The Falcons drafting Chris Lindstrom with the 14th overall pick has been met with mixed reviews. But as we move further from when the teams selected, more and more insight about how other organizations were thinking is released. Albert Breer of the MMQB says that if Jonah Williams hadn’t fallen to pick #11, the Bengals would have been mulling over Chris Lindstrom or Cody Ford.
That should make some Falcons fans feel a little better, and they should be thanking the Raiders and Giants for that happening. Jonah Williams probably is not on the board for the Bengals if Clelin Ferrell isn’t taken 4th and Daniel Jones 6th.
Breer goes on in a tweet, saying the Vikings, who selected 18th, also had Chris Lindstrom near the top of their draft boards, and that Lindstrom “crushed the draft process” and was a “very clean prospect.” So if the Falcons were hell-bent on getting Lindstrom; which they were, trading back was not a realistic option.
Lindstrom isn’t the sexy pick but does help complete the ultimate goal of the offseason – protect Matt Ryan while he still has years left in his prime. The former MVP faced the second most pressures of any quarterback in 2018 and was sacked 42 times – the second most of his entire career. The last time Ryan had a competent line, it was 2016. We all know what happened that year, and the Falcons should have even more weapons at the skills positions this season. Behind a revamped offensive line featuring Lindstrom, Atlanta could once again have the top offense in the league in 2019.