Left tackle Jake Matthews has put together a solid career with the Atlanta Falcons.
Matthews has started 11 seasons with the Falcons and made the Pro Bowl in 2018. He's been the model of stability, playing in every game but one throughout his entire Atlanta tenure. His one missed start came in Week 2 of his rookie season.
Since then, Matthews has started 178 consecutive games, which is a Falcons franchise record.
But if the Falcons had an opportunity to do the 2014 NFL Draft over again, Pro Football Focus' staff argued the team would draft guard Zack Martin at No. 6 instead of Matthews.
"There is a spot in Canton waiting for Martin. The seven-time first-team All-Pro boasted a 93.6 PFF overall grade from 2014 to 2021, the best mark among all guards. His best work came in the final season of that stretch, when he earned an incredible 93.4 PFF overall grade that ranked third among all offensive linemen," wrote Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema.
"Martin slowed down over his final three seasons, but Dallas will still have a hard time replacing his production and leadership after his recent retirement."
Instead of going at No. 6, Matthews went off the board in PFF's new 2014 hypothetical draft to the then St. Louis Rams at No. 13 overall. The Rams picked eight-time All-Pro Aaron Donald at No. 13 in the real 2014 draft.
Unsurprisingly, Donald, who is in the discussion as one of the best NFL defenders of all time, went No. 1 in the PFF re-draft.
Guards don't often get drafted in the top 10. There's just not nearly as much positional value along the interior offensive line as at tackle in the NFL Draft.
So, one can't fault the Falcons for selecting Matthews instead of Martin. But Martin did have a better career.
Martin made first-team All-Pro seven times and second-team All-Pro twice. He also earned nine Pro Bowl appearances.
Matthews has yet to make either of the NFL's All-Pro teams.
If the Falcons had drafted Martin instead of Matthews, a few things would have been different over the past decade for Atlanta.
Center Alex Mack was a huge free agent signing for the Falcons ahead of the team's NFC championship 2016 season. But if the franchise had Martin, maybe they would have needed to sign a tackle in that free agency class instead of a center.
Russell Okung was regarded as the top offensive tackle free agent in 2016. Interestingly, NFL.com's free agency list rated him the No. 17 free agent in the entire class, which was two spots ahead of Mack.
But Okung spent just one season with the Denver Broncos, who signed him to a contract during the 2016 offseason. Meanwhile, Mack made three straight Pro Bowls in Atlanta.
If the Falcons still signed Mack even after drafting Martin in 2014, then it's quite possible Atlanta doesn't go all in on offensive linemen in the 2019 NFL Draft. In the first round that year, the Falcons selected both Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary.
Maybe the Falcons only draft McGary in the 2019 first round with Martin already in the fold at guard.
While drafting Martin instead of Matthews appears as if it would have been the better choice for Atlanta, the Falcons probably still like the way things unfolded. Matthews will be remembered as one of the best offensive tackles in Falcons history, and it's hard imagining the franchise preferring any hypothetical that results in the team not drafting Lindstrom in 2019.
