The Falcons have not picked a quarterback in the first round since drafting Matt Ryan in 2008, but they have been devoting resources to the offensive side of the ball.
Running back Bijan Robinson became the third straight offensive player that the Falcons have taken in the first round and they also made a trade for tight end Jonnu Smith this offseason. They join wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, and running backs Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson as pieces around 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder in Ridder’s first season as the starting quarterback.
The lack of experience at quarterback will lead to some questions about how effective the Falcons will be, but Ridder said on NFL Network Monday that the supporting cast “just makes my job a lot easier” and that the Falcons “think that we’re gonna be pretty explosive” any way they choose to move the ball.
“However that comes, we just want to be explosive,” Ridder said. “Whether it’s in the run game, the pass game, whatever it may be, obviously this is a game where you got to put points up on the board, and that’s something that we want to do as an offense, all the while taking care of the ball, controlling the game, just doing what you have to do to go out there and win. So from the Falcons offense, we can just go out there just play our hardest and expect to be explosive.”
There are new quarterbacks in place for all four teams in the NFC South and little consensus about which of the clubs is best positioned to win the division. If the Falcons offense proves to be what Ridder thinks it can be, the Falcons should have a good shot of rising to the top.