Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan never complained about the way the offensive line protected him last year but anyone who watched a game knew it needed a lot of improvement. The Falcons front office knew that's what needed to be done and used two first-round draft picks on offensive linemen, and according to general manager Thomas Dimitroff, Ryan texted him to thank him for the selections.
“He texted me, and actually, he just said, ‘Thanks, I appreciate that a lot, wow,'” Dimitroff said of Ryan's response via ESPN.
The Falcons used six different offensive line starting combinations last year and five of the lineman that played last year are no longer on the roster. Dimitroff said the number one goal going into the draft was getting consistency on the offensive line by drafting players who were long term solutions.
“Make no mistake about it: We knew what we needed to do this offseason and that was to continue to fortify that line and make sure that we were protecting Matt,” Dimitroff said. “And we weren't going to run into what we ran into last year.”
For the fans of the Falcons they still need to have tempered expectations of how the offensive line will perform this year. If both of the guys drafted come in right away they are still rookies and some rookies take longer than others to get comfortable with the team. Even though there was a big emphasis on the line, there still could be some growing pains this year.
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