The Atlanta Falcons are well aware that they're eventually going to have to find a successor to Jake Matthews, and if the first couple of weeks of 2026 were any indication of how Father Time has hit him, they were likely bracing to find their next left tackle much sooner than anyone could've expected.
Across the last 12 seasons, there have been few linemen in the NFL who have had more of an impact on an offensive line than Matthews has on the Falcons--even if he isn't a blindside protector anymore. But he's regressed so much he's been almost unplayable to start the season to the point where it feels likely Atlanta will draft a left tackle with their first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
While the 34-year-old's status as an ironman is admirable, the truth is that he's gotten much slower and opposing defensive lines have abused him this year. He's often getting matched up with some of the best in the business, and those guys either beat him off the edge or straight-up overpower him.
However, Matthews has turned a corner across the last couple of weeks and I suspect he may have been drinking from the Fountain of Youth. While the entire offensive line stepped up and made sure Michael Penix Jr. did not get hit against the San Francisco 49ers, No. 70 was especially impressive.
In the 29-20 upset win, Penix was pressured just six times on 34 dropbacks, which was in large part due to Matthews, who did not allow a single pressure and turned in his best performance of the season--which may have Atlanta pressing pause on the quest to find his long-term successor.
Jake Matthews' vintage performance shows he still has something left in the tank
Week 7 was the first game all season in which Jake Matthews did not allow at least one pressure, and that came against a San Francisco pass-rush that tortured Jayden Daniels in Week 6. Raheem Morris is known to find creative ways to send pressure, yet his group could not get home in his return to Atlanta.
According to Pro Football Focus, Matthews led not just all tackles, but all offensive linemen with a 90.7 pass blocking grade in Week 7. He wasn't called for a single penalty and faced little adversity, which is the sort of clean performance Falcons fans have been waiting for from him all season.
The Falcons were STRONG in the trenches pic.twitter.com/cJy2IfqXtN
— PFF (@PFF) October 26, 2026
And while it helped that Penix was getting the football out much quicker than ever before, it would be wrong not to give some credit where it is due to the boys up front. The line got torched against the Bears and Ravens, but the main reason the pocket stayed clean was because the veteran helped keep it clean.
Across the last two weeks, the veteran has allowed just one pressure on 81 pass-blocking snaps, which is the same amount of pressures allowed as Trent Williams across that timespan. That's a future Hall of Famer who is the best tackle in the game and redefining the way we look at aging OL, so that has to count for something.
The Dirty Birds are more than likely still going to do their homework on tackle prospects such as Iowa's Trevor Lauck, Texas' Trevor Goosby, Indiana's Carter Smith, and Utah'z Zereoue Williams, but here's the question here: is his recent resurgence going to make Ian Cunningham see this as less of a first-round need and instead opt to address it in the second or third round of the 2027 NFL Draft.
Let's be real here: the Atlanta Falcons know they'll have to replace Jake Matthews eventually and use a premium draft pick on his successor, but his ability to turn back the clock in the face of scrutiny could make the front office either wait a year to do so or draft a new left tackle later than we expect.
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