Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder surprised head coach Arthur Smith with how easily he picked up the offensive scheme.
“Behind the scenes, the things that he really did from the start as a rookie,” Smith said Wednesday via the team’s official website. “How he works when we’re doing the rookie walk-throughs, when we’re doing those installations and on the field and his command. Then you bet on some of the physical things you sometimes see to catch up. He’s light years ahead of most young quarterbacks when it comes to playing from the neck up. I’ll compliment him.
Ridder, who was selected in the third round by Cincinnati, played a lot of football for the Bearcats and devoured a 43-6 record as a four-year starter, including making the college football playoffs last year.
All of that season has helped the rookie make the transition.
“The general knowledge of the offense — I’m not going to lie, I thought I’d come in and fight a bit,” Ridder said. “We’ve almost completed all of our installs and done all these checks and I have a good understanding of that. To be honest, that surprised me. I’m not saying I didn’t pick it up, but I thought it took a little longer, a few extra days. I was able to record it pretty smoothly.
After selling Matt Ryan to Indy, the Falcons signed Marcus Mariota as their veteran bridge quarterback before drafting Ridder in the third round. As a midfielder, Atlanta can let the rookie learn from the touchline or throw him in at the deep end when he’s ready.
Given the praise for embracing the mental aspect – usually the hardest part of the rookie transition – the first stepping stone was laid for Ridder, who skips Mariota for the starting appearance.
It will depend on how the training camp goes whether the rookie starts on day 1. But for the rebuilding Falcons, it’s probably only a matter of time before Ridder gets his chance. Last but not least, Atlanta needs to know if it really dug up its future signal caller in the third round or if it will be in the market for another quarterback by the start of the 2023 draft.
It’s still early in the process, but it’s a good start for Ridder’s chances.
“He’s very intelligent,” Smith said. “Obviously he needs to keep improving… but behind the scenes he’s done things that have impressed me as a newcomer.”