Born in Exton, Pennsylvania, Matt Ryan attended William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. He was named captain in all three sports his senior season. As quarterback, Ryan threw for over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns his senior season. He was a three-star recruit weighing offers from Boston College and Iowa. He chose BC, which was closer to home. Ryan’s uncle was the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback from 1979 to 1982.
After redshirting his freshman season, Matt Ryan started his first game for Boston College in the final game of the 2004 season. He entered the 2005 season in a quarterback time-share, splitting reps evenly with Quinton Porter. Ryan recorded only 195 pass attempts and 7.8 yards per attempt his second season. He became the full-time starter his redshirt junior season, passing for 2942 yards and 15 touch downs. Ryan took a big leap forward his final season with Boston College, attempting 654 passes for 4,507 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also won the Manning Award, given to the top college quarterback. Ryan’s otherwise lackluster college performance prior to his final season resulted in a poor 70.6 College QBR.
After the 2008 season, Ryan declared for the NFL Draft and was invited to the Senior Bowl. At the NFL Combine he measured at a height of 6 feet 5 inches tall with a hand size of 9 ½ inches. He ran a below-average 40 time of 4.89 seconds. Despite uneven college production and poor athletic testing, the Atlanta Falcons selected Matt Ryan with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft. He immediately became the Falcons starting quarterback and threw for 3,440 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns. This production helped Ryan win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Ryan spent 14 seasons as the Falcons starting quarterback. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, a season in which he led the league in passer rating, QBR, and finished in the fantasy rankings as the QB2. Ryan also repeated as fantasy QB2 in 2018 thanks in part to him being top 10 among qualified quarterbacks in Deep Ball Attempts and Deep Ball completion percentage. He seemed to take a step back in 2021, having his worst fantasy finish since his rookie season but Matty Ice remained cool under pressure. He finished in the top five among qualified quarterbacks in Deep Ball Completion percentage and Pressured Completion Percentage. Ryan’s Air Yards per Attempt has decreased the over the past five seasons with a low of 7.1 in 2021. Traded to the Indianapolis Colts during the 2022 offseason, Ryan’s best fantasy football days appear to be squarely behind him.
