The Atlanta Falcons chose not to pick up Kaleb McGary‘s fifth-year option last offseason, forcing the right tackle to play out the final year of his contract in 2022. McGary responded by having the best season of his professional career as the Falcons featured a top-three rushing offense.
Pro Football Focus has been heaping praise on McGary as of late. The former first-round pick was selected as the team’s “secret superstar” by PFF’s Marcus Mosher:
“The Falcons had one of the league’s best offensive lines in 2022 and a big reason why was due to McGary’s emergence. He allowed just three QB hits all season and graded out as one of the league’s best run blockers (91.6). With McGary and Chris Lindstrom on the right side of the offensive line, it’s no wonder why the Falcons had so much success running the ball this season.”
Chris Lindstrom, who was also selected in the first round of the 2019 draft, has gotten the most credit for Atlanta’s dominant rushing attack. Unlike McGary, though, Lindstrom had his fifth-year option picked up by Atlanta last offseason.
McGary, 27, will now enter the 2023 offseason as an unrestricted free agent. The Falcons will have enough cap space to re-sign McGary, but he could be a hot commodity among teams looking for a right tackle.
PFF’s Brad Spielberger listed McGary as the NFL’s 29th-rated free agent available in 2023:
“McGary’s 91.6 run-blocking grade ranked second among tackles, trailing only the great Trent Williams, with 19.7% of his run-blocking snaps earning a positive grade, which also placed second best. The concern here will be if he’s a beneficiary of the NFL’s run-heaviest offense and if his 66.9 pass-blocking grade — a career best — can continue to improve in years to come. “
Even though it won’t be cheap to keep McGary in Atlanta, he’s clearly a good fit in Arthur Smith’s system and it’s hard to find quality tackles in this league.
