Falcons’ 2022 roster vs 2021, which offense holds the advantage?

Atlanta Falcons 2021 quarterbacks:

• Matt Ryan
• Josh Rosen
• Feleipe Franks

Atlanta Falcons 2022 quarterbacks:

• Marcus Mariota
• Desmond Ridder
• Feleipe Franks

Deciding this one might actually be the toughest decision on the entire Atlanta Falcons roster.

Matt Ryan is an all-time great, no questions asked, and he is clearly the better pure quarterback, however, Mariota is a much better fit for this scheme, on paper.

With Mariota we do not know what he will be, he could be more of the same from his days with the Titans, or he could be the guy we have watched in preseason.

So, would you rather have a quarterback who is far and away more established and just a better quarterback, or the guy who has more potential in this specific scheme?

It is a difficult answer, you lean toward the scheme but it still just feels totally wrong to pick Marcus Mariota over Matt Ryan. In the end, I would still give the slight advantage to Matt Ryan because you know that you have a quarterback who is an all-time great and can carve up a defense, compared to the unknowns of Mariota.

The clear winner when it comes to backups is Desmond Ridder. Sure, Josh Rosen was a top-ten pick but it is safe to say he has been a complete bust. With Ridder, we saw some elite talent during the preseason, something we never saw from Rosen.

Overall, the slight edge goes to the starter because after all, the starting quarterback is the one who goes out there each and every week without question, and with Matt Ryan, you have a guy who rarely misses games. You have to place a lot more value on the guy at the top of the depth chart when talking about quarterbacks.

Advantage: 2021 quarterbacks

Overall:

Falcons 2021 roster: QB, TE

Falcons 2022 roster: OL, WR, RB