Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan doesn’t have the strongest arm in the league, but the former Boston College star is still one of the NFL’s best when it comes to throwing the deep ball.
As younger, sexier names such as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson — each of whom have cannons for arms — dominate the headlines, Ryan’s become a bit of an afterthought nationally as he enters his 13th season.
There’s perception and there’s reality, though, and in NFL.com’s recent article highlighting the 10 best deep ball passers, Ryan came in at No. 9. Here’s what Nick Shook had to say about the Falcons quarterback:
Welcome to the weeds. Some quarterbacks had higher passer ratings on deep passes, but the completion percentage above expectation still reigns supreme here, despite Ryan’s negative TD-to-INT ratio. Look, it wasn’t the best campaign for the Falcons, but Ryan still gave it his best, dropping six DIMES while throwing into tight windows on 34.5 percent of his deep attempts. That might have been what produced his five interceptions, of course, but the positive completion percentage means he was still more effective going deep than he wasn’t, even when incomplete stats like interceptions tell a different story. Don’t overlook his pressure percentage of 32.7, either.
Ryan is a seasoned veteran that knows he has some of the NFL’s best deep threats in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Therefore, he isn’t scared to let it fly when the situation calls for it.
Atlanta became a bit too one-dimensional in 2019 in large part due to the team’s 30th-ranked rushing attack that averaged just 85.1 yards per contest. An improved ground game led by Todd Gurley will help the Falcons achieve more balance in 2020, which should ultimately lead to more successful deep shots from Ryan.
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