 Matthews in 2021 | |||||||
| No. 70 – Atlanta Falcons | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1992-02-11)February 11, 1992 (age 33) Missouri City, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Elkins (Missouri City, Texas) | ||||||
| College | Texas A&M (2010–2013) | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2014: 1st round, 6th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2025 | |||||||
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Jacob Thomas Matthews (born February 11, 1992) is an American professionalfootballoffensive tackle for theAtlanta Falcons of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTexas A&M Aggies and wasdrafted by the Falcons sixth overall in the2014 NFL draft. Matthews is a member of theMatthews family of football players.
Matthews attendedElkins High School in Missouri City, where he was a standoutoffensive lineman for the Elkins Knightshigh school football team.[1] Matthews was teammates withD. J. Hayden. As a senior, he was a first-team all-district and all-greater Houston honoree as his team finished the season with a 9–3 record. Matthews was invited to play in the 2010U.S. Army All-American Bowl and also earned 2009 High School All-American honors byUSA Today,Parade, andSuperPrep.
Regarded as a four-star recruit byRivals.com, Matthews was listed as the No. 7offensive tackle prospect in the class of 2010.[2] He chose Texas A&M over offers fromOklahoma,Alabama,Arkansas,Oregon,Texas,Texas Tech,Southern California, andStanford.
As a junior in 2012, Matthews was a first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in recognition of his successful season.[3] He also received first-teamAll-American honors by theFootball Writers Association of America.[4] During his senior season, Matthews playedleft tackle after playingright tackle for the previous three seasons.[5]
As a senior in 2013, Matthews was again a first-team All-SEC selection.[6]
Matthews was selected by theAtlanta Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the2014 NFL draft.[7] WithLuke Joeckel having been selected second overall in the2013 NFL draft by theJacksonville Jaguars, Texas A&M became the first school with consecutive top-10 selected offensive lineman sinceUSC'sTyron Smith andMatt Kalil in2011 and2012, respectively.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft5+1⁄2 in (1.97 m) | 308 lb (140 kg) | 33+3⁄8 in (0.85 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 5.07 s | 1.75 s | 2.94 s | 4.47 s | 7.34 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) | 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) | 24 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[8][9] | ||||||||||||
In his first NFL game, Matthews suffered ahigh ankle sprain in a season-opening victory over theNew Orleans Saints. Despite the injury, Matthews started in all but one game in hisrookie season.[10][11] In2015, Matthews' blocking improved, allowing only 38 quarterback pressures compared to 51 in 2014. That season, Matthews was named the third most improved player of 2015 byPro Football Focus.[12]
In the2016 season, Matthews and the Falcons won theNFC Championship against theGreen Bay Packers, 44-21, with Matthews facing off against his cousinClay Matthews III.[13] InSuper Bowl LI, the Falcons faced theNew England Patriots where, Matthews played every offensive snap, as the Falcons lost in overtime to the Patriots, 34–28, giving up a 28–3 lead.[14] With the Falcons leading, 28–20, with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Matthews was flagged for offensiveholding following a sack, both of which proved costly in the end, as they pushed the Falcons out of field goal range, thereby erasing an opportunity for them to put the game away.[citation needed]
On April 25, 2017, the Falcons picked up the fifth-year option on Matthews' contract.[15] He started all 16 games at left tackle for the third straight year for the Falcons in2017.
On July 27, 2018, Matthews signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension with the Falcons.[16] On January 23, 2019, Matthews was named to his firstPro Bowl, as a replacement for Redskins offensive tackleTrent Williams.[17]
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During the2020 season, Matthews played in all 16 games, allowing only threesacks, six quarterback hits, and three total penalties on 1,113 offensive snaps. For his 2020 performance, he earned a 75.5 overall Pro Football Focus grade, with a 84.0 grade in pass blocking and 57.4 grade in run blocking. His pass blocking ranked 9th among all tackles in the NFL and his run blocking ranked 47th. The 75.5 overall grade was the lowest he had received since the2016 season. As of the end of the2024 season, Matthews has played at least 1,000 snaps every season since2015.[18]
On March 14, 2022, Matthews signed a three-year, $52.5 million extension with the Falcons.[19] By the end of November 2022, Matthews started 138 consecutive regular season games, the longest active streak for a left tackle in the NFL.[20] By the end of the 2024 season, Matthews has started 174 consecutive regular season games at left tackle for the Falcons, by far the longest active streak in professional football.[17]
On March 9, 2025, Matthews and the Falcons agreed to a two-year, $45 million contract extension.[21]
Matthews was born inHouston, Texas. He is the son ofPro Football Hall of FamerBruce Matthews and the younger brother ofKevin Matthews, acenter who also played for the Aggies and last played for theCarolina Panthers in 2015. His younger brother, Mike, last played center for theMiami Dolphins, and another younger brother, Luke, only played for the Aggies. He is also the cousin of formerlinebackerClay Matthews III, who spent the majority of his career playing for theGreen Bay Packers, andCasey Matthews, a linebacker who last played for theMinnesota Vikings. He is the nephew of NFL veteranClay Matthews Jr., the grandson of NFL veteranClay Matthews Sr., and the great-grandson ofH. L. Matthews.
