Atlanta Falcons land 2 players on Pro Football Focus' top 50

The Atlanta Falcons will be entering a season in which many players have high expectations. Kirk Cousins expects to be one of the top players in the league, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson all want to reach 1,000 yards, and the defense is ready to do just enough to win games.

There is no doubt that the Falcons have, at least, two of the 50 best players in the National Football League. That is a conservative statement but one that Pro Football Focus believes is true.

In their 2024 list of the 50 best players in the NFL, PFF listed two Falcons pretty low on the list.

Jessie Bates III, Chris Lindstrom land on PFF's top 50 players of 2024

It is easy to debate that the Atlanta Falcons have the best safety and offensive guard in the league. Jessie Bates III in his first season in Atlanta was a game-changer who led a resurgent defense. Chris Lindstrom was the leader of one of the best and most consistent offensive lines and was the most dominant offensive lineman for a second straight year.

However, that didn't keep Pro Football Focus from listing the players back-to-back as the 37th and 38th best players in the league.

The good news is Lindstrom was the highest-ranked offensive guard and was second to Creed Humphrey (30th) of the Chiefs among interior players. Bates was third amongst safeties behind Antoine Winfield Jr. of the Buccaneers and Kyle Hamilton of the Ravens.

Here is what they said about the Dirty Birds' star safety:

"A true ballhawk at safety, Jessie Bates III showed last season that he can take his talents to a new defense and still ball out. He notched six interceptions for the Falcons, earning a 90.2 PFF coverage grade to narrowly exceed the best mark of his Bengals career at the first time of asking. Bates is an elite coverage safety with the range to punish ill-advised passes."

And the star offensive guard:

"It’s getting harder and harder to argue against Chris Lindstrom as the best guard in football after the past few seasons. He backed up a spectacular 2022 with a 2023 season almost as good, allowing just 15 total pressures and earning an 87.5 PFF run-blocking grade. He was one of only two guards to post 74.0-plus grades as both a run blocker and a pass protector."

Based on PFF grading, the All-Pro guard is one of the ten best players. Obviously, they take position value into account which is the reason for a lower ranking on the list but it further shows just how good the first-round pick has been.

One year from now, the Falcons will have more players on this list with guys like Kirk Cousins, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson primed for a massive season.