Indianapolis Colts: Can Matt Ryan Elevate Them To Division Champs?

Well, it looks like the Indianapolis Colts have their quarterback, again. Since the day Andrew Luck called it a career, the Colts have been scrambling to find a quarterback that isn’t just a fill-in. They traded for Jacoby Brissett, gave Carson Wentz a shot, and now they’ve worked out a deal to acquire Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons. Could he be the missing link the Colts have needed?

One thing’s for sure, Matt Ryan is an upgrade over Carson Wentz. Although Wentz had a good showing in Indianapolis, he’s finding it hard to return to his rookie-season form. Matt Ryan has had a successful career with the Atlanta Falcons having led them to a Super Bowl. Wentz got traded to the Washington Commanders and now it’s Ryan’s turn to shine. However, one has to wonder if the Falcons waited a year too long to move on from Matty Ice.

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Ryan will be 37 when the season starts but still has a lot of good football left in him. However, the Falcons should’ve started their rebuild sooner and found a way to move their QB last year. Not that he won’t be a contender with the Colts this year, but the Falcons had a lot of moving pieces last season and plenty of teams were nervous over finding the right QB fit pre-draft. Instead of the mid-round pick, they got last year, if they would have pulled the plug on his run, they could’ve easily got a first-round pick while teams were scrambling to make something happen.

The Indianapolis Colts lucked out here, but aren’t out of the woods just yet. Even though 40 seems to be the new 30 for QBs, Ryan isn’t their long-term answer. Even if he has 3-5 years left in him, it would be wise of the Colts to start looking for his replacement now. Waiting until a QB is declining to find a replacement is a sure-fire way to be in rebuild mode 3 (ish) years down the road.

Luckily for the Colts, he fell into their lap. He’s currently sitting at 8th all-time with 59,735 passing yards. In a passing league, if he can throw 4,400 yards this season he’ll move all the way up to 5th. But stats don’t translate into wins. Can Ryan be a winner in Indianapolis? Indy had success last season despite Carson Wentz’s struggles. Statistically, Ryan did more with the football despite being sacked more and with fewer weapons. He’ll inherit a solid run game and a team that barely missed out on a playoff spot with a sensational collapse at the end of the season.

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But we don’t even have to compare the two QBs to realize the Colts have a better shot this year. How they were able to acquire Matt Ryan is the key part of their success. They didn’t trade him for multiple picks. They didn’t have to give up a first, or even a second, round pick for Ryan. The Indianapolis Colts traded a 3rd round pick for a QB who should finish his career in the top-5 all-time. The best part about that is, they’d already received a 3rd round pick from the trade of Carson Wentz.

The Colts got a QB who has appeared in the Super Bowl and lost nothing. On top of that, they still have a chance to get a playmaker to complement their offense in the second round. They’ll also have a small handful of picks to go along with their depth. The Colts needed to do something with an already stacked AFC. The move for Matt Ryan puts them right in the mix.