You're probably going to get killed for that
But I think you're right.
Matthews really struggles to stop the run. Pittsburgh specifically targeted him in the Super Bowl. He had a huge forced fumble (some would give credit to Jenkins for setting that up), but that doesn't change the rest of the season's struggles. Teams ran for 3.7 yards up the middle against the Packers defense, and 5.5 yards on runs to the left and right sides.
The 13.5 sacks last season is very impressive, but if you look at the game log and break it down a bit, you can see he cashed in early on and against bad OLs. 8.5 of those sacks came in the first 5 games, as teams eventually found a way to reduce his effectiveness. 5.5 sacks were collected in 4 games against teams that finished in the bottom 10 for giving up sacks vs. 3 sacks in 6 games against teams that finished in the top 10, and those numbers include 2 sacks in 2 games against the Lions, who somehow finished in the top 10 for sacks allowed despite a mediocre line.
Which is not to say Matthews is a JAG. He's a very good player. But he's not the GOAT that many make him out to be.
Absolutely. Add in the fact that Jackson played in the SEC while Jennings played in the Mid-American Conference. Every draft has players who turn out way better than anyone could have imagined. And teams get really lucky sometimes. I remember the Ravens talking about how Ray Rice was so much better than they thought he'd be, and they liked him enough to draft him but still hadn't fully appreciated how good he'd become.
Kudos to GB, they got lucky here, just as we were lucky to get Tom Brady. But to act as if it was superior scouting is just foolish.