For the first time in years, the Falcons were able to spend money this past offseason following the club’s decision to take a record-breaking amount of dead money on the chin to clean up the roster.
Atlanta’s two biggest investments came in two unusual positions — safety and offensive guard. Both aren’t considered premium positions in today’s game, but Terry Fontenot elected to make Chris Lindstrom the highest-paid guard in league history at the time of the deal and Jessie Bates the fourth-highest-paid safety.
Lindstrom signed a five-year $105 million extension, and Bates inked a four-year, $64.02 million free agent contract. That nearly $170 million investment has paid immediate dividends as both earned All-Pro honors in the first season since agreeing to their respective deals.
According to the Associated Press, Lindstrom and Bates made AP’s second team behind Zack Martin and Kyle Hamilton/Antoine Winfield Jr., respectively.
Martin is the best guard in football, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Atlanta’s right guard is among the best players in the league, but right now, Zack Martin is still the best in the business.
As for Bates, I think you could make a case that he was snubbed, but all three are deserving of first-team honors. Bates ranked second among safeties in tackles (132) behind Camryn Bynum, second in interceptions (6) behind Geno Stone, and tied for third in forced fumbles (3) behind Winfield Jr. and Josh Metellus. Hamilton led all safeties in tackles for loss and passes defended, so he’s certainly deserving of praise too.
Both players missed first-team honors by one vote, so it was as close of a race as you could have. Without tearing down other players, we can praise the Falcons two stars. Jessie Bates and Chris Lindstrom are just that, stars. And Atlanta is lucky to have them.
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