Let's make this easier by starting with who the Falcons lost this offseason among the offensive linemen: Matt Hennessy was a third round pick in 2020, Dan Quinn's final season as head coach. He served as the active interior backup as a rookie, then barely edged out fourth round rookie Drew Dalman for the starting center role in 2021. Dalman beat out Hennessy for the spot in 2022, and after moving over to guard Hennessy suffered a knee injury and spent part of 2022 on IR, then hurt his knee again and missed the entire 2023 season. That ended his rookie contract. He's now in Philadelphia on a one-year deal. Snaps played in 2023 = 0. Former Saints G/T prospect Ethan Greenidge signed a one-year deal with Atlanta last year. He got hurt early in camp and missed the season. His one year is now up. I don't know his health status, but he's now a free agent again, currently unsigned. Snaps played in 2023 = 0. The Falcons ended their 2022 draft by taking a pair of Georgia players in the sixth round. OG Justin Shaffer turned out to be a misfire, as he never made it off the practice squad while Georgia's other guard (Jamaree Salyer) came off the board five picks later and quickly became a starter for the Chargers. Atlanta released Shaffer three weeks before this year's draft. He's still available for anyone who needs a practice squad guard. Snaps played in 2023 = 0. And... that's it. Everyone else is back. If you played even one snap in 2023, you're back for camp in 2024. Left guard Matthew Bergeron now has a season of experience, and center Drew Dalman gained a second year of experience as a starter. The other starting linemen, Jake Matthews, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, are all veterans (and all former first round draft picks). Swing tackle Storm Norton did become a free agent and briefly hit the open market. But the team resigned him, and they renewed ERFA Ryan Neuzil, the former practice squad prospect who stepped up and became the active interior backup behind Dalman. Prospects Jovaughn Gwyn, Tyler Vrabel and Kyle Hinton are back, along with last year's injured tackle prospect Barry Wesley. Late season additions Ryan Swoboda and John Leglue are also back. That's already 13 names to fill 9 or 10 roster spots. So... in this year's draft, the Falcons added absolutely nobody to the offensive line group. There are no holes to fill, and they already have prospects in the pipeline. They did sign a pair of interesting UDFAs, but only two - Ryan Coll from Richmond and Nolan Potter from Northern Illinois. Both are tackles. Coll was a third team AP All American as the left tackle for the Richmond Spiders. He lists at 6-5, 308. If you're into that RAS stuff, he lists as "great" for his composite agility grade and "elite" for his composite explosion grade with an overall RAS of 8.27. The amusing story with Potter is that the Falcons snatched him away from division rival Tampa. The Bucs were going to bring Potter in as a tryout in rookie minicamp. Atlanta simply signed him outright. He measured 6-5, 310 at his pro day. He was first team All MAC at right tackle for NIU in 2022 and 2023 and had 43 career starts in college.
The o-line is very crucial for Cousins, maybe even more so after the injury. He can take a hit, he's tough as nails, but protecting him, especially the blind side is critical. Good thing the Dirty Birds have a veteran line coming into Camp. Depth is imperative also (said; Captain Obvious).
