The Indianapolis Colts traded Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders and just acquired Matt Ryan from the Falcons. Although there’s a conditional pick involved, the cumulative impact appears to be moving up in both the second and third rounds of the 2022 draft and gaining an additional 2023 second-rounder. Of course, the biggest win is simply not having Wentz as your QB.
Can the move to a non-rebuilding team facilitate a bounceback season from Ryan? And what does it mean for both Colts’ and Falcons’ pass-catchers?
By many measures, Ryan is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. His 43.5 fantasy points below expectation were a career low, and 2021 marked Ryan’s lowest total fantasy output since 2009. Ryan did not have a single game with even 20 fantasy points after Week 9.
Week 7 of course was Calvin Ridley’s final game of 2021, which may partly explain Ryan’s second-half struggles. Julio Jones joined the Falcons in 2011, and since then Ryan has had a highly efficient receiver as his top target in every season, apart from a stretch in 2012 when Jones was hurt (a season in which Ryan had an AYA above 9.0 when targeting a 31-year-old Roddy White) and the second half of 2021.
Whether Ryan’s 2021 was more the result of a lack of weapons or of skill decline is unclear. It’s also unclear whether the move to Indianapolis will improve Ryan’s outlook.
