Falcons: Jake Matthews is the NFL's most underappreciated player

How many players have there been who have all the talent in the world but cannot stay healthy, thus ending their careers before they can do much of anything? Answer: A LOT, which is why staying healthy is the most underrated skill in sports.

Also Read: The Atlanta Falcons are in the right place at the right time

The skill of staying healthy has been something that no current player has done better than the Atlanta Falcons left tackle, Jake Matthews. He currently holds an NFL-best 144 consecutive starts and yet no one ever talks about him—not even Falcons fans.

Falcons LT Jake Matthews is the most underappreciated player in the NFL

Bill Parcels once said, "The best ability is availability." It is a great quote that Jake Matthews has been able to abide by for the past nine seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.

Going back to April of 2014, the Falcons were on the clock and decided to take Texas A&M offensive tackle, Jake Matthews. Matthews had the talent and the bloodlines to be a dominant NFL player. The rookie went into his first season as Matt Ryan's blindside protection but was injured partway through his first game in week one and then had to sit out in week two.

Then Matthews was injured again in the final game of the season and ended up having to get surgery for a Lisfranc injury. At the time, Matthews seemed like he was going to be yet another injury-prone talent for the Falcons, but who would have ever thought at the time that his missed game in week two would be his last for at least the next eight seasons?

That week two game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 14th, 2014 is the last time Matthews didn't start for the Falcons. That was 145 games ago...

The left tackle has now started 144 consecutive regular season games, which ties him with Todd 'Mud Duck' McClure for second in Falcons' history. His last opponent on the franchise leaderboard is the guy he spent most of his time blocking for, Matt Ryan, who made 147 consecutive starts. Certainly, it seems like an inevitability that Ryan will be surpassed in a few months.

What's more? Jake Matthews is the active leader in consecutive regular season starts in the NFL, yet hardly anyone ever talks about him. He plays one of the most important positions, at a very high level, every. single. week. and only has one Pro Bowl to show for it. He is deserving of more, no doubt about it.

He is being taken for granted because of his consistency. Sure, he may not be as dominant as a guy like Trent Williams but Williams hasn't played every game in a season in ten years. In other words, Williams hasn't started a full season since Matthews was still blocking for Johnny Manziel!

The following Jake Matthews stats should count for more, a lot more!

*Includes playoffs*

Jake Matthews has played in every Falcons game for eight seasons straight. Including playoffs, he has played in 149 of the last 151 Falcons games. As for his snap counts (also including playoffs), he has played in 9,815 of the team's 10,067 offensive snaps (98%) since the start of 2014. And he has played in all 330 playoff snaps.

Those stats are meant to overwhelm you because it really is overwhelming how consistent Jake Matthews has been. He deserves much more credit as he is doing the hardest thing in the NFL—staying healthy.

Seems like it is genetic for the third-generation Matthews.