National Football League

Does Matt Ryan make the Colts contenders?

Published Mar. 22, 2022 9:23 p.m. ET

Indianapolis Colts fans will have to get used to another new face under center.

For the fifth time in five seasons, Indianapolis will employ a different starting quarterback, following the trade of Carson Wentz to Washington earlier this month. But the Colts have quickly found a very serviceable replacement — four-time Pro Bowler and 2016 MVP winner Matt Ryan.

Kevin Wildes discussed Ryan’s arrival on "First Things First" Tuesday morning, asserting that the veteran quarterback makes the Colts a legitimate playoff contender and an obstacle to the budding dynasty in Kansas City.

"Between good coaching, the best running back in football, a sneaky great defense and now you have veteran leadership, I’m saying they're sneaky-dangerous," Wildes said. "Just another team for the Kansas City Chiefs to worry about."

Despite struggles in recent years, Ryan’s 14-year career in Atlanta was defined by success, and he proved to be a more consistent and statistically superior quarterback to Wentz.

Ryan has missed just one game over the last five seasons compared to Wentz’s 12, and Ryan has totaled the second-most passing yards of any NFL quarterback during that stretch.

It's not just volume either; Ryan consistently ranks among the top-10 in a variety of quarterback statistics.

He enjoys the night-highest completion rate since 2017 at 66.5 percent, the sixth-most 20-yard passes, and the seventh-most passing touchdowns — all figures that outperform Wentz.

Wentz demonstrates better ball security, enjoying a better TD/INT ratio than Ryan over the last five years, who has the second-most interceptions in the NFL during that stretch. But while the Colts could end up turning the ball over more frequently, costly no-shows — like Wentz’s performance in a season-ending loss to Jacksonville — become much less likely.

Ryan’s Falcons team limped to a 7-10 record during his final season in Atlanta, losing three of their last four to quickly extinguish any hope of their first playoff appearance since 2017-18. Squeezing seven wins out of the bare-bones Atlanta roster, however, might actually be a credit to Ryan.

The Falcons sported one of the worst rushing offenses in the league, ranking in the bottom three for total yardage and yards per carry. Atlanta hardly fared better on defense, allowing the fourth-most points of any team and leaving opposing quarterbacks largely untouched with an anemic pass rush.

Now, Ryan will leave the deep-fried fiasco in Atlanta for a Colts team that excelled pretty much everywhere except the quarterback position.

Indianapolis halfback Jonathan Taylor was dominant in running away with the rushing title, racking up 1,811 yards, 500 more than his nearest competitor (Nick Chubb, 1,259). Taylor's was efficient too, as the Colts' ground game finished second in the league with 5.1 yards per carry.

"They got the best running back in football," Wildes said. "He played all 17 games and led the league led by 550 yards. It wasn't like, ‘Oh, did he squeak out a rushing title?’ Yeah, by 550 yards."

The Colts' defense should consistently give Ryan good field position as well. The unit ranked ninth in points allowed, better than San Francisco and Los Angeles, who reached the NFC championship game. The Colts also forced the second-most turnovers.

Is upgrading from Wentz to Ryan a step that will take the Colts to the postseason? Greg Jennings thinks so.

"I'm not going to say they're instant contenders, but this is a team that has definitely improved," he said on "First Things First." "Carson Wentz didn't deliver … this is an opportunity that they can win this division."