'Matured a Bunch': Falcons OL Bergeron Trending from Good to Great in Second Season

Atlanta Falcons left guard Matthew Bergeron is well suited for a strong 2024 season.

Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron is trending for another step forward this fall. / dale zanine-usa today sports

During the Atlanta Falcons' 2023 rookie minicamp, second-round left guard Matthew Bergeron navigated through a drill.

Growing comfortable and learning the intricacies of guard after playing tackle at Syracuse University were at the forefront of his mind. The offensive assistant holding a bag was not.

Bergeron, at the end of the drill, flattened one of Atlanta's assistants. For veteran right tackle Kaleb McGary, it's one of the first memories that comes to mind when reflecting on the last several years of Falcons football.

"It was pretty good," McGary said, smiling. "Pretty good."

Perhaps nothing better summarizes Bergeron's rookie season than "pretty good." He played more snaps -- 1,139 -- than any other member of Atlanta's offense, and he allowed 33 pressures on 632 pass blocking snaps, giving his opponents a pressure rate of just 5.2%.

During Atlanta's final seven games after the bye week, the 6-foot-5, 318-pound Bergeron let up just 12 pressures, two sacks and a pair of quarterback hits. He made noticeable strides, impressing offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford with his gradual ascent.

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot noted Bergeron's technical development, a nod to Ledford and assistant offensive line coach Shawn Flaherty, while noting he believes Bergeron and right guard Chris Lindstrom can be the NFL's best guard tandem.

Lindstrom has earned All-Pro honors the past two years. The burden of reaching those heights falls on Bergeron, who said he's now in a much more fruitful spot -- both on and off the field -- entering his second season.

"I definitely feel better, feel more comfortable" Bergeron said earlier in training camp. "Having that rookie year under my belt and behind me, I definitely feel better and more comfortable. There's a lot of stuff to work on, especially with my feet and hands, but that's what camp is for -- just getting better."

From the moment he pushed the aforementioned rookie minicamp drill just a touch too far, Bergeron has capitalized on his opportunities to grow. The speed of the NFL game is faster than in college, an acclimation process only made more difficult for Bergeron by sliding inside to guard, where there's less time to react off the snap.

But there are also plenty of things that go unseen. Rookies, McGary said, have to learn the ropes of how teams operate. It's a natural phenomenon that takes time -- and Bergeron's alarm clock appears to have gone off.

"He's matured a bunch," McGary said. "He's a great player -- he was a good player last year, but I think he's really, really improving. He's growing personally and as a player and teammate."

The Falcons' offense is littered with change, starting at the top with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Schematically, however, much is the same.

Atlanta will remain wide zone-heavy in its rushing attack, though other concepts from Robinson's five years as an offensive assistant with the Los Angeles Rams will be mixed into what the Falcons ran well a season ago.

McGary noted many teams around the NFL run the same relative concepts, and Ledford said he isn't teaching many new concepts to the room.

Beyond the X's and O's, the Falcons' offensive line room is exactly the same.

All five starters -- left tackle Jake Matthews, Bergeron, center Drew Dalman, Lindstrom and McGary -- are back on the team. Each of the four reserves -- tackle Storm Norton and interior linemen Ryan Neuzil, Kyle Hinton and Jovaughn Gwyn -- were a part of the organization last season. Then, of course, there's Ledford, who's entering his fourth season leading the Falcons' offensive line.

It's an environment well suited to carry over momentum from last season, and Bergeron, entering Sunday's season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, has done exactly that.

"Berg is awesome," Dalman said. "Great guy, great player and he's doing awesome so far. In my opinion, I think he played incredible, especially to step in as a rookie, that's incredibly difficult. So, that's been going well, and obviously, he had a great offseason, came back in shape, came back looking great.

"I love playing next to Berg."

Bergeron's second NFL campaigns begins at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.