Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The coronavirus outbreak has led to a very unusual offseason for the NFL. However, the quarantine limitations haven’t stopped Matt Ryan from getting familiar with his new teammates.
The Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback headed to Southern California just last week to get some work in with a handful of teammates including his new running back, Todd Gurley.
Ryan, an MVP quarterback, told ESPN that he is a huge fan of the Falcons’ offseason addition.
“I’ve gotten to work with Todd and he’s awesome,” Ryan told ESPN’s, Vaughn McClure. “Really, really good guy. A hard worker. He’s super-smart. The stuff I was telling him one day, the next day he had it done. I was really impressed with his ability to retain information. You don’t have to tell him twice. He’s on it.”
Ryan is the first player from the Falcons to work out with Gurley. ESPN said the two worked out in Huntington Beach. Julio Jones is out there too right now but it hasn’t been confirmed that he joined in.
However, he did stop by to see Gurley at the gym back in March and welcome him but didn’t work out with him.
Falcons Have a Top-Tier Trio
CBS ranked all 32 NFL teams’ offensive ‘triplets’ and the Falcons land at No. 6
CBS called Matt Ryan “durable and productive” and Jones the “best wideout in football.” Where the Falcons fall short is Todd Gurley since his health is up in the air and he was cut by the Rams last season.
Also, CBS commented on the fact that the Falcons passed on CeeDee Lamb for a corner in the NFL draft, so not they only have just two wideouts for Ryan to work with.
This is where I need to disagree with CBS on a few points. After speaking with Gurley’s performance coach and looking at his workouts and listening to what doctors are saying, along with his teammates, his knee isn’t a worry anymore.
And the Falcons have three top-tier receivers for Ryan to work with, not just two.
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Atlanta’s Third Reciever
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley is returning for his third season in the league and projected to have a breakout year.
Ridley’s 2019 season was cut just a little bit short after he suffered an abdominal injury against the Carolina Panthers in December. He missed the last three games of the year and the injury most likely set Ridley back for his first 1,000-yard season in the NFL.
Last year Ridley ranked sixth in catch percentage ‘above expectation’ by 59%. His overall rank in catch percentage was 16th (67.7%, among receivers with 50-plus targets).
Quarterbacks had a passer rating of 113.5 when targeting him which was 12th in the NFL.
We know he’s coming in hot for 2020 after tweeting “They gone know!!” back in February. He’s ready and CBS is certainly going to find out fairly quickly that Atlanta has three top receivers to get the job done, not just two.
Coaches Return to Flowery Branch
Head coach Dan Quinn went back to work at the Falcons’ training facility on Friday and the assistant coaches will join him on Monday.
Rehabbing players are allowed to get their treatment down at the facility but as far as the other players returning, it is still uncertain.
However, college football programs start practice on June 22 so the NFL should be following not too far behind.
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