Continuity is critical for offensive lines to be successful. For the most part, the Atlanta Falcons have that going for them, as they're returning four out of five starters up front from last season.
However, the one change in the lineup is a big one. Right tackle Kaleb McGary, who missed all of the 2025 NFL season due to a knee injury, announced his retirement this offseason. McGary has since been replaced by former Kansas City Chiefs tackle Jawaan Taylor - who leads the NFL in penalties since the 2021 season.
Flags are just part of the problem for Taylor, whose issues in pass protection are the source of those issues. That could be a huge problem for the Falcons this week, as Taylor will be facing a murderer's row of great edge rushers against
the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to Seth Walder at ESPN, Taylor is in for a rough time on Sunday.
"Falcons RT Jawaan Taylor will post a pass block win rate under 75% (average is 90%). Against the Steelers edge rushing trio of Alex Highsmith, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig, I expect Taylor to struggle on what might be the few plays on which Atlanta actually holds the ball for at least 2.5 seconds."
If Taylor does indeed lose one of every four pass reps it's going to make life very hard on whoever's in the backfield for the Falcons. Right now, it looks like that's going to be either Tua Tagovailoa backup Cooper Rush. Tagovailoa sustained an oblique injury in Thursday's practice and is considered day-to-day.
The uncertainty at quarterback is one of the many reasons why you should be bullish about Bijan Robinson going into Week 1, and little else regarding Atlanta's offense.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: ESPN predicts Falcons' new RT will struggle vs. Steelers
