Falcons' Matthew Judon Under Fire After Latest Disappointing Outing

Atlanta Falcons veteran edge rusher Matthew Judon hasn't recorded a sack since Week 2 of the NFL season.

Atlanta Falcons linebacker Matthew Judon / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons appeared to be on the right track at edge rusher a year ago. They weren't necessarily a dominant pass rushing team, but the Falcons were much closer to middle of the road in that defensive area thanks to veterans Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree.

But those veterans were always going to be a short-term answer. As it turned out, short term meant one season. The Falcons didn't find it important enough to re-sign either defender this past offseason.

Instead, the Falcons traded for 32-year-old Matthew Judon. He became the team's new "short-term" answer at edge rusher. Judon could excel along the Atlanta edge until the team's mid-round draft choices were ready to contribute.

But Judon has been a significant disappointment. After Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he has gone five consecutive games without a sack. During that stretch, he also doesn't have a tackle for loss and only 1 quarterback hit.

In Week 7, Judon's only impact was 2 combined tackles versus the Seahawks. A day following that performance, the veteran edge rusher was trending on X (formerly Twitter) for the wrong reason.

Matthew Judon since joining the Falcons pic.twitter.com/CXRzl6CVsG

— Kai (@KAlDALEGEND) October 20, 2024

Judon wears the red sleeves just to make sure that everyone can see him do literally nothing on the field

— Carlton (@CrispyCarlton) October 20, 2024

The addition of Matthew Judon to this pass rush pic.twitter.com/dx3DID4CW2

— KeepItRealJay (@Himsimulator) October 20, 2024

The Falcoholic's Evan Birchfield noted that Pro Football Focus has more than 150 edge rushers rated as having a better start to the 2024 season than Judon.

Out of 183 edge rushers, here’s where PFF ranks and grades #Falcons through week 7:

37. Arnold Ebiketie (71.7)
91. James Smith-Williams (61.2)
155. Matthew Judon (48.8
163. Demone Harris (44.9)
173. Lorenzo Carter (39.2)

— Evan Birchfield (@EvanBirchfield) October 21, 2024

Other Falcons analysts expressed their pleasure on social media that the team didn't offer Judon a contract extension immediately after acquiring him in a trade. Atlanta traded a 2025 third-round selection to the New England Patriots for Judon in August.

In hindsight, giving Matthew Judon an extension upon arrival would’ve been a mistake.

He hasn’t earned it yet.

— Rise Up Reader (@RiseUpReader) October 20, 2024

Judon is in the final year of the 4-year, $54.5 million contract he signed with the Patriots a few years ago. Based on how he's playing, he's not earning a new deal with the Falcons.

In seven games to open this season, Judon has posted 23 combined tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks. He also has 2 pass defenses.

If his current pace continues, Judon will end the campaign with roughly 3.5 sacks. He has never finished an NFL season with fewer than 4 sacks. That includes a season where he only played four games.

There's still plenty of time for Judon to avoid his worst season ever from a sack perspective. But that pace just indicates how poor the veteran's production has been through the first half of 2024.