The Atlanta Falcons’ brass has made it clear all offseason that they intend to open the 2023 campaign with Desmond Ridder as QB1.
Atlanta did sign veteran Taylor Heinicke during NFL free agency to provide leadership in the quarterback room after moving on from Marcus Mariota. However, there has not been much talk about the Falcons going quarterback with the eighth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Until now.
Matt Miller of ESPN reported recently that the Falcons are seriously considering going quarterback with that pick in a “dream scenario.”
Miller notes that Anthony Richardson or Will Levis could be Falcons targets. Though, the team is higher on top-end prospects Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. Both of them are not expected to be available at eight with Young likely heading to the Carolina Panthers with the first overall pick in the draft.
For most of the pre-draft process it has been assumed that Richardson and Levis would go within the top five. Now that the annual event is two weeks away, we’re not too sure.
Related: 2023 Atlanta Falcons mock draft
“The plan is to start Desmond. That’s our plan going forward right now,” Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said back in March.
A third-round pick out of Cincinnati last year, Ridder started four games as a rookie. He completed 63.5% of his passes for 708 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That small sample size also saw Atlanta average a mere 19.3 points with Ridder starting.
The question here is how general manager Terry Fontenot and Co. feel about Levis and Richardson in comparison to Ridder. Both are largely seen as better prospects than Ridder when he came out last spring.
It’s interesting to look at. Atlanta was linked to Deshaun Watson in trade rumors before he was dealt from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns last offseason. It was also mentioned as a potential landing spot for Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson before backing off earlier this offseason.
Despite what Smith and the Atlanta Falcons say publicly, it’s clear that they are not sold on Ridder internally. This makes Atlanta one of the teams to watch with the 2023 NFL Draft exactly two weeks away.