Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan took part in the second phase of Atlanta’s offseason workouts last week, which is what you’d like to see when a team is coming off three consecutive losing seasons. Ryan, 36, will look to get back on track with head coach Arthur Smith leading the way in 2021.
Bruce Gradkowski of Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 of the league’s starting quarterbacks going into the season, placing Ryan at No. 9 on his list. According to Gradkowski, the Falcons QB has a chance to return to the kind of prolific level he played at under former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“Matt Ryan teaming up with new head coach Arthur Smith could be a good look. The play-action pass game could elevate Ryan’s performance back to the days when he was with Kyle Shanahan or at least back to consistent play on a week-to-week basis.
The addition of Kyle Pitts will be a matchup nightmare for defenses, too. Ryan is a top-10 quarterback, and the Falcons’ 2021 schedule could allow them to get back to competing sooner than some may think. It will be up to Ryan to be as productive as Ryan.”
Despite landing in the top 10, Ryan still has much to prove this season after a disappointing 2020. It wasn’t necessarily a bad season for Ryan, but he did grade out below 60 on four different occasions.
However, it is reasonable to assume Ryan will see an uptick in production. In 2020, Smith and the Titans ran play-action passes on 35 percent of their overall pass attempts and completed 62 percent of them. Ryan, who ran play action only 27 percent of the time, saw a much higher completion rate of 69.6 percent.
Even with an adjusted completion percentage, Ryan was 10 percent higher than Tannehill at 84 percent. The Falcons quarterback has made it known that he has plenty of football left and hopes that the 2021 season can change the narrative.
“I understand I’m not going to play forever, but I also have the mindset that I can still play really well and have a lot of good football in front of me,” said Ryan.
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