Falcons' Desmond Ridder: The Next Jalen Hurts?

Will Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder make the best of his opportunity in 2023?

The blueprint is there for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder to follow, as he prepares to be the team's starting quarterback in 2023. 

Jalen Hurts parlayed four starts late in his rookie season into a chance to start for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2021 season. He played well enough in his first full season as a starting quarterback to earn a second year as the team's starter. And, as you're certainly aware of by now, Hurts finished second in NFL MVP voting in 2022 and guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance. He's since been rewarded with a five-year/$255 million contract extension, which guaranteed him more than $179 million and solidified his status as the franchise quarterback in Philadelphia. 

As CBS Sports recently noted, the opportunity is there for Ridder. Like Hurts did, he now needs to run with it. 

This isn't to suggest that Ridder is a similar player to Hurts, because he's not. Hurts has significantly more talent in terms of his ability to scramble. With that said, Ridder -- like Hurts -- wasn't a first-round pick and there remain questions about his ability to make NFL-level throws. But, like Hurts, he intrigued the Falcons enough in his first four starts to earn the right for a longer look. 

Also like Hurts, Ridder isn't being asked to be superman for the Falcons. He has an intriguing group of talent to work with in receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and running backs Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson. At least while he's still getting his feet under him, coach Arthur Smith isn't going to ask Ridder to win games through the air. This will be a run-first team that often just needs Ridder to manage the game effectively in a wide-open NFC South. 

But if Ridder prevents the Falcons from winning, there will likely be quite a few veterans circling Atlanta as a potential landing spot given the impressive skill-position talent around the quarterback. Ridder has a chance in 2023 -- like Hurts did in 2021 and 2022 -- to take the Falcons off the board for other quarterbacks if he plays well enough. 

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