Jake Matthews (American football)

Jake Matthews
refer to caption
Matthews during Falcons training camp in 2014
No. 70 – Atlanta Falcons
Position: Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1992-02-11) February 11, 1992
Missouri City, Texas
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 309 lb (140 kg)
Career information
High school: Elkins (Missouri City, Texas)
College: Texas A&M
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2018
Games played: 64
Games started: 64
Player stats at NFL.com

Jacob Thomas Matthews (born February 11, 1992) is an American football offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Falcons sixth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M. He is a member of the Matthews family of football players.

High school career

Matthews attended Elkins High School in Missouri City, where he was a standout offensive lineman for the Elkins Knights high school football team.[1] He was teammates with D. J. Hayden. In his senior season, Matthews 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 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and also earned 2009 High School All-American honors by USA Today, Parade, and SuperPrep.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the No. 7 offensive tackle prospect in the class of 2010.[2] He chose Texas A&M over offers from Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, Texas, Texas Tech, Southern California, and Stanford.

College career

As a junior in 2012, Matthews was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in recognition of his successful season.[3] He also received first team All-American honors by the Football Writers Association of America.[4] During his senior season, Matthews played left tackle after playing right tackle for the previous three seasons.[5]

As a senior in 2013, Matthews was again a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.[6]

Professional career

Matthews was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.[7] With Luke Joeckel having been selected second overall in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Texas A&M became the first school with consecutive top-10 selected offensive lineman since USC's Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 5 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 4.47 s 7.34 s 30 1⁄2 in
(0.77 m)		 8 ft 9 in
(2.67 m)		 24 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8]

In his first NFL game, Matthews suffered a high ankle sprain in a season-opening win against the Saints. Despite the injury, Matthews started in all but one game in his rookie season.[9] Matthews was rated the worst tackle of the 2014 season by Pro Football Focus.[10] In 2015, Matthews' blocking improved, allowing only 38 quarterback pressures compared to 51 in 2014. That season, Matthews was named as the third most improved player of 2015 by Pro Football Focus.[11]

In the 2016 season, Matthews and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Matthews played all offensive snaps for the Falcons as they fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.[12]

On April 25, 2017, the Falcons picked up the fifth-year option on Matthews' contract.[13] He started all 16 games at left tackle for the third straight year for the Falcons in 2017.

On July 27, 2018, Matthews signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension with the Falcons.[14]

Personal life

Matthews was born in Missouri City, Texas. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews and the younger brother of Kevin Matthews, a center who also played for the Aggies. His younger brother, Mike, last played center for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the cousin of Clay Matthews III, a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, and Casey Matthews, a linebacker who last played for the Minnesota Vikings. He is the nephew of NFL veteran Clay Matthews, Jr., the grandson of NFL veteran Clay Matthews, Sr., and the great grandson of H. L. Matthews.

References

  1. ↑ Hammond, Matt (2017-01-31). "Jake Matthews: "I Love Houston"". Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  2. ↑ "Offensive tackles 2010". Rivals.com. January 20, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ "2012 All-SEC Football Team Announced". SEC Digital Network. December 4, 2012. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ "FWAA NAMES 2012 ALL-AMERICA TEAM".
  5. ↑ Paul Kuharsky (June 18, 2013). "Luke Joeckel on help from a tight end". ESPN. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ "2013 All-SEC Football Team Announced". SEC Digital Network. December 10, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ D. Orlando Ledbetter (May 8, 2014). "2014 NFL Draft: Falcons select OT Jake Matthews". Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  8. ↑ http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/jake%20-matthews?id=2543758
  9. ↑ Vaughn McClure (January 8, 2015). "Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews recovering from Lisfranc injury". ESPN. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  10. ↑ D. Orlando Ledbetter (January 16, 2016). "Jake Matthews was one of NFL's most improved players". AJC.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  11. ↑ Chris Phillips (January 13, 2016). "David Amerson tops PFF's award list for Most Improved Player". Pro Football Focus. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  13. ↑ Kelsey Conway (April 25, 2017). "Falcons Exercise Jake Matthews' Fifth-Year Option". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  14. ↑ Patra, Kevin (July 27, 2018). "Falcons, Jake Matthews agree on 5-year, $75M deal". NFL.com.
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