The Top Ten Quarterbacks Heading Into 2018: Number Five
The Unplugg’d Staff voted on which signal callers they believed would rise above the rest in 2018. Owen Guetschow brings you Number Five, a guy who’s been criticized for being too consistent
In determining the Top Ten quarterbacks heading into the 2018–2019 NFL Season, four members of the Unplugg’d Staff voted on their Top 15 passers. We averaged out all of the rankings to hammer out our final list; you can read all of the previous entries here. Let us know what you think about our rankings by leaving a comment below!
№5 Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
2017 Stats: 64.7% CMP%, 4,095 YDS, 20TD, 12INT, 91.4 Passer Rating, 1,084 DYAR
Heading into the 2017 season, the Atlanta Falcons were a popular bet to win both the NFC and Super Bowl.
Coming off an MVP season in which he threw for nearly 5,000 yards, 38 touchdowns, posted the fifth highest QBR of all-time, and came as near a Super Bowl championship as humanly possible, Matt Ryan looked poised to dominate for years to come. While there were rumblings of a potential fall-off due to offensive-guru Kyle Shanahan’s exit to San Francisco and the infamous Super Bowl hangover — in this case, the negative kind — few were expecting the Falcons’ sluggish start to 2017.
To critics, it was clear that Matt Ryan’s performance had taken a step back. Many pointed towards certain metrics — a thousand fewer yards, twice as many interceptions, and half as many touchdowns — as signs that the 33-year-old signal caller had fallen off. In reality, however, Ryan had simply regressed to the mean after a season in 2016 that ranked among the greatest quarterback performances of all time.
Failing to reach the peaks of 2016 didn’t mean that Ryan’s 2017 was a complete wash, however. Ranking in the Top Ten in completion percentage, passing yards, and QBR, there was little doubt that Ryan was still elite. So why was everyone treating the Falcons franchise star like his excellence had expired?
The easiest explanation for the fall of the Falcons offense was Shanahan’s departure. Through the years, there had been plenty of personal issues between the team and Shanahan, culminating in the very public feud with wide receiver Roddy White. And while he may have never been popular in Atlanta, there is no refuting the immense impact he had on the team. Featuring a call style that relied heavily on pre-snap motion and the utilization of running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman in unexpected roles, Ryan was able to make far easier reads and complete passes. The 2016 Atlanta offense had essentially hacked the code of NFL defenses.
In 2017, however, with the exit of Shanahan — as well as injuries throughout the once-steady offensive line — the Falcons offense looked similar cosmetically yet were far less effective. The offense and Ryan were still above average, yet compared to 2016 they were nothing short of failures.
One of the shining traits that time and time again has set Ryan apart from most of the league’s quarterbacks is his unique combination of excellent decision-making and elite arm strength. Ryan is thus able to take calculated risks with deep passes that only further open up the short crossing routes and screen passes that power the Falcons offense.
When you think “game-manager,” you likely conjure up images Teddy Bridgewater never missing a pass and methodically hitting receivers for short five-yard gains, not Ryan hurling deep-crossing routes into the outstretched arms of a streaking receiver 40+ yards downfield.
There’s also no denying the tantalizing talent of Ryan’s receiving corps, either. Ever since Jones was drafted sixth-overall back in 2011, the Falcons duo have shown that the pairing of their skills is a near-perfect match. Standing 6’3” with top-end speed and sticky hands, Julio was the perfect weapon to allow Ryan to fully embrace the deep-threat as a key weapon in his arsenal. Throw in Mohamed Sanu and rookie Calvin Ridley, and and the three-headed receiving monster in Atlanta is tough to top.
Combine the ever-threatening prospect of Julio with the multi-faceted, two-headed monster of Coleman and Freeman, and Ryan has an elite set of weapons at his disposal. And for a quarterback that can make nearly every throw on the field, all it takes for Ryan and the Falcons to succeed is a well-structured offense. In 2016 under Shanahan, they had this. In 2017, under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, not so much.
So, therein lies the million-dollar question: this year, which offense — and, by extension, Ryan — are we getting? For a quarterback that has been such a consistent, top-tier talent throughout his career, there is no doubt he will be successful. With the right scheming and utilization of talent surrounding him, Ryan has shown that he can eclipse nearly every other quarterback in the league.
There’s not much left to prove. Ryan has led an all-time offense, won an MVP, and proven year-in and year-out that he belongs in the conversation with the best. Now all that’s left is completing the quest for what was oh-so-close in 2016: a Super Bowl Championship.
Join the discussion as we continue to roll out our Top Ten Quarterbacks Heading Into 2018! For more of our 2018 NFL Preview coverage, click here.
