Stanford center Drew Dalman was selected by the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday with the 114th pick in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Dalman's father, Chris, who played in the NFL, coached the offensive line in Atlanta during the 2005 season.
"Drew Dalman is one of the fastest offensive linemen in this draft and a perfect fit for the outside zone scheme that Arthur Smith runs in Atlanta," Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw said. "He is tough, he is smart and he's going to come in ready to compete!"
Dalman, a native of Salnas, Calif., becomes the first Cardinal center to be drafted since Drew Caylor was selected in the sixth round of the 2004 Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is just the third Stanford center to be drafted since 1993, when the elder Dalman was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round.
A team captain in 2020, Dalman stared all 18 games at center over his final two seasons, earning All-Pac-12 honors both seasons.
In addition to excelling on the field, Dalman will graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering in June. He was recognized by the Pac-12 for academics in each of the last three seasons and was recently named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
Dalman is the ninth Stanford offensive linemen drafted since 2012, the most in the Pac-12 Conference. He is the first Cardinal selected by the Falcons since Austin Hooper in 2016.
