Desmond Ridder not seen favorably in PFF’s QB rankings

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Pro Football Focus released their annual quarterback rankings following the 2022 season, and Falcons’ signal callers were not seen favorably, particularly Desmond Ridder, who PFF ranked the 35th-best player at his position.

*chart below is courtesy of PFF

Rank QB Weighted Average PFF Analysts Pass Grade/ Snap Overall Grade/ Snap PFF WAR PFF WAR/Snap EPA/Pass
1 Patrick Mahomes 2.26 1.25 3 5 2 2 2
2 Joe Burrow 2.79 1.75 1 3 1 1 8
3 Josh Allen 3.60 3.00 5 1 3 4 5
4 Tua Tagovailoa 6.35 11.00 2 6 9 3 3
5 Jalen Hurts 7.05 4.00 7 4 8 10 10
6 Justin Herbert 9.28 5.50 12 15 6 8 13
7 Kirk Cousins 9.30 10.00 6 11 4 6 17
8 Geno Smith 10.20 9.00 11 12 7 9 14
9 Tom Brady 11.16 8.25 10 19 5 7 20
10 Trevor Lawrence 11.44 7.75 16 14 10 15 11
11 Andy Dalton 11.53 14.50 4 8 11 5 19
12 Daniel Jones 14.16 15.25 19 7 12 14 15
13 Brock Purdy 14.20 17.00 9 17 28 11 1
14 Lamar Jackson 14.20 9.00 17 2 19 18 18
15 Ryan Tannehill 14.49 18.75 8 16 17 12 12
16 Jared Goff 14.79 14.75 18 24 14 20 6
17 Aaron Rodgers 15.78 10.50 15 22 13 17 22
18 Dak Prescott 16.03 16.50 20 18 18 21 7
19 Jacoby Brissett 16.80 17.00 13 10 16 16 24
20 Kenny Pickett 17.83 20.50 14 13 15 13 25
21 Jimmy Garoppolo 19.89 25.75 21 23 25 22 4
22 Sam Darnold 23.93 27.50 23 29 30 29 9
23 Derek Carr 24.19 25.75 27 32 23 27 16
24 Kyler Murray 24.40 22.00 30 20 27 28 21
25 Matthew Stafford 24.91 25.25 22 26 26 19 28
26 Mac Jones 25.04 21.75 24 27 22 23 33
27 Russell Wilson 25.63 28.50 28 25 20 26 26
28 Marcus Mariota 26.91 28.25 29 21 29 30 23
29 Justin Fields 26.91 21.25 34 9 31 34 30
30 Davis Mills 27.94 31.75 26 31 21 24 32
31 Matt Ryan 28.53 31.50 25 28 24 25 34
32 Taylor Heinicke 32.29 28.75 36 35 36 36 27
33 Deshaun Watson 32.50 30.00 32 30 33 32 37
34 Carson Wentz 32.54 34.75 33 34 32 33 29
35 Desmond Ridder 32.68 34.50 31 33 34 31 31
36 Baker Mayfield 34.91 34.25 35 36 35 35 35
37 Zach Wilson 36.61 36.25 37 37 37 37 36

It might not be fair to Desmond Ridder to be ranked so low — or even be considered on the list, given that he played only four games — but his bottom-five passing offense and his PFF grades are hard to ignore.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank has expressed support for Ridder, and Jordan Palmer believes he could experience a sophomore leap similar to Trevor Lawrence. There is no shortage of Ridder supporters following his four-game mini-audition last season, including NFL insider Jordan Schultz. 

If Ridder’s first four starts are any indication of his career trajectory, Falcons fans should feel optimistic because they were more impressive than Matt Ryan’s, the greatest quarterback in franchise history.

In his first four games, 23-year-old Matty Ice threw for 669 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on 55-of-105 passing (52.4%). He fumbled the ball once while posting a 6.4 Y/A and 5.9 AY/A, coming out of those contests with a .500 record.

In comparison, 23-year-old Ridder threw for 708 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions on 73-of-115 passing (63.5%), good for a 6.2 A/Y and 6.5 AY/Y. Ridder did fumble it three times but also finished with an even 2-2 record. Even if it is marginal, the stats say Ridder’s first four games were more productive.

Quarterback development in the NFL is rarely linear, so there’s no telling what Desmond Ridder will do in 2023 and beyond. What sticks out to me the most is what everyone compliments him on — his intangibles. Never do they bring up his precise accuracy or cannon arm. It feels Ridder’s floor is so high because of what he brings to the table as a leader.

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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

 

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