'Really Good Player': Falcons GM Talks Looming Free Agency for Starting OL

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Atlanta Falcons' focus for the next several days centers around interviewing and evaluating the top prospects at the 2025 NFL combine, but Atlanta's more pressing roster decisions are looming with free agency roughly two weeks away.

Perhaps the Falcons' most important question to answer surrounds the future of center Drew Dalman, who's started his last 40 appearances but will be an unrestricted free agent when the legal tampering period opens March 10.

Dalman is ranked as the best free agent center, according to ESPN, and he's in line for a significant payday. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler speculated Dalman could receive top three money at the center position, which would put him around $13 million or more annually.

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot, who met with reporters Tuesday in Indianapolis, acknowledged Dalman's value but didn't commit either way to the 26-year-old's future with the organization.

"We know he's a really good player," Fontenot said. "He's been a big part of our offensive line for a long time, but like Drew or any other unrestricted free agent, we have to have those conversations internally."

Drafted in the fourth round in 2021, Dalman played in 57 games over the past four seasons. He missed eight games due to an ankle injury in 2024 and three others with another ankle injury in 2023.

Dalman spent his rookie season as Atlanta's backup center, though he played in every game on special teams. He beat out Matt Hennessy for the starting job in 2022 and played all 1,051 snaps offensively. Dalman started all 14 games played in 2023 and all nine appearances in 2024.

He earned a 78.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked No. 4 among centers. He was a stout run blocker, slotting in fifth overall at his position with a 79.8 grade, while his 66.6 pass protection grade put him at No. 21 out of 64 qualified centers. Across 554 snaps, the Salinas, Calif., native allowed two sacks and committed three penalties.

Dalman declined to discuss his future on locker cleanout day Jan. 6, dubbing it a personal and team-related matter. He did, however, say his four-year run in Atlanta was an "amazing experience, and I hope it continues and all that."

Similarly, the Falcons have interest in retaining Dalman, according to ESPN. The price may be too steep to find common ground.

But when Atlanta leaves Indianapolis and flips its focus from the draft to free agency, it will do so with a keen eye on properly negotiating with homegrown players like Dalman.

"It starts inside. It starts internal," Fontenot said. "And we want to make sure we focus on our players, making the right decisions in-house first, and then we go from there."

The Falcons will be prioritizing the line of scrimmage this spring, and Dalman is their lone starting offensive lineman set to hit free agency.

For Atlanta to snap its seven-year playoff drought, it needs improved play on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Fontenot knows that -- but it remains unclear if the Falcons have the funds necessary to keep Dalman in the red and black.

"You have to be good up front," Fontenot said. "When you walk in there, and you've got a big, physical offensive line, and you have a big, physical defensive line, it's going to make a difference. Up front, you've got to be big and physical."