Desmond Ridder Draft Grade: Does New Falcons QB Pass The Test?
It was a need that had been hyped up for months, and a move that was anticipated long in advance.
However, after passing on the quarterback position with their first three picks, it seemed like the Atlanta Falcons would hold off on addressing the long-term future of the position until next year.
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But, with the No. 74 overall pick, the Falcons drafted star Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder. Atlanta made Ridder the second quarterback off the board and the first taken on day two. He was selected over Liberty's Malik Willis, Ole Miss's Matt Corral, and North Carolina's Sam Howell, among others. Was this the correct decision?
Grading the Ridder Pick
One indisputable fact about Desmond Ridder: he wins football games. While at Cincinnati, Ridder and the Bearcats went 44-6, including back-to-back trips to New Year's Six bowl games, featuring a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2021.
Standing 6-3, 207-pounds with 10-inch hands, Ridder has an athletic frame that was backed up by his 4.49 40-yard dash time. Ridder also has exceptional intangibles, as those around him praise his intelligence and character.
“Des is just a phenomenal leader. He’s helped my game in every way,” Ridder's backup Evan Prater said. “If you watch practice, you’ll see that when I’m taking reps, he’s standing right behind me. If I have questions, I can ask him anything. (Cincinnati OC and QB's Coach) Gino (Guidugli) will even let him run the QB meetings just so we can pick his brain. He’s helped me tremendously. I just love having him here. I love that he came back.”
On the football field, Ridder has above-average athleticism and a strong arm. He's well-regarded as a strong competitor and post-snap processor, and he has a very quick release.
Ridder has experience working under center, and his work on play action bootlegs will fit in well in Falcons Head Coach and play caller Arthur Smith's offense:
The primary drawback in Ridder's game is his sporadic ball placement. He frequently makes receivers work too hard to catch the football and doesn't maximize their run-after-catch potential. Atlanta will be hoping Ridder can make a Josh Allen-esque jump in accuracy.
Ridder has the athleticism, arm talent, and intangibles to start in the NFL. He's inconsistent with his accuracy, and ball placement is a difficult trait to drastically improve, but Atlanta didn't reach. They passed on Ridder twice on day two, and didn't feel the need to move up for him, choosing to address holes on defense after adding USC's Drake London in the first round.
If Ridder hits his ceiling, Atlanta will get their long-term answer at QB for a very cheap price. If he doesn't, they didn't expend heavy capital on him, and can still address the position in a talent-rich draft class next year, featuring Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud. This gives the Falcons flexibility and upside moving forward, all at a cheap price. Job well done, Terry Fontenot.
