Matt Ryan owns the eight most prolific passing seasons in Falcons history

The Atlanta Falcons hit a home run when they selected Matt Ryan with the third overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft — that was prevalent after his rookie season in which he led the team to a resurgent 11-5 record and won the Rookie of the Year award. Just how much of a home run that selection was wouldn’t be known until years down the line, however.

When you draft a quarterback with a top three selection, you want him to carry your franchise for the next decade. Ryan has fulfilled his end of the bargain already in that sense, and 12 years later he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down.

In the 2019 season, Matt Ryan recorded 4,466 passing yards which was the seventh-most in a single season in Falcons history. What makes that statistic meaningful is the fact that the top six passing seasons in franchise history are all also held by Ryan.

Matt Ryan owns the eight most prolific passing seasons in franchise history, and he looks poised to exclusively own the top 10 in two more years.

Jeff George’s 1995 season is the only season within the top 10 which doesn’t belong to Ryan. He was the only Falcons QB to throw for over 4,000 passing yards before number 2’s arrival.

Ryan, meanwhile, has now thrown for 4,000+ passing yards in the past nine consecutive seasons (the second-longest streak in NFL history and longest active streak in the league).

Ryan’s 2016 season, in which he won MVP, is first in franchise history when it comes to passing yardage. His 2018 season is second, showing that he hasn’t been slowing down in recent years. Two more seasons of throwing for at least 4,144 passing yards (something he has done eight times in the past nine seasons) will give Matt Ryan complete ownership of the top 10 most prolific passing seasons in Falcons history.