Falcon Report

What Rating Did Falcons QB Desmond Ridder Receive in 'Madden 24'?

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder will have to prove quite a few people wrong in his first full season as the team's starter.

Tim Kelly

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Of the 32 projected starting quarterbacks, Desmond Ridder of the Atlanta Falcons will enter the 2023 season tied for the second-lowest rating in "Madden NFL 24," with EA Sports giving him a 70 rating. 

The only other expected starter in the league with a 70 rating is Jordan Love, who is set to succeed Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers. Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has the lowest mark among projected starters at 66. 

Ridder having such a low ranking to open the 2024 season isn't especially surprising. While he had a decorated career at the University of Cincinnati, there were questions about whether he was capable of being a franchise quarterback at the NFL level when the Falcons selected him in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Ridder started the final four games of the season for the Falcons in his rookie campaign, but was only asked to manage the game, tossing two touchdowns to zero interceptions, while racking up 708 passing yards. The glimpse into Ridder late in his rookie season wasn't enough to make an evaluation on him one way or another. 

What we would say is that Ridder has been given a pretty excellent cast of skill-position players with in receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and the running back trio of Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson. Coach Arthur Smith likely isn't going to try to win many games through the air, but in the lowly NFC South, Ridder shouldn't hold the Falcons back from competing for a division title. If he does, Atlanta will likely be searching for a new starting quarterback next offseason. 

For the bulk of his rookie season, Ridder sat behind Marcus Mariota, who has since moved on to become Jalen Hurts' backup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Mariota's opening rating in this year's game is a 69. Meanwhile, Taylor Heinicke -- signed away from the Washington Commanders to back Ridder up -- has a 68 rating. Unsurprisingly, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs has the highest ranking among quarterbacks at 99. 

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Tim Kelly
TIM KELLY

Tim Kelly is a contributor to SI's NFL team sites. Additionally, Kelly covers the Philadelphia Phillies as the Editorial Director for PhilliesNation.com. Previously, Kelly has been a producer at SportsRadio 94 WIP and a content producer for Audacy Sports, with written content syndicated to WIP, WFAN, WEEI and some of the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Kelly also has contributed to Bleacher Report, Just Baseball, Sports Talk Philly and Section 215, FanSided's Philadelphia affiliate. Kelly is a 2018 graduate of Bloomsburg University, with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in political science. 

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