Falcons: Matt Ryan pegged as PFF’s most underrated QB

Despite putting up 4,000-yard season after 4,000-yard season to go with 25+ touchdowns, Matt Ryan still doesn’t receive enough credit from people around the league and even his own fanbase. There were gobs of so-called Atlanta fans calling for Cam Newton this off-season, and there will be plenty more chanting for the next washed-up quarterback in 2021. But there won’t be any change under center in Atlanta for at least a few more years. Because despite the hate, Matt Ryan remains one of the best quarterbacks in football in every aspect of the game.

Pro Football Focus has been releasing several lists this offseason, from All-Decade teams to their top 100 players of 2020 and everything in between. Most recently, they are revealing their All-Underrated team, and fittingly, the quarterback is Matt Ryan. Here’s what the guys at PFF had to say about the Falcons signal-caller:

Matt Ryan: most underrated QB in the NFL pic.twitter.com/vVAvEnndkS

— PFF (@PFF) May 30, 2020

Ryan now has nine consecutive seasons of 4,000+ yards passing, and over that span, his completion percentage is a ridiculous 66.7% at 7.5 yards per attempt. He’s thrown 255 touchdowns compared to 113 interceptions in the last nine years, and his quarterback rating is just a tad below 97. But Ryan’s really stepped his game up over the last four seasons, starting in 2016, when he won his first and only MVP.

In that span, Ryan’s averaged over 4,600 yards a season, 30 TDs compared to just 10 interceptions, and a 67.6% completion percentage to go along with a 102.0 rating. To put that in perspective, Aaron Rodgers’ passer rating over that period is only 98.6. By several metrics, Ryan has been substantially better than Rodgers since 2016. Just look at this mapping of QB efficiency from 2016-2019:

These are the types of charts the @ProFootballHOF voting committee needs to have in front of them when evaluating Matt Ryan's merits in Canton pic.twitter.com/ojYxApimSB

— Matt Karoly (@mattkaroly) May 12, 2020

Yet, much of his own fanbase would dump him for a hobbled Cam Newton that remains jobless. But despite ignorant fans, it is refreshing to see some people in the media backing Matty Ice. The most underrated quarterback is a title he deserves.