Falcons Bold Prediction: Desmond Ridder Top 10 in Accuracy?
After spending most of 2022 developing on the sidelines, Desmond Ridder will begin 2023 as the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback, but can fans expect him to ascend immediately?
Sports Illustrated made 100 bold predictions for the upcoming season and believes that Ridder will be one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league in 2023.
"Desmond Ridder will finish in the top 10 among quarterbacks in completion percentage," SI writes. "The Falcons are going to be playing some box-lacrosse-style football this year, which, I promise, is more fun than it sounds. That means Ridder will be more of a point guard and a distributor for his fleet of targets. He’ll do so with notable accuracy."
For context, in the four games Ridder played in last season, his 63.5 competition percentage would have ranked 23rd amongst starting quarterbacks. To make the top 10, he would have needed at least a 66.7 competition percentage like New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones who was tied for ninth.
During Ridder's final two college seasons, he completed an average of 65 percent of his passes, so assuming he'll be one of the league's most accurate passers this early in his professional career is a bold move but not an impossible task for him to accomplish.
Luckily, Ridder can look at Jones' film from the past two seasons as an example of how to improve his own accuracy. Jones just completed a similar ascension to the one Ridder would have to make, going from having the 24th-highest completion percentage in 2021 to ninth.
Ridder should benefit from some of Atlanta’s similarities with the Giants. New York’s focal point on offense is former top 10 draft pick, running back Saquan Barkley; in a move reminiscent of the Giants, the Falcons drafted Bijan Robinson in the top 10, making him the highest-drafted running back since Barkley five years ago.
With a strong offensive line protecting him, an elite weapon out of the backfield in both the running and receiving game in Robinson, as well as talented pass catchers in Kyle Pitts and Drake London, Ridder will have as good of a chance as any young quarterback to pass accurately, thanks to Atlanta's abundance of offensive firepower.
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