Scott Matlock , born on June 28, 2000, in Homedale, Idaho, was recruited as a two-star defensive end according to 247Sports . With offers from local schools like Idaho, Idaho State and Boise State, Matlock decided to go to Boise State, the biggest of all the local schools.
Matlock spent all five college seasons with the program, breaking out as a redshirt sophomore in 2020 with four and a half tackles for loss and two sacks. He built on this season in 2021, collecting eight and a half tackles for loss, seven sacks and even a receiving touchdown.
2022 was more of the same, with six tackles for loss and two and a half sacks. He also added another career receiving touchdown to his collegiate resume. This production and strong athletic profile for Matlock were enough for the Chargers to select him with pick 200, in round 6 of the 2023 NFL Draft class.
In 2023, Matlock appeared in 12 games, playing 266 snaps on defense and 94 on special teams. He recorded 15 tackles and one tackle for loss. Not too bad for a sixth-round rookie. In 2024, Jim Harbaugh came into the building with offensive coordinator Greg Roman. They made the decision to split his talents between both sides of the football.
Matlock transitioned to fullback , playing all 17 games there while chipping in on defense, collecting his first NFL sack in 2024. The experiment was hot and cold, but growth was seen by the end of the year, giving fans some hope that in 2025 he will take that leap to become a "real" fullback, rather than some gimmick to drum up excitement for the fanbase.
2025 did show growth at fullback , with Matlock even receiving his first touchdown in the NFL, a fun callback to him receiving touchdowns at Boise State. With this growth, Matlock only played 18 downs of defense, essentially removing all possible growth from what was his drafted position.
Matlock's experiment creator, Roman, was fired after the 2025 season. Mike McDaniel gets hired onto the staff, and one of the first moves the new coordinator makes is bringing in Alec Ingold , the fullback who was crucial in McDaniel's offenses in prior seasons. Matlock's 2026 outlook is now much different than if the Bolts kept Roman around.
2025 Season Stats
16 Games
4 Receptions
12 Yards
1 Touchdown
18 Defensive Snaps
153 Special Teams Snaps
Measurables
Scott Matlock's Measurables are unavailable on Mockdraftable. Below is his RAS card.
Contract Status
"Scott Matlock signed a 4 year, $4,012,296 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including $172,296 signing bonus, $172,296 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,003,074. In 2026, Matlock will earn a base salary of $1,145,000, while carrying a cap hit of $1,188,074 and a dead cap value of $43,074." - Spotrac
As mentioned before, the hiring of McDaniel has completely flipped the offense for the Chargers. This is a good thing for everyone in the building, with the exception of Matlock. He finds himself as a versatile player with no true home.
He has been replaced at fullback. He has immense competition in front of him in the defensive tackle room. He has not really played defensive tackle since 2024. The outlook is unfortunate for Matlock, whose fans seemed to take a liking to.
The best-case scenario for the versatile Matlock is that he is kept on the roster as a defensive tackle, as he will now have a full off-season to train with NFL coaches and trainers at his drafted position. He can also serve as a depth option at the fullback position if Ingold were ever to get hurt.
The worst-case scenario is that he is cut, and due to his fullback film being up and down, teams not really needing the position and his defensive tackle film being limited and years old to this point, he is out of the league.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as Chargers Roster Spotlights: Scott Matlock, a Versatile Question Mark in New Offense .
