Matt Ryan Traded to Colts: Fantasy Football Impact

The Indianapolis Colts decided to move on from Carson Wentz after just one season and went out and traded a 2022 3rd-round pick for Matt Ryan. So what does this mean for Ryan, the Colts, and the Falcons? Let’s first talk about Ryan and his new fantasy football impact in Indianapolis.

Matt Ryan

For Ryan, this move is a much better real-life move than fantasy. Atlanta had a ton of holes to fill and was clearly in need of rebuilding. Ryan didn’t have much outside Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson, who played a hybrid role, once Calvin Ridley decided to step away from football for personal reasons. He now has Michael Pittman, Jonathan Taylor, and Nyheim Hines and is on a playoff-caliber team. He’ll have a fantastic run game, a solid defense, and a much better offensive line. Ryan will be a low-mid QB2 and could end up being a value in fantasy football drafts. With TY Hilton aging and constantly dealing with injuries and Jack Doyle retiring, there’s a chance the Colts grab a wide receiver in the Draft.

Indianapolis Colts

There has been much debate over whether Ryan is an upgrade over Wentz. First off, I believe Ryan is a clear upgrade over Wentz. I think many people are thinking back to the 2017 season where Wentz was on track to win MVP that year before getting injured. However, Wentz has never been the same since that injury and has failed to return to that high level of play. In his six years in the league, Wentz has passed for 4,000+ yards just once, throwing for 4,039 in 2019 with Philadelphia. Ryan, on the other hand, has passed for 4,000+ yards 10 times in his career, and seven of those were over 4,500 yards. Ryan is a much better decision-maker and a more accurate passer than Wentz. With Ryan, the passing game will be more productive and will help Pittman take another step forward this year. I also see this helping out the run game as well with defenses having to respect the passing game more.

Atlanta Falcons

After trading Ryan, the Falcons signed Marcus Mariota to a 2-year contract. Going from Ryan to Mariota is a significant downgrade and all players on offense will suffer. With Ridley serving a suspension, this leaves Pitts as the #1 option in the passing game and all the attention of defenses. So just how much of an effect will this have on Pitts in fantasy? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t good for Pitts and will cap his ceiling preventing him from finishing in the top four at the TE position, but I’m not hitting the panic button. First of all, this is dynasty and situations can change quickly, and second, Pitts is a young elite talent.

While many have moved Pitts up as the TE1 overall in dynasty for me this move puts that on hold for now. The Falcons re-signed Patterson to a two-year contract to return to the role that made him a top 10 running back last year, but I predict they will draft a running back with one of their four picks in the second or third round. If that happens Patterson’s value will take a big hit. The Falcons are in a rebuild and with Mariota or a rookie at quarterback, this offense will struggle greatly.

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