FLOWERY BRANCH — When Bill Callahan became the Falcons’ offensive line coach in January, he went straight to the film room. He watched games. He watched practices. He watched everything he could — and not only from last season.

The 69-year-old liked what he saw from the unit under former offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford’s guidance.

“Coach Led did a phenomenal job here when he was here,” Callahan said this summer. “He’s got the line rolling. They’re physical. They have a great attitude about themselves. They did a great job producing in the run game. So, I’m just here to maintain what they’ve done and improve upon it.”

Callahan, who led the then-Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2002 season and also had a head coaching stint at Nebraska from 2004-07, has impressed his players with the lengthy list of distinguished linemen he’s coached in the past.

Some names fly over the heads of his younger players. Others, like 34-year-old left tackle Jake Matthews, process and revel in it. Callahan, Matthews said, has been “one of the best to do it” for a long time, and the Falcons’ offensive linemen have benefited from his presence.

“His knowledge and all that has been pretty cool to be a part of,” Matthews said. “The guys will chuckle a lot because he’s always got some type of memory or a throwback with a Hall of Fame player and it’s like, ‘Yeah, you definitely know what you’re talking about.’”

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski’s move to hire Callahan, who joined him on staff with the Browns from 2020-23, in place of Ledford, who now holds the same role with the Baltimore Ravens, wasn’t the only notable move on the team’s offensive line.

Kaleb McGary, a first-round pick in 2019 who started 92 games at right tackle in his first six seasons before missing all of 2025 because of a knee injury, announced his retirement in April. Right guard Chris Lindstrom, McGary’s first-round draft mate in 2019, said he had no inkling of McGary’s decision before he received a phone call prior to the formal announcement.

“I really love Kaleb, and he felt it was time for him to be done,” Lindstrom said in May. “And so, as his friend, really just supported him. And then being out here with him for seven years, it’s kind of weird.

“Jake and I joked about it. It’s weird not having Kaleb’s goofy butt out here, doing Kaleb stuff, as you guys all know. So, we definitely miss him, but I know he’s happy and safe and healthy.”

The Falcons feel they have a capable group of options to replace McGary — and here’s a deeper look at the team’s offensive linemen before players arrive for training camp July 28 in Flowery Branch.

Depth chart

Starters: LT Jake Matthews, LG Matthew Bergeron, C Ryan Neuzil, RG Chris Lindstrom, RT Jawaan Taylor

Backups: OT Michael Jerrell, OT Wanya Morris, OT Jack Nelson, OT/OG Ethan Onianwa, OG Kyle Hinton, C James Brockermeyer, C Corey Levin

Notable departures

• Kaleb McGary (retirement)
• Elijah Wilkinson (free agent, signed with Arizona Cardinals)

Biggest questions

1. How safe is Jawaan Taylor’s grasp on the right tackle gig?

The Falcons signed Taylor to a one-year, $5 million contract the same afternoon of McGary’s retirement. That’s no coincidence. Taylor, who’s started all 111 games of his seven-year NFL career, appears the likely replacement for McGary.

“While Kaleb was obviously a really good player for the franchise, we were fortunate to be able to get a player in Jawaan Taylor, who’s started a lot of games at right tackle and played on some really good teams at right tackle,” general manager Ian Cunningham said in April. “We’re excited about him and what he can bring to our offense in the run and pass game.”

Cunningham’s sentiment feels cut and dry with plenty of reason to believe Taylor will be the starter, but there’s a rather significant part still to play out: Taylor hasn’t taken a snap with his teammates.

The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Taylor participated in walk-throughs but was held from individual and team periods during OTAs and minicamp because of an undisclosed injury. In his place, Michael Jerrell, a reserve on last year’s unit, took a significant portion of the snaps as the first-team right tackle.

Jerrell is under the impression he can win the job as the blindside blocker for either Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa.

“I feel good,” Jerrell said about working with the starters. “I’m happy to continue to keep fighting for a job, trying to earn a job. It’s a blessing to be here, a blessing to be in a position where I can earn a job.”

Wanya Morris, acquired in June via trade with the Kansas City Chiefs and a prime candidate to be the team’s swing tackle, said he won’t shy from expectations about earning the starting job, either.

“Anywhere you are, I feel like anybody should feel like they should win,” Morris said. “That’s the mindset you should have as an O-lineman, to be one of those five. So, yeah, I feel like anywhere I am, I feel like I could win a spot.”

So long as he’s healthy, Taylor will enter training camp as the favorite to start — but he’ll have to prove there’s truly no competition.

2. Entering a contract year, what statement does Matthew Bergeron make?

A second-round pick in 2023, Bergeron has started 49 games at left guard across the past three seasons. He’s become a fixture on the Falcons’ offensive line — but for how much longer?

With the arrival of Stefanski and Callahan bringing a new system, and the team’s front office having no prior ties to Bergeron, the 26-year-old enters a contract season with a fresh slate.

“I feel like I approach this year like any other year,” Bergeron said in June. “All these years in the NFL are so important. I feel like if the coaching staff loves me, they’re going to keep me. If they don’t, they’re going to move on. I think that’s part of the game.

“As far as business decisions, that’s out of my reach. So hopefully, they like me and want to keep me. And if not, it’s all good, you know what I’m saying? It’s a part of football. I’m just grateful to be on the NFL field, to be honest.”

Bergeron, after playing his first three years in schemes heavily centered around wide zone rushing attacks, welcomes a return to more gap-scheme concepts under Callahan. It’s something he did plenty at Syracuse and said it’ll be a benefit for the Falcons’ ground game.

“I think it’s going to give us a good chance to mix it up,” Bergeron said, “and also just show what we can do as far as gap scheme-wise.”

Perhaps a new environment will serve as a launching pad for Bergeron to level up and earn a nice contract extension next spring. Otherwise, he might be entering his final season in Atlanta.

3. Do any rookies make the team?

The Falcons drafted Ohio State offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa in the seventh round, but he wasn’t the rookie who generated the most buzz up front. That honor belongs to undrafted center James Brockermeyer, who played in college at Miami and largely served as the backup center to Ryan Neuzil during training camp.

Brockermeyer will have to beat out veteran free agent signee Corey Levin for the reserve center gig, but Callahan sees value in going younger with depth pieces.

“The way the league is right now, you’re filtering in young players,” Callahan said. “You’re churning the bottom of your roster. You’re trying to develop players, especially in the line. So, the value of developing a young offensive lineman that could play for you, monetarily, it just helps everything.

“It helps the cap. It allows you to go get a better player at the skill positions. So, the more we can develop in that area, not spend on a higher pick, I mean, that’s what everybody’s shooting for ideally.”