Kaleb McGary retired. Storm Norton will miss his second consecutive season owing to injury. The team’s options beyond that were, to put it mildly, not particularly inspiring.
There was Mike Jerrell, a would-be swing tackle the Falcons traded for last year who has struggled in game action thus far in the NFL. There’s 2025 seventh round pick Jack Nelson, who might turn into something but might not. Atlanta’s had to re-imagine the tackle position on the fly outside of Jake Matthews, who just keeps on keeping
on, and that work may not be finished.
First they signed ex-Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor to a one-year deal, setting him up as the presumptive starter at the position. Then they drafted signed Brandon Walton, who can play tackle or guard, and signed promising undrafted free agent Riley Mahlman. Then they traded for Wanya Morris, another Chiefs tackle who had gotten buried on the depth chart but is still young and promising enough to at least have a shot at becoming the team’s long term swing tackle or starter at right tackle. That’s a lot of new faces to give all-world offensive line coach Bill Callahan, but it’s very necessary.
Matthews is 34 years old and can break into the top 16 longest starting games streaks in NFL history this year; there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to hold up going forward as marvelously as he has to this point. Jerrell and Nelson were projects for Dwayne Ledford and an entirely different coaching staff with a very different philosophy; Nelson in particular could work out as a swing tackle but has a long road ahead to get there. The possibility exists that out of the five tackles they went into 2025 prepared to count on to some extent—Matthews, McGary, Norton, Nelson, and later Jerrell—zero will be on the roster in 2027. More than likely, it’ll just be Matthews and Nelson.
That meant being aggressive in the same way the Falcons were at quarterback, where they went out and got competition for a recovering Michael Penix Jr. in the form of Tua Tagovailoa, insurance for both players in Trevor Siemien, and a fun long-term project in UDFA Jack Strand. Atlanta needs to see if Taylor, Morris, or both can be long-term solutions for them in the same way they need to understand if Penix, Tagovailoa, or (the remote possibility) Strand will be their 2027 starters. Getting options in the door the coaching staff is intrigued by and have a track record, as well as worthwhile lumps of clay for Callahan, is necessary for Atlanta’s brass to evaluate the position group and then plan their 2027 investments.
There’s a chance none of this works out particularly well, of course, but the aggressiveness and urgency behind these moves is very welcome given the newfound uncertainty around a position that was mostly quite stable from 2019-2024. The Falcons have been accused in some quarters of being too passive and trying to tread water rather than elevate their game in 2026, but if you view their many moves through the lens of evaluating and preparing for 2027 while trying to stay competitive, they make more sense. Tackle is a position that exemplifies that approach, and if we’re fortunate, Callahan and company will be able to ensure that someone from this group can contribute in a major way next season.
