The best player for the Atlanta Falcons in each of the past ten seasons
The Atlanta Falcons have had some strong performances from select players over their past ten seasons. When you have had players like Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Grady Jarrett, etc. you are going to have some good all-around years from individual players.
Also Read: The average age of each position for the Atlanta Falcons.
While there hasn't been much success, outside of 2016 and 2017, there have still been some historic seasons by different players. We are going to select the best player from each of the past ten seasons. There is room to argue with most of these so don't get too angry. There are also bound to be repeat players considering this franchise has seen its two best players in their prime over this select time period.
And clearly, we are talking about the Falcons, so it will be heavy on the offense. We won't hesitate any longer and get right to it on the next slide, starting with ten seasons ago which takes us to the 2013 seasons.
2013 Falcons season: Tony Gonzalez, TE
Stats: 83 catches, 859 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns
2013 was a season in which they did not have any performances by players that really stick out. Matt Ryan had a decent year but threw 17 interceptions, Julio Jones played in only five games, and the defense was underwhelming. Really it was either Tony Gonzalez, Harry Douglas, or even Matt Bryant.
Ultimately, I went with Tony G because of his eight touchdowns in what was his final NFL season. He was his usual self as he played in all 16 games, caught virtually everything thrown to him, and did not fumble once.
It says a lot that the 17-year veteran was arguably his team's best player, which further proves that he is the greatest tight end in NFL history.
2014 Falcons season: Julio Jones, WR
Stats: 104 catches, 1,593 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns
And thus we start the dominance of the great Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, Julio Jones.
As mentioned in the previous slide, Julio Jones was injured in 2013 which was really crushing because he was averaging 116 yards per game, which put him on pace for 1,856 yards. But oh well, he just decided to put up nearly 1,600 yards in his first season back from the foot fracture.
It was the year when we all saw him completely dominate for a full season for the first time. He was insane and things would only get better.
Matt Ryan had a better year in 2014, Roddy White was good, Devin Hester broke the huge return record, and Paul Worrilow had over 140 tackles, but there is no debating choosing Julio Jones here.
2015 Falcons season: Julio Jones, WR
Stats: 136 catches, 1,871 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns
We all thought we saw a great season from Julio Jones in 2014, but little did we know that he would somehow best his ridiculous numbers as he almost broke the 1,900 receiving yards mark.
Julio was a constant terror for defenses and every week the defenses would try their hardest to stop Julio Jones, yet they still couldn't. I mean there were points during his career where we saw him get triple teamed.
He did all of this while also being the humble star that he was. He did so much for the team and brought so many memorable moments for Falcons fans.
Outside of his dominance, Matt Ryan had his usual year, Devonta Freeman burst onto the scene as he rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 14 total touchdowns, and Matt Bryant was his usual clutch self.
2016 Falcons season: Matt Ryan, QB
Stats: 69.9% completion, 4,944 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 117.1 QBR, AP NFL MVP
When you are the Associated Press' 'Most Valuable Player' then you are going to be your team's best player for that year and that is the case for Matt Ryan who had incredible synergy with Kyle Shanahan as they flew their way to Super Bowl LI.
There is no other way to put it, Matt Ryan was incredibly unstoppable during the 2016 NFL season. His completion percentage is off the charts, he nearly threw for 5,000 yards, threw for 38 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, and it all resulted in a 117.1 quarterback rating.
And the most impressive part was that he led his team to an 11-5 record and then wrecked the Seahawks and Packers in the divisional and championship games, followed by wrecking the Patriots for three quarters....
Outside of Ryan, Julio Jones had a phenomenal season, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman combined for 24 TDs, and Vic Beasley had his league-leading 15.5 sacks.
2017 Falcons season: Julio Jones, WR
Stats: 88 catches, 1,444 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
Julio Jones is the selection... again...
Julio did not have his usual 1,500+ yard season but his stats were still ridiculous. Of course, Julio was never known to put up double-digit touchdowns due to a lack of redzone chances but his impact on the team was beyond what any of us know.
He helped move his offense down the field while also opening up opportunities for others. I think we all are wishing we could see Julio Jones in his prime again.
Outside of Julio, no one really had a standout season. Matt Ryan put up his usual 4k season, Mohamed Sanu had a nice year, Devonta Freeman neared 1k rushing yards and had 8 TDs, and Adrian Clayborn had 9.5 sacks.
