Makeup, Maturity & Clutch Gene: Why Falcons Believe in Desmond Ridder

The Atlanta Falcons are set to enter the Desmond Ridder era at quarterback - and feel quite confident in the future they've set up for themselves.

It's 4th and 5, and the Atlanta Falcons, trailing the New Orleans Saints 21-18 with just over two minutes, are in desperate need of a first down.

Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, making his first career start, looks right, stands tall and fires a tight-window bullet to another rookie in wideout Drake London.

Pass complete. First down. The march continues ... except, London fumbled, and the Falcons' hopes of winning - and making the playoffs - came crashing down.

But not to be lost in this moment is that Ridder, in the midst of a difficult debut during which he had under 80 yards passing at the time, rose to the occasion when he was needed most.

Across the next three games, Ridder would lead the Falcons to a 2-1 record and finish his four-contest tryout with 708 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 63.5 percent of his passes.

Now, just days before the former Cincinnati Bearcat star is set to kick off the preseason, there's an opportunity to reflect - and it doesn't feel like an exaggeration to say Ridder's claim to be Atlanta's next franchise quarterback started with that throw in New Orleans.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank is adamant it started much earlier than that, noting his consistent, year-long development after arriving in May of 2022, but he did add the four-game stint was integral in the evaluation process.

The result of this evaluation has Blank believing Ridder is the Falcons "quarterback of the future" ... but first and foremost, he's the quarterback of the present.

And thus far, he's taken the opportunity and run with it - coach Arthur Smith has often been complimentary of Ridder's command of the huddle and line of scrimmage, noting that his offense puts a lot of logistics on the quarterback position, but that Ridder has confidently taken charge of the group.

Similarly, running back Tyler Allgeier and right tackle Kaleb McGary have said that Ridder's more confident than he was a year ago, something the signal caller echoed himself.

It's all part of this growth process that Smith, Blank and general manager Terry Fontenot put so much weight on this offseason when deciding on Ridder as their quarterback for this fall ... and thus far, Smith has seen a myriad of areas in which his young passer has blossomed.

"All over the place," Smith said, when asked where Ridder's taken the biggest strides. "His command - we put a lot of stuff on our quarterbacks, and there's a lot of stuff we ask him to do pre-snap that I think he handles really well. Obviously, his No. 1 job is to move the team down the field, and I think he's done a decent job with that.

"(He needs to) keep working on all the little things, but his command's been really, really good."

Often lost in the seemingly never-ending praise of Ridder's intangible traits is that his physical tools are certainly good enough to succeed.

Ridder was the fastest quarterback at the 2022 NFL Combine, clocking a 4.52 40-yard dash, and as Smith pointed out during camp, proved he had the arm talent to push the ball vertically last season.

And so, when teammates, coaches and front office members praise Ridder's mental traits, it shouldn't be glossed over as a slight to his on-field ability ... instead, it should be the opposite.

Just ask Fontenot, who's stressed "it's not just who you are" in regard to talent evaluation, but what you're about ... and Ridder, from his college days through the present, has shown this regime that he has the goods.

"Every player in the league is talented, they have good physical tools - they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t," Fontenot said. "Usually if players fail - if they make it or they don’t - it has a lot to do with the makeup and who they really are. Can they handle all the distractions? Can they handle those things?

"One thing we saw early on with Desmond is the professional he was and the maturity at an early stage in his career last year."

Per Fontenot, this professionalism is why the Falcons opted to give Ridder the chance to start the final four games a season ago, and he and the rest of the organization was pleased with the growth and improvement shown each game.

A key area of Smith and Fontenot's evaluation on Ridder came during "critical moments" - third down, fourth down, end of half and end of game. Fontenot noted that Ridder was productive in those situations, and the numbers back it up.

Ridder completed 20 of 29 passes (69 percent) for 211 yards and two touchdowns on third downs last season, and he proved composed on fourth downs as well, going four of six for 49 yards.

The 23-year-old Ridder's splits from first half to second are also telling; his completion percentage jumped from 59.3 percent to 67.2 percent on seven more attempts, and his yards went from 285 to 423.

In the fourth quarter, Ridder completed 24 of 34 attempts (70 percent) for 263 yards and took only one sack. Better yet, in the final quarter of one-possession games, he went 14 of 18 (77.8 percent) for 166 yards, no sacks and two runs for 17 yards.

And as if the raw numbers weren't enough, the film supported it - Ridder made big throws in key moments at several points last season, highlighted by the throw to London and a number of conversions the week after against the Baltimore Ravens.

There was also the game-winning drive he orchestrated against the Arizona Cardinals, during which Younghoe Koo connected on a 21-yard field goal to secure a 20-19 win on New Year's Day; Ridder completed all three of his passes on the drive, including a 3rd and 7 to tight end MyCole Pruitt that helped Atlanta finish off a well-executed five-minute drill.

These were things Smith wanted Ridder to prove he could do, and by all accounts, he passed with flying colors, checking the on-field box while impressing on the sideline with his toughness and leadership.

"Desmond, we saw him get knocked down, we saw him handle some adversity, and we saw him respond to it," Fontenot said.

Better yet, Fontenot and co. weren't the only ones who noticed - just ask free agent signees Calais Campbell and Scotty Miller, who saw Ridder play from the opposing sideline as members of the Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.

Campbell is 36 - he's done just about everything there is to do in the NFL ... except win a Super Bowl. Prior to signing with the Falcons, he sat down with the coaching staff and watched film on Ridder to see if he had a chance to check that final box off his list.

The result speaks for itself, as Campbell is now five months into his time as a Falcon and declared earlier this offseason that he believes Atlanta can play into February.

Miller, who spent the last three years playing with Tom Brady, has voiced similar optimism surrounding Ridder, touting his energy and noting his stout college career and four-game stint as positives in his early evaluation.

"I've been super impressed with what I've seen out of Des," Miller said, "and also, I think Des will get even better when you get to the games (and) he's able to use his mobility. I think we're all just super excited to get to play with him."

The rest of the league is largely still just learning about Ridder - but the Falcons, be it from the evaluation process that began right after he was drafted or from the moment he completed that fourth down pass to London, already know what they have ... and are quite confident with what's to come.

"We believe in the makeup and the maturity," Fontenot said. "He’s had a really good offseason and he’s working hard to improve in all areas."

And if Ridder's 15-month track record of development says anything, it's that he's probably going to take the strides that both he and the Falcons feel he needs to make.

Is Ridder perfect? No ... but he doesn't need to be. Instead, he needs to be himself - the fearless, mature leader who can handle adversity and lead a 53-man roster for 60 minutes on Sunday's.

And by all accounts, the Falcons' evaluation process has led them to fully believe that they'll get exactly that ... and should have the quarterback position secured for years to come.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @ByDanielFlick

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