Atlanta Falcons Most-Overlooked Player Revealed by NFL Network

Having suffered through six-straight losing seasons, it wouldn't be a stretch to say every player on the Atlanta Falcons is overlooked. However, NFL Network was tasked with picking one player from every team that was the most overlooked.

Grady Jarrett hasn't been to a Pro Bowl since 2020, suffering back-to-back-to-back 7-10 seasons in that stretch, but it's his running mate, David Onyemata, who gets the nod from Tom Blair of NFL Network.

"Onyemata practically turned 'flying under the radar' into an art form in New Orleans over the first portion of his career, averaging nearly four sacks and 28.8 QB pressures between 2017 and 2022, according to Next Gen Stats," wrote Blair on NFL.com. "And he didn't miss a beat in his first season with the Falcons, providing a respectable 35 QB pressures and four sacks. It was the fourth straight time that he finished with 31-plus pressures, and the fifth time in his eight seasons. Onyemata's age (he's turning 32 in November) should only help boost his underappreciated bona fides."

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If a rising tide lifts all boats, the opposite has occurred in Atlanta the better part of the last decade. The team's irrelevance on a national level has led to several individuals being overlooked, particularly in the trenches where stats are harder to come by.

Safety Jessie Bates III was hard to ignore last year having led NFC safeties with six interceptions (Baltimore's Geno Stone led NFL safeties with seven). He was named to All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl.

.@jlbiii3 took it to da House ‼️

📺 FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/4PasQpPhXQ
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 26, 2023

However trench stalwarts like Grady and offensive guard Chris Lindstrom have definitely been overlooked through the years. Lindstrom has an argument for being the best guard in the NFL.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) seems to think so. He was ranked the No. 1 guard last season with a grade of 87.6, and he was PFF's No. 1 ranked player in the NFL in 2022 with a stunning 95.0 grade on the season.

Yet Lindstrom has yet to be an All-Pro, and despite his nearly-flawless play, he still rarely cracks the top-10 in subjective guard rankings from various media outlets.

Jarrett was a one-man defensive line in 2021 and should have gotten more recognition for it. He had just one sack, and a mic'd up moment will forever explain his lack of production.

How many OL does it take to block @GradyJarrett?

Three 👀 pic.twitter.com/W7xdDCfC6b
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 30, 2021

The Falcons are chock full of overlooked players. How many people realize Bijan Robinson was top-10 in yards from scrimmage as a rookie?

That's only going to change as they break their seven-win doldrums. New head coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Kirk Cousins have been brought to Atlanta to do just that.

With an over/under on wins for 2024 sitting at 9.5, the Falcons are expected to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. If the Falcons win, the recognition will come.

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