Here’s some news during the New Orleans Saints’ bye week. The Atlanta Falcons are also resting ahead of Week 15’s game with the Saints on Dec. 18, but they’ve made the decision to bench quarterback Marcus Mariota and start rookie draft pick Desmond Ridder down the stretch. So Ridder will make his first career start against the Saints when both teams come out of their bye.
Ridder, 23, was drafted at No. 74 overall this year after he put together an impressive college career with the Cincinnati Bearcats. He won 43 of his 49 starts for Cincinnati and led them into the College Football Playoff last season. He also posted a rare 9.63 Relative Athletic Score after testing at the NFL Scouting Combine in the spring, so he can scoot.
The Saints need to be on top of their game, having struggled to defend similar quarterbacks in the past. We’ll see if Ridder has the chops to hang around in the NFC South long-term. He’s stepping into an offense that badly needs a spark in the passing game (ranking 31st in both attempts and passing yards) but has shown flashes of competence on third downs (converting 40.7% of them, 12th-best around the league) and in the red zone (scoring a touchdown on 60.5% of drives, 10th-best). Ridder will be without star pass-catching tight end Kyle Pitts after his season-ending knee injury, but this is a good opportunity for Atlanta to evaluate him. Let’s see what he’s got.