2018 Falcons season: Matt Ryan, QB & Julio Jones, WR
Matt Ryan stats: 69.4% completion, 4,924 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 108.1 QBR
Julio Jones stats: 113 catches, 1,677 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns
To be honest, I forgot how incredible Matt Ryan was in 2018. He had almost identical numbers to his MVP season but the difference was that his team only won seven games. And then there was Julio Jones who had another ridiculous season. Both Ryan and Jones deserved to be recognized here.
It really is crazy when you think about it; Matt Ryan was just as dominant in 2018 compared to 2016, yet his team won four fewer regular season games and failed to make the playoffs. It is a microcosm of how Ryan's career went.
Julio Jones neared 1,700 receiving yards and scored eight touchdowns. It ended up being his final season breaking through the 1,500-yard mark.
Damontae Kazee also deserves a shoutout for being tied for the league lead in interceptions with seven.
2019 Falcons season: Grady Jarrett, DT
Stats: 7.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 69 tackles
Grady Jarrett deserves credit for what has been his best season with the Atlanta Falcons, at least to this point.
2019 was one of the usual seasons for Grady where he had to do everything by himself due to a lack of help surrounding him. He had 7.5 sacks from the inside of the defensive line, Only Vic Beasley—yes, Vic Beasley—had more on the team with eight sacks.
Grady was also second on the team in forced fumbles, first in quarterback hits, first in tackles for loss, and fifth in tackles (first amongst defensive linemen).
Outside of Grady, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones had good seasons, and De'Vondre Campbell and Deion Jones both had 100+ tackles.
2020 Falcons season: Calvin Ridley, WR
Stats: 90 catches, 1,374 yards, 9 touchdowns
Calvin Ridley lit up the league in what was a breakout season by him in 2020. It was the first time in a long time that we saw someone other than Julio Jones lead the Atlanta Falcons in receiving.
At the time, it was great to see someone step up for the Falcons at wide receiver. Unfortunately, this was the decline of Julio Jones as he only played in nine games. It gave the Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan a legit number-one receiver even when Julio was not able to take the field. Ridley was also a touchdown machine.
As we stand now, this is the only season Ridley broke 1,000 receiving yards, but obviously, there are other factors for why that is the case. Hopefully, he can put up a similar season as a member of the Jaguars.
2021 Falcons season: A.J. Terrell, CB
Stats: 16 games, 29 completions allowed on 66 targets (43.9%), 200 yards allowed, 3 touchdowns allowed, 47.5 passer rating against, 3 interceptions, 16 passes defensed, 81 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack
I decided to pull out all of the stats to show how dominant A.J. Terrell was in his second season with the Atlanta Falcons.
I am going to say it, this is one of the most dominant seasons we have ever seen from a player at any position in the history of the NFL. Terrell plays one of the most difficult positions and was on the league's worst defense, yet he didn't allow more than 32 yards in any game and allowed fewer than 20 yards in 13 of his 16 games. It is ridiculous.
I don't know what else to say, to me it might be even more impressive than any single season that Matt Ryan or Julio Jones had—maybe, they are hard to compare considering they are on opposite sides of the ball.
Either way, Terrell gets the nod over Kyle Pitts, who almost broke the rookie tight end receiving yards record, and Foye Oluokun who had 192 tackles.
2022 Falcons season: Chris Lindstrom, RG
Stats: 17 games, 1,047 snaps, 2 sacks, 1 QB hit, 6 hurries, and 9 pressures allowed, 95 overall, 93.1 run blocking, and 81.7 pass blocking Pro Football Focus grades
If you want to just use Pro Football Focus grades on the surface, Chris Lindstrom was the best player in the NFL last year, regardless of position. He owned the highest overall grade in the NFL as he earned himself a five-year extension worth $105 million, making him the first $100 million offensive guard.
Lindstrom was the key cog in what was a breakout rushing attack that pummeled every defense they went up against. Even after looking at those stats, it is hard to quantify how important Chris Lindstrom is to this Arthur Smith offense.
Outside of Lindstrom, Tyler Allgeier and Drake London both had excellent years, giving the Falcons an excellent set of young pieces moving forward.