Atlanta Falcons’ rookie QB Desmond Ridder impressed them in a short time – Atlanta Falcons blog

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Desmond Ridder He went back to practice and pulled up the voice recording app on his iPhone. After hitting record, he began speaking. He went through all the playcalls and read the appropriate language and cadence, then he went to bed.

Then you can Atlanta Falcons The rookie quarterback plugged in his Airpods and hit play. He pretended that it was Falcons coach Arthur Smith calling plays through his helmet on game day. He did it as a way to learn quickly after he had a stellar career at Cincinnati and was now ready to move on to the NFL.

“Being able to pick them up and spit them out, that’s kind of just been my challenge,” Ridder said. “And where I’ve been able to grow the most throughout this entire thing.”

He learned the recitation from several people during his six-month journey to this point. He has not yet faced a professionally padded pass-rush, but he has made significant mental preparations.

This isn’t to say he’s going to unseat veteran Marcus MariotaHe was signed in March. Mariota has looked like the player who will be the team’s starting quarterback to begin the season, but Ridder has been learning from the former Tennessee Titans Starter and No. Since Mariota arrived for the start of OTAs, the 2nd overall pick in 2013 draft was taken.

Ridder stated that he learned a lot from Mariota about everything from how he views film, manages coverages, and how he looks after his body on the field. Ridder also meets every morning to review the play script for that day.

That, like everything else, has been beneficial for his growth. He started by learning how navigate a meeting and then spit out more complex playcalls that he had to deal with at Cincinnati.

Ridder is completely immersed in all things Falcons-playbook. He’s texting quarterbacks coach Charles London at night with more questions he didn’t get answered during the day and embraced that there’s a lot he doesn’t yet know.

London didn’t care as much about Ridder’s pass completion in minicamp. Instead, London was focused on the other aspects of his first month in the NFL — how did London command the offense, how did they handle unfamiliar situations, reading the playcall and spotting changes in coverage pre-play. These are the areas Ridder should pay attention in his first month with the NFL.

These were aspects that they could also see during the scouting process. But what they couldn’t know for sure was how he’d mesh with other players because one can try to predict human personalities, but until you get people in a room together, you don’t totally know. That worked well.

Ridder quickly rose to prominence among the rookie minicamp players. Ridder has been a comfortable player in veteran minicamp.

“Guys kind of gravitate to him,” London said. “He’s a natural leader, and leadership is hard. It’s hard to judge somebody’s leadership. People can tell you he’s a leader, but most guys that are really great leaders, they lead by their own style, their own way.”

Ridder cares more about personal communication. He now takes the time to get to know his pass-catchers in small talks. It’s how he handled things at Cincinnati too.

It also means that you can spend time with rookie receivers in the offseason, before training camp. Drake London California is where they train, and there are other possibilities.

Those are some of the things not necessarily visible in Ridder’s development, like throwing an accurate post route or a well-timed ball on an outbreaking route. If there are mechanical things to work on, London said they address it, but for now, it’s about making sure he learns everything.

After Ridder has a good grasp of everything, the rest will follow. And it’s there where he already has made an impression.

“Some of the physical things you’ll see in time will catch up,” Smith said. “But he’s light years ahead of most young quarterbacks from the neck up, and I will give him that compliment.”