Atlanta Falcons right guard Wes Schweitzer still has competition

The Atlanta Falcons have one of the best offenses in the league. That’s due in large part to their solid offensive line. But not all Falcons offensive linemen are created equal. On one end of the spectrum is Alex Mack, whose 88.4 Pro Football Focus grade ranks 2nd among NFL centers. On the other end of the spectrum is second year right guard Wes Schweitzer, whose 41.9 PFF grade ranks 56th among NFL guards. Schweitzer won the right guard job after a lengthy camp battle with Ben Garland. Garland is Schweitzer’s back up ... for now.

Vaughn McClure picked up on something interesting during yesterday’s game: Ben Garland played 10 snaps at right guard. (Wes Schweitzer played 54 snaps.) Schwietzer wasn’t injured, so what gives? Here’s head coach Dan Quinn’s explanation:

“It was something that we wanted to take a look at. Ben has certainly done a good job. We’ve featured him some in the short yardage and the goal-line package. You’ve seen him do that. We certainly want to get him a chance to go in and compete as well. Yeah, it was by design.''

In short, they did it on purpose. It will be interesting to see if this rotation endures going forward or if Garland’s role increases over time. It’s obvious the team isn’t 100 percent comfortable with Schweitzer at right guard, and this is their remedy. That doesn’t mean Schweitzer will suddenly lose his job. It also doesn’t mean he isn’t the right guard of the future. It just means he’s navigating a steep learning curve and continues to struggle.

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