“Atlanta was definitely a place I wanted to go.”
Those words were said by Atlanta Falcons first-round pick Chris Lindstrom. Lindstrom hails from Boston College and the Falcons selected him with the 14th pick.
Earlier in the draft process, Atlanta invited Lindstrom to Flowery Branch for a private workout and it was clear to Lindstrom, the best place for him was Atlanta.
“I had a great relationship with the staff and everyone, Atlanta was definitely a place I wanted to go,” Lindstrom said. “I’m just thankful for this opportunity.”
Lindstrom said he is comfortable playing right and left guard.
Atlanta also selected tackle Kaleb McGary with the 31st pick. The 6’7”, 315-pound tackle exhibits the nastiness head coach Dan Quinn has been seeking during the offseason.
“I take tremendous pride in being an offensive lineman,” McGary said in an interview. “My quarterback and tailback are important to me. They are like family to me. Nobody hurts those guys. I want defenders to be afraid of me. When I step to the line, [I want] for them to be afraid. I don’t want that quarterback or running back to ever worry if they come near my side.”
In the third round, the Falcons selected Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield with the 111th pick and Charleston defensive end John Cominsky with the 135th pick.
“He’s 285 right now, and the ability to get bigger and to be 295-plus is something that we believe can happen,” said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff of Cominsky. “But here’s a guy that can move around really well. He is a hard-charging, intelligent guy who’s really, really gritty and really driven, and we look at the versatility.”
In round four, the Dirty Birds selected Pitt Panthers running back Qadree Ollison with the 152nd pick and Washington cornerback Jordan Miller 172nd overall. With their final draft pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected running back Marcus Green from Louisiana-Monroe.
“Kick return, punt return, running back ability, receiver ability; We’ll start him off at running back and incorporate him into that way. But like most guys, we’re going to find out as much as we can,” Quinn said of Green.
In other NFL Draft news, Kyler Murray was selected first overall by the Arizona Cardinals. Murray made history as the only athlete to be picked in the first round in the NFL draft and the Major League Baseball draft in the same year (Murray was drafted ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2019 common draft).
The Cardinals later traded disgruntled quarterback Josh Rosen to the Miami Dolphins. It was rumored Murray was offered $14 million guaranteed plus a $4.6 million base salary to play baseball. However, he eschewed the diamond for the gridiron.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I was reluctant,” said Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim. “I did not want to watch the tape, I did not want to fall in love with the player. I watched more and more, saw the things he can do. As I continued to get to know the person, as we did all our homework, our due diligence, the more and more I became convinced this was the right guy for us.”
Rookie minicamps begin May 11th and mandatory minicamps begin June 11-13 at the team’s practice facility in Flowery Branch.
