Chris Lindstrom earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his Falcons career, and many believe he deserves All-Pro honors. With an offensive lineman, it’s hard to find individual statistics to argue someone’s case. Penalties, or lack thereof, are the only individual metrics we can point to.
Lindstrom actually received the first holding penalty of his career this past season, and if you watched the game, you’d know it was an unwarranted call. Still, you could point to the Falcons’ potent rushing attack, particularly their success running behind the right side of the line of scrimmage, as reasons for his All-Pro bid.
If you ask people around Atlanta, he’s the best guard in football. To me, that crown still belongs to Zack Martin, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Lindstrom deserves All-Pro recognition. His fellow players don’t feel that way, but an offensive line guru and potential Hall of Famer do.
When I sat down with @BigDuke50/@AndrewWhitworth to name our OL All-Pro team the player I was most excited to discuss was future HOFer Zack Martin and it didn't disappoint. Martin was an easy 1st team selection w/some variety behind him.
Full audio/video: https://t.co/jCI6H8DzJr pic.twitter.com/VtvtRDn5Sk
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) January 10, 2023
Brandon Thorn and Duke Manyweather are widely considered premier offensive line experts. Manyweather and Andrew Whitworth‘s All-Pro lists included the Falcons’ right guard, while Thorn’s did not. Moreover, the annual player-voted All-Pro team released by the NLFPA didn’t have Lindstrom.
The NFLPA has unveiled the 2022 Players’ All-Pro First Team, voted on by players themselves. pic.twitter.com/RVw2lr2SE6
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 11, 2023
It seems Chris Lindstrom’s 2022 campaign is a bag of mixed reviews, depending on who you ask. And you might not think these things matter, but they do. For the individuals, to be recognized among the league’s best is an incredibly high honor. But also, these accolades factor into contract negotiations, which is on the horizon for Lindstrom. The Falcons will likely try to extend him this offseason, and an All-Pro selection should drive his price up.
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Falcons: What would a Chris Lindstrom contract extension look like?
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Photographer: Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire
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