of these four running backs was great!
Tyler Allgeier was the leader of the most impressive position on the team. The fifth-round rookie put up big numbers, especially considering where he started the year.
Cordarrelle Patterson started the season on a tear. If you remember, through the first handful of games, he was a top-three rusher in the NFL but then an injury set him back a few weeks. He didn’t get nearly as many opportunities when Allgeier established himself, but he had an outstanding season.
Caleb Huntley, at times, would come in and spark the running game. And then Avery Williams, in his first year at running back, made some nice plays as a seldomly used player.
There aren’t enough good things you can say about the Falcons’ running backs in 2022.
Grade: A
Quarterbacks:
- Marcus Mariota
- Desmond Ridder
Oh boy, the quarterback position was a hot topic of debate during the season for the Atlanta Falcons—and still is.
There is no way around it, Marcus Mariota was not good, plain and simple. He was wildly inaccurate on deep passes, made some poor decisions, and had some bad turnovers. I don’t think anyone disagrees with this, he should have been benched much earlier than he was. There was no point in continuing to play him.
When we finally got our wish, Desmond Ridder took over. The first game was not great, the second game was alright, the third game was good, and the last game was great. That essentially sums it up.
As a whole, this position was bad. Having only a few games that you can consider ‘good’ from your quarterbacks during a year is unacceptable. This grade doesn’t reflect Desmond Ridder too much as it was far too late when he took over. It was 13 inconsistent games to start the year and then 4 games of subsequential improvements.