Desmond Ridder Making Early Waves With Atlanta Falcons

The entire organization is loving what the third-round pick is showing in the ATL.

© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI — UC fans are used to this by now, but for those down in the ATL, Desmond Ridder's refreshing leadership is speaking volumes. The 74th pick in this year's draft is saying all the right things and, more importantly, doing the right things early in his time with the Atlanta Falcons.

"Winning is contagious, and Desmond Ridder's a winner," Falcons assistant director of college scouting Dwaune Jones said in an interview with AtlantaFalcons.com. "It permeates the whole building because he's a guy who's going to have command of the entire locker room. He's going to demand respect as well. A guy like that, he's going to do his absolute best to hit his ceiling."

Jones gravitated to Ridder early on in the evaluation process—studying him for over two years before the team decided to give him a call on that fateful Friday night.

"This kid has a big chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove," Jones said. "There's a lot of work that went into Desmond Ridder."

The stamp of approval came via Ridder's private meeting with the Falcons following his Pro Day. At that point, Jones had seen enough.

"We fell in love with the kid," Jones said. "It was a guy where we walked away (from him) impressed."

A third-round QB often needs the support of his position coach to start games, and Charles London is all in on his new project.

"He came in here during rookie camp, and it's hard, he's got players who are undrafted free agents and street free agents who have never been together before," London said. "I thought he did a really good job of rallying the group and getting everybody going in the right direction."

The experience was a big selling point for Ridder's draft stock over the past year, and now everyone inside the building is getting a taste of that special attribute.

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