Desmond Ridder’s leadership helped him become Falcons’ starting QB and stay there

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Connectivity is essentially everywhere these days, so of course Desmond Ridder saw what was written and heard what was said throughout the offseason. How the Atlanta Falcons were in need of a quarterback — a starting quarterback.

And how many places insisted Atlanta should be a team to pursue a starter even though Ridder had been Atlanta’s top quarterback over the final four games of the 2022 season.

“Yeah, I do have a TV in my house,” Ridder said. “So I see that sometimes.”

While Ridder may have seen it, he also knew the actuality in Atlanta. At some point this offseason, Ridder wasn’t sure when, Falcons coach Arthur Smith told Ridder he would be the team’s starter going into 2023.

It’s how Ridder prepared anyway, the validation merely being confirmation of what he had already believed. It’s how he looked at everything ever since he replaced Marcus Mariota as Atlanta’s starter last December and then went 2-2 in the season’s last four games completing 63.5% of his passes for 708 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Right guard Chris Lindstrom said Ridder’s communication last season was good. His leadership was obvious, and he commanded the huddle well. For an offensive lineman, those aspects are critical.

There is room to build — which starts over the next two months during offseason workouts. Atlanta has a young offensive core returning — headlined by Ridder, Lindstrom, tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London — but also new players such as tight end Jonnu Smith and receiver Mack Hollins.

Ridder, 23, is their leader now — a position he’s in for the start of the year for the first time since his senior year at Cincinnati. There’s an ability to get comfortable — Lindstrom said even small things like “his tone of voice, timing up his tone of voice” are things they can continue to get acquainted on.

It’s a progression the Falcons are banking on growing even further over the next year. This has been Ridder’s first professional offseason — a year ago at this time, he was in his hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, waiting to find out where he’d be playing pro ball — and it changed what he was able to do.

Ridder spent time in Brookhaven, Georgia – a northeast suburb of Atlanta – throwing with a variety of players building connections. He spent time with his quarterback trainer, Jordan Palmer, and worked out with his new backup quarterback, Taylor Heinicke.

He’s also made the transition from a player who had to learn everything as a rookie to one who is trying to coordinate workouts and be the player his teammates gravitate toward. It’s part of the leadership component Ridder believes he brings to the Falcons, what Smith and Fontenot saw in him during the draft process last year and their decision to make him the starter this year.

“They’ve told me that, that they trust me and that they see what I do out on the field, they see my leadership,” Ridder said. “And you know, that that’s what they want.

“And so, I’m just gonna keep continuing to be myself, be who I am, be the leader I can be and go out there and just keep proving myself.”

Ridder has watched tape of each of his four starts to continue his learning process.

“I would just say settling down. Just being comfortable with where you’re at,” Ridder said. “Not getting too antsy, just being able to go in and, and make plays and not have to make too many plays, you know, by yourself. There’s 10 other guys out there that are gonna help you.

“So just being able to go out there and just take what they’re giving you out there on the field. And I think once I settled down and saw that, that’s kind of where we progressed.”