A quick glance at Kaleb McGary shows that size and strength should never be a problem on a football field. The 6-foot-6 and 306-pound right tackle towers over most of his Falcons teammates. His power regularly was on display against opponents in college at Washington.
The physical brand of football he plays with is what caught the Falcons’ eye in the first place. After his rookie season, one that McGary said included too many “unacceptable” mistakes, McGary reflected on why things didn’t go as he otherwise would have liked. For whatever reason, McGary said he allowed nervousness to affect him more than it had before he entered the pro ranks.
While McGary was among the better players on the field in each of his college games, he now found himself competing against the best of the best in the NFL.
“I was really worried about going against some of the bigger-name guys because they’re the bigger-name guys. And who am I? This rookie who got drafted last year that half of everybody thought was a waste of a draft pick,” McGary said. “And the other half wasn’t sure. In my mind, it made it kind of difficult to be completely confident, which was ridiculous. As an athlete, you can’t let the outside noise affect you like that. I think it did a little bit. It was hard for me to have that necessary confidence, that pep in my step. That’s something I’m looking to change this year -- to be more confident, fix the small technique issues I need to fix and just go take care of business.”
McGary specifically made it a point to address this mental aspect early in the offseason. He reminded himself that the Falcons thought enough of him to trade into the first round to select him with the 31st pick in the 2019 NFL draft. In McGary’s mind, it was silly, with the benefit of hindsight, to buy into the external pressures that came with being a rookie starting right tackle.
Last season, the Falcons’ coaches were pleased with McGary when it came to his run blocking. As for pass protection, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said the young tackle should fare better now that he’s had a full 16-game slate under his belt. Knowing there would be an acclimation period, Koetter said he feels better about where McGary is entering his second year.
“Kaleb had a stronger season in the run game than he did in pass protection,” Koetter said. “We knew that going in, that was going to be where he was going to have the biggest adjustment. He was given some things to work on in the offseason. Kaleb is having to do some work on his own. Now that Kaleb has been through a regular season, has a better feel for the guys he’s going against and what it’s going to take, he’s going to take a big jump as well.”
To boost both his confidence and on-field performance, in what has been an unusual offseason spent away from the Falcons’ Flowery Branch facility, McGary has mostly been on his own to work on the technical aspects of being an NFL offensive tackle. However, McGary said he thrives under structure and when he has a “coach’s eye” to help correct his mistakes in real time.
Recently, McGary and right guard Chris Lindstrom have been training with former Falcons offensive guard Kynan Forney, an independent offensive line coach at DASH Performance in Lawrenceville.
Last Friday, the three got together and went through some drill work, with Forney’s wife filming each rep on an iPad. After repping a particular technique, Forney would grab the iPad to review the tape with the two linemen. Forney said he has been working on McGary’s footwork while offering some tips on when to use certain pass sets.
“A lot of times when you come from college you’re used to being the biggest and strongest guy, wherever you’re at,” Forney said. “Sometimes you can lack on a few things as far as technique-wise. I’m trying to show him a few things to make his job easier.”
Lindstrom suggested that McGary join him with Forney since he’s been working with the former Falcon since the end of June. In addition to helping McGary get some needed live coaching, the two have been able to work on drills together to help improve their chemistry on the right side of the line.
“No matter what your job is, you want to be familiar with your co-workers, especially from a fundamental standpoint,” Lindstrom said. “This has been good to work with him on this as well.”
As McGary’s technique and footwork improve, the goal is for his confidence to join in lockstep. And that’s also something Forney said will be crucial for McGary in 2020.
“Usually in the second season, that’s when the team expects you to take a big jump,” Forney said. “But you as a player need to expect to take that big jump as well. The only way to take that jump is the preparation and attention to detail you put in during the offseason. Starting when the season is over with, you’ve got to be watching tape on some of the better linemen in the league, watching what they do.”
Like all young players, McGary learned early that there are no easy moments or shortcuts in the NFL. He said he quickly realized just how small the margin for error is in this league.
Now that he’s entering Year 2, McGary has a greater understanding of what to expect each week, both mentally and physically.
“I’m in the big leagues now. This isn’t college or high school ball anymore,” McGary said. “Everybody knows everybody’s name on this field. This is the big time. There was a lot of needing to get used to that. It was very weird for me mentally for some reason. It was really strange. I just need to be confident in my capabilities, trust my coaching and my training, and just do what needs to be done.
“There is obviously some technique stuff that needs to be cleaned up. I have plenty of bad habits that I struggled to deal with last year, with footwork and hand placement, speed off the ball sometimes. The list goes on.
“The good news is that they were all simple.”
