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Atlanta Falcons: Is Matt Ryan worth a fantasy football gamble?

By Freddie Boston

Nov 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) walks off of the field after their game against the Indianapolis Colts at the Georgia Dome. The Colts won 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) walks off of the field after their game against the Indianapolis Colts at the Georgia Dome. The Colts won 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Is Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan worth drafting to your fantasy team?

Believe it or not, we’ve almost reached fantasy football season. Leagues are being setup, mock drafts are being populated and before we know it we’ll be watching our players anxiously in Week 1.

Should Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan be one your roster? In 2015, the answer was emphatically no. Ryan turned the ball over for fun, posted too many single-digit point games and there were simply too many other options around the league.

Even with the improvements made to the Atlanta offense this offseason, this trend should continue. This isn’t so much a knock on Ryan, but rather highlights the depth at the quarterback position in fantasy football.

Unless you land Aaron Rodgers or Cam Newton — both of whom are often over-drafted — there’s no need to go early for your quarterback. Last season proved it’s possible to stream quarterbacks on a weekly basis.

If you’re uncomfortable taking the risk each week and would rather put your faith in one passer for the duration of the season, there are a number of names you should turn to ahead of Ryan. Last year, Ryan was No. 19 at the position.

Among the top scorers at quarterback were the Jaguars’ Blake Bortles and the Redskins’ Kirk Cousins. Neither will require a high draft pick this year, but both can be effective scorers week in week out.

Andy Dalton was a pleasant surprise to Bengals fans last season, and he too translated his success to solid fantasy numbers. The likes of Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are also solid bets regularly.

Two names slipping under the radar are Tony Romo and Andrew Luck. Romo missed most of the 2015 season with a broken collarbone, but the Cowboys offense could be the best its been for a while with the addition of running back Ezekiel Elliott. Romo was a top-10 fantasy quarterback two years ago, and can replicate this success so long as he’s healthy.

Luck was injured for much of last season also, but it’s easy to forget he posted 350.74 points in 2014 (NFL.com leagues), finishing behind only MVP Aaron Rodgers.

Both Romo and Luck will fall on draft day in a high percentage of leagues.

Next: How many receivers should the Falcons keep?

At this stage, Ryan is a player who will go largely undrafted due to his poor fantasy production in 2015. If you want to add a backup to you roster in the final couple of rounds, then and only then should you consider selecting the Falcons’ signal caller.

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