ATLANTA — We don’t know what will become of Desmond Ridder’s career. After all, the list of third-round picks turned franchise quarterbacks is brief. But if he isn’t the Falcons’ answer, it won’t be because he doesn’t “get it.”
Third-round quarterbacks aren’t expected to be the solution. Otherwise, they would go the first day. For every Russell Wilson, there are a bunch of Brodie Croyles and Mason Rudolphs. In fact, unearthing a Mike Glennon or Josh McCown can be considered a success. Two former Falcons backups, Matt Schaub and Chris Redman, were third-round choices. There’s nothing wrong with that level of career. Very, very few players hang around the NFL for a decade.
Ridder is aspiring to be an exception. He wants his name next to Wilson, not Rudolph or Glennon. This is a player who won 44 games in his college career. “Yeah, at Cincinnati.” Would you feel better if he were losing games on a worse team at Missouri?
