3 Reasons Desmond Ridder should be the Atlanta Falcons week one starter

Despite having Marcus Mariota signed to a two-year deal it should be Desmond Ridder starting week one for the Atlanta Falcons. The third-round pick has a lot of upside with just as many concerns. He was part of a disappointing quarterback class that had only one player taken in the first round in Kenny Pickett.

Even Pickett isn’t a sure starter with Mitch Trubisky more likely to start week one as the Steelers’ answer at the position. Considering Pittsburgh has a contending roster the Steelers will likely lean towards the veteran option they know will give them a chance to win.

Sam Howell went to Washington to sit behind Carson Wentz and Malik Willis landed with the Titans who have Ryan Tannehill locked in as their starter. This leaves the possibility that there isn’t a single rookie starter when week one kicks off.

The one exception to this trend should be Desmond Ridder, if he put together a solid pre-season there shouldn’t be any questioning about who starts the season under center for the Atlanta Falcons.

This isn’t to slight Marcus Mariota or even to suggest Ridder is definitively the long-term answer. Rather to point out the obvious reasons that Ridder should be locked in as the week one starter for a team that is in an obvious rebuild.