4 Things Desmond Ridder must do to stay Atlanta Falcons starting QB

3. Rush for more than 300 yards

Justin Fields led the league in quarterback rushing yards with 1,143 trailed by Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, and Jalen Hurts  All five players surpassed 700 rushing yards and had their legs used as a major part of the offensive scheme.

Ridder doesn’t need to be this level of a threat, Ridder fits in far better with the group behind the elite scramblers. Trevor Lawrence, Geno Smith, Patrick Mahomes, Marcus Mariota, and Russell Wilson all hovered around the 300-yard mark.

This is a very achievable goal for a player with Ridder’s speed and ability outside the pocket. Ridder has enough talent as a scrambler to run the read option and keep defenses honest similar to how Mahomes, Smith, and Lawrence used their legs opportunistically taking what the defense gave them but always looking to pass first.

Desmond Ridder isn’t going to produce on the level as these star quarterbacks as a passer, however, as a rushing threat, Ridder should put up this number easily if healthy and give a defense that will have its hands full with Patterson and Allgeier in the run game something else to worry about.