The Atlanta Falcons made a huge investment in left tackle Jake Matthews last offseason. By signing Matthews to a five-year deal with $41.35 million guaranteed, they bet he’d prove to be a star caliber kind of offensive tackle.
So far, Matthews has definitely lived up to his end of the deal. The 2018 season was the best of Matthews’ career. In the past, Matthews had strong games and even dominant ones occasionally, but inconsistency plagued him from month to month and week to week sometimes. That wasn’t the case last season. Matthews was a rock in pass protection for Matt Ryan and along with Alex Mack kept a struggling offensive line unit from going totally underwater.
Matthews was rewarded with his first trip to the Pro Bowl. For the season, he graded out at 79.2 by Pro Football Focus, good for No. 3 in the division at offensive tackle behind the two starters for New Orleans.
Among other things, catching up to the Saints means the Falcons will have to get a serious upgrade at right tackle. Ryan Schraeder was every bit as bad as Matthews was good, greatly complicating matters for Atlanta’s former MVP quarterback.
If the Falcons get a Matthews-quality starter at RT this offseason, it will fix their biggest problem on offense and go a long way towards staying competitive in what has become an absolutely brutal NFC South.
