The Falcons handed extensions out to two stalwarts in the trenches this offseason. Grady Jarrett being one and Jake Matthews being the other, who agreed to a three-year extension hours before the NFL’s legal tampering period began. Matthews has been an iron man along Atlanta’s offensive line and currently holds the longest consecutive start streak (127 starts) in the NFL. He is being recognized as one of the top starting tackles, according to PFF’s Ben Linsey.
As was the case with Smith above, there are no durability concerns with Matthews. His career-low in snaps came as a rookie in 2014 (955), and he’s played at least 1,000 offensive snaps in seven consecutive seasons since that point.
Matthews loses reps too often in the run game, but he has consistently been one of the better pass protectors at left tackle over the course of his career. The 30-year-old out of Texas A&M has graded out in the 92nd percentile among all tackles in pass-blocking grade on true pass sets over the last three years.
The 30-year-old Matthews was the team’s first-round pick in 2014 and has been a mainstay since that season, playing 98% or more of Atlanta’s offensive snaps in each of the past five seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and had two years left on his existing contract before the extension; now, he’ll be with the Falcons for the remainder of what could be his prime.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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