Desmond Ridder Has Impressed in Atlanta
Earlier this offseason the Atlanta Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts. Afterward, the Falcons added Marcus Mariota in free agency and drafted Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. Ridder was a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. After minicamp, it has become clear that the rookie has taken pride in learning the offense. His coaches and teammates have taken notice.
For Ridder, the biggest focus in learning the offense has been picking up the play calling.
“Being able to pick them up and spit them out, that’s kind of just been my challenge,” Ridder said. “And where I’ve been able to grow the most throughout this entire thing.”
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Falcons quarterback coach Charles London has noticed now other players in the locker room have gravitated toward Ridder.
“Guys kind of gravitate to him,” London said. “He’s a natural leader, and leadership is hard. It’s hard to judge somebody’s leadership. People can tell you he’s a leader, but most guys that are really great leaders, they lead by their own style, their own way.”
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Ridder has yet to put on pads; however, he has seemed to display that he is better than most rookie quarterbacks in the mental aspect of the game.
“Some of the physical things you’ll see in time will catch up,” said head coach Artur Smith. “But he’s light-years ahead of most young quarterbacks from the neck up, and I will give him that compliment.”
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Ridder was a four-year starter at Cincinnati and led the Bearcats to some of their most successful seasons in school history. This was headlined by a 13-1 record in 2021 that resulted in a playoff appearance. In this season, Ridder threw for 3,334 yards on a 64.9 completion percentage. He also limited turnovers boasting a touchdown to interception ratio of 30 to 8.
Ridder will not be the Falcons starter in week one. Mariota will be the one under center. However, if Ridder is truly making strides in learning the Falcons offense, he may see playing time earlier than most people are expecting. At the same time, Smith says Ridder still has to develop the physical tools is a red flag. That is not a good thing to hear as those were concerns in Ridder’s college film.
