FLOWERY BRANCH — Center Ryan Neuzil, the Falcons’ king of the pickleball courts, reached a two-year contract worth $9.5 million with the Falcons on Wednesday, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
Neuzil is the heir apparent at his position after Drew Dalman signed with the Bears in free agency earlier this offseason.
“Neuzil has got a lot of strength,” Falcons offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford said recently. “He’s a very good (athlete), like, he may be one of the best athletes on the team. He can play pickleball. If there’s a sport out there, he’s good at it. So, he’s a really good athlete, first and foremost.”
It wasn’t Neuzil’s pickleball skills that led to the deal, but he is force on the courts.
“He’s great,” Ledford said. “He’s really good at it. I’ve went out there before with (the offensive linemen) and played with them. I have no shot being out there with those guys. It’s fun.”
An undrafted free agent, Neuzil started eight games last season after Dalman suffered a high ankle sprain. He started three games in 2023 for Dalman, also because of a high ankle sprain.
“He’s a very explosive guy,” Ledford said. “Just has a lot of power. At the center position, you got that quick, the quickness that he shows and that you need there. … It’s a good combination to have.”
Dalman signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Bears in free agency. Dalman, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, took less money to go to the Bears.
General manager Terry Fontenot and coach Raheem Morris were fine with Neuzil taking over. They just had to work out the deal for him as a restricted free agent. They placed a right-of-first-refusal tag on Neuzil, which would have allowed the Falcons to match any offers to Neuzil.
“(I) definitely feel comfortable with Neuzil,” Morris said. “We got a chance to look at him when Dalman was out.”
Fontenot also raved about Neuzil’s work last season, when played 577 offensive snaps (51%).
Neuzil will start between All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom and left guard Matthew Bergeron. Center was the one opening on the offense.
“I’m excited to see him … (take) full control now,” Ledford said. “Just going out there and like, ‘Hey, man,’ go run with it.”
Analyzing Neuzil over the eight starts was vital to the team’s decision.
“In practice you try to simulate it as much as you can, but nothing, nothing can replicate game reps with some of these defenders that you’re going against,” Ledford said. “It’s third-and-8, and you got to stop them from getting to the quarterback, or it’s first-and-10, and we’re trying to get a good run going, and you’ve got a really good nose (tackle) in front of you. On Sundays, it’s a different speed.”
Neuzil, 27, played guard in college and was converted to a center by the Falcons. The Falcons signed him to their practice squad Sept. 1, 2021. He spent most of two seasons on the practice squad before he was signed to the active roster Nov. 22, 2022.
He played in nine games, mostly on special teams, in 2022.
In 2023, he was pressed into duty at center. He played all 72 offensive snaps against the Bucs on Dec. 10. He played all 52 snaps against the Panthers on Dec. 17 and all 62 snaps in the regular-season finale against the Saints on Jan. 7.
There could be a drop-off at the position. Dalman received a 78.8 overall grade (fourth of 64 centers) from Pro Football Focus last season. Neuzil had a 58.5 grade (41st).
Dalman was graded 66.6 in pass protection (21st) and Neuzil 63.6 (35th). Dalman was a 79.8 in run blocking (fifth), and Neuzil had a 60.5 grade (35th).
It’s been a long journey to a starting spot in the NFL for Neuzil, who was a bigger tight end at Braden River High in Bradenton (Florida) when he had an on-field run-in with Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin.
“We played St. Thomas Aquinas, and his son was on the team,” Neuzil recalled. “He was on the sidelines there, and Asante Samuel Jr. was guarding me on the side when I played tight end. He was just letting me have it on the sidelines. It was pretty funny.”
Irvin was telling Samuel not to get beat by that “fat guy” at tight end.
“Pretty much, I was a bigger tight end at (6-foot-2 and 240 pounds),” Neuzil said. “I was bigger than your normal-size high school tight end. He was saying, ‘Don’t let this big guy get by you.’”
Neuzil, who caught 26 passes for 470 yards and two touchdowns as a senior, went to Appalachian State. He added some weight to get up to 290 pounds and was moved to guard. He went on to finish his career with 44 starts at left guard.
“I told all of the guys who were here for the rookie minicamp that he came in as an undrafted free agent,” Ledford said. “All he did was, he kept working at his craft, kept pounding on it. Kept pounding on it. Now, the dude’s a starting center in the NFL.”
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