Film Room: Will Matt Ryan Hurt the Colts' Deep Passing Game?

The Colts have made the move to acquire veteran quarterback Matt Ryan in a trade. Will this acquisition hurt the Colts' ability to attack down the field?

The Indianapolis Colts finally have their quarterback, as they have made the move to acquire former MVP Matt Ryan. The Colts send out the 82nd overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in the trade.

This move is eerily similar to when the team brought in Philip Rivers back in 2020. Rivers was able to bring stability to a position that was in turmoil for the team, and Ryan will look to do the same after the disastrous Carson Wentz trade.

Ryan, like Rivers, is a highly decorated quarterback on the backend of a fringe-Hall of Fame career. The biggest concern with acquiring a player like this is if the arm talent will be enough to promote big plays on offense.

In today's film room, I take a look at some advanced stats (and some film) to see if Matt Ryan will be able to help or hurt the Colts' down the field passing game.

Advanced Stats vs Carson Wentz

To properly assess how Matt Ryan performed on deeper throws in 2021, let's compare him to the quarterback that the Colts just shipped out. Carson Wentz was brought to the Colts in an effort to revitalize a downfield passing attack that underperformed in 2020 under Rivers.

On passes attempted with a minimum of 20 air yards in 2021, Wentz completed 42.4% of his passes for 842 yards (14.3 yards per attempt) and seven touchdowns with three interceptions. Wentz also had an average of 3.41 seconds to throw on such attempts.

Ryan, with the desolate Falcons' offense, completed 43.1% of his passes for 762 yards (14.9 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns with one interception on such throws. Ryan also had an average of 2.90 seconds to throw on these attempts.

Just by looking at these raw numbers (that were provided by Pro Football Focus), these two quarterbacks are pretty comparable in this department. Ryan had a higher yards per attempt and got the ball out quicker on these throws, while Wentz had more attempts and touchdowns down the field.

These stats tell us that there really shouldn't be too much of a drop-off from Wentz to Ryan in the deep passing game. Ryan was still fairly efficient throwing the ball down the field, statistically, and almost matched the production the Colts got from Carson Wentz in this area last year.

Matt Ryan Still Has It

While Ryan's arm is not nearly as good as Wentz's, it is noticeably stronger than Philip Rivers' arm in 2020. Ryan has a bit of an elongated throwing motion, but he can still generate velocity down the field when he has to.

On top of still being able to drive the ball down the field, Ryan has impressive touch on his deep passes. This clip below was one of my favorites during my film study.

The Falcons isolate running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with the defensive back at the bottom of the screen. The call is a simple double move, and Patterson is able to create separation with ease down the field.

Ryan sees this and lofts a beautiful deep ball to his open target. The ball has enough air under it to fly over the trailing defensive back, but also enough zip to get to the target before the safety can close over the top.

Even when he can't step into his throws, he can still get the ball down the field. This is certainly an area where Rivers lacked when he came to the Colts. He could get the ball down the field in space, but he struggled when he had to use an ounce of athleticism to make a play.

Ryan is still fairly nimble at 36 years old. He won't chuck a ball 50 yards down the field while getting hit by a defender, but he can still put the ball out there with just pure arm talent.

On this clip below, he delivers a pass down the field without truly being able to step into his throw (due to defenders being at his feet).

He Can Also Move a Little

As I mentioned above, Ryan is not the type of quarterback that will break out of the pile and pick up big yards with his feet. He is, however, a type that can be agile in the pocket and break out of a few sacks.

This play below is quickly blown up by the defensive tackle. Ryan is being hit by the defender as he looks up after the play-action, but he is still able to make something happen.

He sheds the tackle attempt and rolls out of the pocket to his left. While on the move, Ryan is able to stop, reset his feet, and fire an accurate pass down the field for a big gain.

The Colts' Deep Passing Game Will Be Fine

While fans have been a bit terrified that this acquisition could hinder the Colts' downfield passing capabilities, I haven't seen anything on film to suggest that could be the case. Ryan isn't as mobile or as strong as Carson Wentz, but he is certainly a step above Philip Rivers in those departments.

With Ryan, the Colts are getting an accurate player that can move the offense AND a player that can attack downfield when need be. While he is far from a perfect player at the stage of his career, he is not limited in any way that could hurt the offense.

Overall, this was a phenomenal move by the Colts' front office to pivot from a volatile Carson Wentz to a steady, reliable Matt Ryan. The team truly upgraded at the most important position in the game, even if it took them a while to make this move.

At the end of the day, though, Ryan still has plenty of juice to rip passes like these down the field.

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