According to multiple reports, the Falcons have finalized a trade to bring one of the league’s best pass rushers to Atlanta. The team will send a 2025 third-round pick to the Patriots for outside linebacker Matthew Judon, filling a long-standing need for a pass-rushing threat off the edge.
Many fans were surprised to see Atlanta choose not to reinforce this position in the NFL draft, but three and a half months later, the answer fell into Terry Fontenot’s lap. Adding a star like Judon establishes the Falcons as the NFC South favorites entering the 2024 NFL season.
So what can Judon bring? To answer this, let’s look back at his year-by-year production since being drafted in 2016:
| Matthew Judon Career Stats | |||||
| Team | Year | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits |
| 2016 | BAL | 27 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2017 | BAL | 61 | 17 | 8 | 19 |
| 2018 | BAL | 44 | 10 | 7 | 20 |
| 2019 | BAL | 54 | 14 | 9.5 | 33 |
| 2020 | BAL | 50 | 9 | 6 | 21 |
| 2021 | NE | 60 | 14 | 12.5 | 25 |
| 2022 | NE | 60 | 14 | 15.5 | 28 |
| 2023 | NE | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Total | 369 | 87 | 66.5 | 165 | |
The NFL veteran brings with him two years where he posted double-digit sack totals, and likely could’ve continued that streak had he not ended his 2023 season early due to injury. Judon only played four games last season and still recorded four sacks.
2017 was the last time the Falcons employed a pass rusher that totaled 10 or more sacks in a season. That year, it was Adrian Clayborn’s 10 sacks that led the way. Fans remember Vic Beasley’s infamous 15.5-sack season in 2016, but the pass rusher never came close to matching that level of production again.
Last year, Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks. Barring an injury-shortened season, it’s a safe bet to assume the Falcons will have someone top that number in 2024.
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