Falcons’ Chris Lindstrom Still Guided by Wisdom of Former Teammate

Atlanta Falcons’ right guard Chris Lindstrom is ranked as one of the top guards in the NFL. He has been named a Second-team All-Pro for three consecutive seasons, and has also been Pro Football Focus’ highest graded guard for each of the last three seasons. 

Lindstrom, who is very kind and respectful off the field, “flips a switch,” so to speak, when he gets on the field.

“I just try to keep it like compartmentalized. I’m just giving as much as I can for my teammates out here, and the competitiveness and physicality is like a mandate for those guys. And that’s what I try to do,” Lindstrom said. 

Linstrom attributed his parents as the ones who helped cultivate his competitive nature. 

“The biggest thing my parents always preached was just the competitiveness. It wasn’t, it was never really the results in what I was doing. If it was baseball, if it was basketball, in any sport, it was just the competitiveness that you play with. Finishing, being a good teammate.” Lindstrom said.

He went on to emphasize that the flipping of the switch has nothing to do with being angry, a piece of advice he got from former Atlanta Falcon Alex Mack during his rookie season in 2019.

“Honestly, Alex Mack gave me a really good advice when I was a rookie. He’s like, you don’t want to be super angry when you’re playing because you can’t think. Lindstrom said. “And so I think the way he explained that it’s like you want that competitive urgency, but you still need to be able to think and stuff like that.”

Mack had a long 13-year NFL career. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time 2nd-team All-Pro, and an NFC Champion with the Atlanta Falcons. Heeding his advice has a significant impact on Lindstrom, reflected in the accolades he’s picked up in his career.

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