The Falcons have showed in the past they’re unwilling to use a draft pick on a developmental quarterback, and that again was the case in the 2019 NFL Draft. The last time the Falcons selected a quarterback in the draft was seventh-round pick Sean Renfree in 2013. When you have an MVP quarterback, I guess you have that luxury.

Let’s dive in to the position group.

Starter

My, how the time flies. Matt Ryan is heading into his 12^th season in 2019, and is still playing at an elite level. Last year, Ryan had one of the best seasons of his career. He completed 69.4% of his passes (second best of his career) and had 35 passing touchdowns (second most of his career). Due to the Falcons missing the playoffs, his play on the national level went unnoticed, but they were still MVP-caliber numbers.

While Matt Ryan had some positive stats that ranked second-most in his career, he also had a negative one. Ryan was sacked a total of 42 times in 2018. The only season where he was sacked more, was 44 times in 2013, when the Falcons finished 4-12. The team realized this and used two first round picks on offensive linemen and signed a handful of offensive linemen in free agency. I know we’re all hoping this keeps Ryan upright in 2019.

Reserves

In the last two seasons as a Falcon, Matt Schaub has thrown 10 passes. Let’s hope he continues to get paid for the work he does off the field and that he doesn’t have to get on. In regards to stats, Schaub still remains as the best quarterback in Houston Texans history where he is the leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

It’s expected that Kurt Benkert to return to the Falcons practice squad in 2019. The Falcons signed Benkert in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, and he’s spent time learning behind both Ryan and Schaub. It looks like Benkert has a path to the backup quarterback job starting in 2020, and another year on the practice squad could further develop him.

Outlook

Unlike most other positions, the Falcons quarterback position is pretty obvious and pretty secure. We have MVP Matt Ryan, and if for some reason he’s not MVP-caliber this year, he’ll still be good enough for the Falcons to win games assuming the rest of the roster doesn’t break down.