Although the Atlanta Falcons season may not have finished as fans hoped, in hindsight, a diamond on the team may have emerged from the rough.
Falcons center Drew Dalman was recently revealed to be the team's most improved player.
“Not many foreshadowed that Dalman, in his third NFL season, would be among the league’s best centers," Yard Barker wrote. “He ranked third among centers in PFF grade, largely because of his run-blocking prowess (90.0).”
PFF gave Dalman an 82.3 grade overall for his performance in 2023, which is 17.1 points higher than his grade in 2022 of 65.9.
Dalman may be one of the most improved players in the league based on these metrics, but he still has a lot of untapped potential, especially as a pass blocker, whose grade of 53 was 37 points lower than that of his run blocking.
Atlanta managed to keep all five starting offensive linemen from 2022 to 2023, and the group is expected to keep their jobs in 2024.
Now that the team has pivoted from a head coach with an offensive background in Arthur Smith to a defensive mind in Raheem Morris, there’s a chance that dominating time of possession becomes even more of a priority for the Falcons offense, which means Dalman needs to stay on his A-game to help create holes for star running back Bijan Robinson and provide time in the pocket for whoever the starting quarterback is.
Last season may have been a disappointment for the team, but Dalman’s improvement provides optimism for the future in Atlanta.
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