Falcons OT Kaleb McGary Re-Signing a 'Risk'?

Kaleb McGary is the Atlanta Falcons' biggest in-house free agent. Will the team re-sign its former first-round pick?

Jeremy Brener | Mar 10, 2023

In this story:

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are entering free agency with a boatload of cap space and an agenda.

The first item on that agenda? Find a tackle, or re-sign Kaleb McGary.

The Falcons already opted not to use the franchise tag on McGary, who failed to live up to his first-round status in his first three NFL seasons. But he was able to turn it around in 2022 to become one of the top tackles in this year's free agency class.

However, he comes with a risk, and Bleacher Report ranked him the fifth-riskiest player in the free agency class.

"McGary was one of the NFL's best run-blocking tackles this past season. But he was average at best in pass protection, allowing six sacks, per Pro Football Focus. In 2021, he surrendered nine sacks, which was tied for the second-most leaguewide. Whichever NFL team forks over big bucks for McGary could wind up with a one-dimensional player whose career year in 2022 was more of the exception than the rule."

It's understandable that the Falcons didn't want to tag McGary after one strong season that may be a fluke. But they are allowing him to test the open market, where any team could value him more than Atlanta. And that would put the Falcons in need of a tackle either lesser than McGary on the open market or early in the draft.

Follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Falcons? Click Here.

Follow Falcon Report on Twitter.

Want even more Atlanta Falcons news? Check out the SI.com team page here.

Published Mar 10, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.