How Much Do Matt Ryan and Julio Jones Have Left In The Tank?

How much do Julio Jones and Matt Ryan have left?

Every football season should start with a question for those with interest in the Atlanta Falcons. Is this the year?

No, not if this is the year they bring home a Super Bowl title. They’ve knocked on that door recently.

How much longer can Matt Ryan and Julio Jones keep this up? The Falcons can't afford them to fall off the cliff just yet and I mean that literally.

Ryan and Jones are the Falcons' two highest paid players.

Ryan had a solid season as a 34-year old. He threw for 4,466 yards, good enough for fifth in the NFL despite missing a game. He threw 26 touchdowns. That was good enough to have him ranked eighth in the NFL.

There isn’t a stat that obviously points to Ryan being on the decline. NFL quarterback’s prime year have moved back even further over the last 10 years.

Quarterback rules dictating where and how they can be hit in the pocket have taken some of the wear and tear off their bodies. Quarterbacks aren’t hit in practice. Ryan doesn’t run around a lot by design, though he was sacked a career high 48 times last year, so he won’t have those inherent injury risks that a more mobile quarterback will have.

Who knows how long Ryan can continue at this level? Tom Brady is 42 years old and he is expected to be the pilot of one of the NFL’s most exciting offenses with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ryan may be a tick behind that pace. Brady has nearly seven years on Ryan in age. That means if he is supported with the types of weapons he currently has, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Ryan could put up another two or three years at the level of play he’s played at for the last 10 seasons.

Jones is different. He’s a different talent. If he wasn’t, he’d already be in his decline. In the NFL, running backs and wide receivers begin to fade physically.

Jones was so otherworldly gifted physically when he came into the NFL that he has a bit of a head start on Father Time.

At 31-years-old Jones is very much still a top tier wide receiver. Pro Football Focus had him graded as 90.6. Jones caught 99 passes, fifth in the NFL. Those receptions went for a total of 1394 yards, which was second in the league.

Jones’ prime is now. His precise route running and a bit of finesse in his offseason work could keep him as an elite talent for the next two or three years.