Matt Waldman’s RSP examines Desmond Ridder’s Week 1 performance against the Carolina Panthers. 

The good news is Desmond Ridder has been taking care of the ball. The bad news, Ridder’s decision-making based on pre-snap and post-snap leverage reads of coverage needs work.

In Week 1, the Falcon’s offense ran a lot of concepts with routes that break back to the quarterback and far fewer individual routes that break across multiple windows of coverage. This may be by design so Ridder isn’t forced to make as many complex leverage reads demanded of veteran NFL passers.

If it isn’t by design, then the scheme isn’t leveraging Ridder’s mobility and it’s forcing receivers to do a lot more rerouting when Ridder must abandon the pocket. It makes the off-structure passing game more demanding for its young players, especially the quarterback.

See for yourself, there are easy solutions available but Ridder isn’t taking them nearly as often as a veteran would. Some may have to do with the amount of freedom Ridder is allowed at the line of scrimmage. A lot of it has to do with his ability to process information accurately and efficiently.

And of course, if you want to know about the rookies from this draft class, you will find the most in-depth analysis of offensive skill players available (QB, RB, WR, and TE), with the 2023 Rookie Scouting Portfolio for $21.95. 

Matt’s new RSP Dynasty Rankings and Two-Year Projections Package is available for $24.95

If you’re a fantasy owner and interested in purchasing past publications for $9.95 each, the 2012-2022 RSPs also have a Post-Draft Add-on that’s included at no additional charge.  

If you’re a fantasy owner and interested in purchasing past publications for $9.95 each, the 2012-2022 RSPs also have a Post-Draft Add-on that’s included at no additional charge.  

Best yet, proceeds from sales are set aside for a year-end donation to Darkness to Light to combat the sexual abuse of children.