Jake Matthews
Atlanta FalconsOVERPAIDModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Comps
STM Take
Twelve straight years as Atlanta's starting LT plus the 2018 Pro Bowl plus four straight top-25 STTM finishes 2021-2024 puts Matthews in the rarefied air of decade-long stable LTs. The 2025 tier 7 (#55) drop at age 34 is the textbook late-career structural decline. The 2026 question is whether Matthews extends for one more year or whether Atlanta uses the 2026 draft to install his successor.
Matthews came out of Texas A&M as the Atlanta Falcons' 1st-round pick (6th overall) in 2014, following his father Bruce (Hall of Fame OL) and brother Kevin into the NFL. He has held the Atlanta LT job for twelve straight seasons, made the 2018 Pro Bowl, and is one of the most durable LTs of his generation with 180+ consecutive starts. His STTM career runs tier 3 (#21) in 2021, tier 2 (#13) peak in 2022, tier 3 (#20) in 2023, tier 4 (#32) in 2024, and tier 7 (#55) in 2025 at age 34.
Strengths
- Twelve straight years as starting LT with 180+ consecutive starts is one of the most durable career runs at the position in NFL history.
- Four straight top-32 STTM finishes 2021-2024 plus the 2018 Pro Bowl confirms a top-20 LT peak through the prime years.
Concerns
- Tier 4 (#32) in 2024 to tier 7 (#55) in 2025 is a 23-spot decline that matches the structural age-34 LT drop and points to the closing chapter.
- Atlanta's quarterback investment (Michael Penix Jr. trajectory) plus the offensive line transition compresses the runway for Matthews's late-career role.
What to watch: Whether Matthews extends through age 35 in 2026 or whether Atlanta drafts a high-pick LT to plan the post-Matthews transition.