Latest outlook with Matt Ryan on the Colts

By: Jake Rajala

The Indianapolis Colts have made fascinating and truly bright quarterback moves this offseason. The Colts shipped out Carson Wentz after virtually sacrificing him on any online Jacksonville altar and then deemed it necessary to find a more sharp veteran QB to replace Wentz.

On March 21st, the Colts acquired the savvy former Falcons legend, Matt Ryan. The Colts received Ryan, while the Falcons scooped up a third-round pick. Pat McAfee has already screamed to the rooftop on how Ryan can be the game manager that the Colts need at the very least. It appears that Ryan and Jonathan Taylor are an impressive QB-RB duo, but the Colts still have to add more fuel to their offense and team this offseason.

Ryan is truly an underrated QB that can take care of the football, make the right adjustments, and be clutch in the 2-minute drill (after all, his name is Matty Ice). From 2018 to 2020, Ryan unveiled three 4,500+ passing yard seasons and he also averaged 29 passing touchdowns in that three-year span.

I do believe that Ryan is wiser than Wentz and he can operate the play-action game with JT better than Wentz. I still wouldn’t expect Ryan to have drastically different numbers than Wentz in the near future. The former Colts QB threw 27 passing touchdowns last season, 7 interceptions, and he also threw 3,563 yards. I do believe that Ryan will be a difference-maker in clutch moments.

The Colts lost a plethora of matchups by a razor-thin margin last season. Indy lost the following matchups: Week 17 against the Raiders by a field goal, a Week 2 blood-bath against the Rams, a Week 5 game against the Ravens, and a Week 8 loss against the divisional foe in Tennessee.

All in all, the Colts will have a stronger likelihood of making the playoffs with the switch from Wentz to Ryan next season. He will have Michael Pittman (1,082 yards, 6 touchdowns), but he desperately needs a WR2 and WR3. If the Colts can bring in a modest WR and/or potentially T.Y. Hilton, I would expect Ryan to be more explosive than Wentz for the Colts in the near future, but I don’t believe he will look like his 2016 version right out of the gate. I still quietly love his ceiling in Indy.

With that said, I do believe Ryan has many years before he’s “washed up” and I do expect the Colts to eventually sign a talented WR2 for him. I do love the image of Ryan with the Colts, JT, Pittman, their imposing defense, and another toy for 3-4 seasons together. I really believe the Colts will reap the benefits of his ability and he can be a steal in “dynasty” fantasy leagues at the moment. He might not be a Top 5 QB in 2022, but I believe he can follow Matthew Stafford by having an unusually positive future with his new squad in the back end of his career.