The Falcons had a franchise quarterback until they didn’t. Now, they have a guy who was supposed to be a franchise quarterback, but he has not earned that distinction, yet.

Marcus Mariota nevertheless seems to be entrenched as the Week One starter. Via Michael Rothstein, Mariota “appears to be far ahead” of rookie Desmond Ridder, and Mariota “looked sharp” in offseason workouts.

It’s no surprise. Ridder is raw. He needs time to learn the game.

But he may not have that luxury. Although injuries are unpredictable, Mariota’s style puts him at risk for contact, which brings with it potential injury. Which would open the door for Ridder.

Ineffectiveness by Mariota or the team also could get Ridder on the field. The Falcons have had a hard time filling up their new stadium. A rookie who plugs in and plays well could be just what the Falcons need, in more ways that one.

That said, Mariota has had some good performances during his time in the league. While it has never happened on a consistent basis — and even though his last stint with Falcons coach Arthur Smith resulted in a Tennessee benching — Mariota appears to be firmly on track to get the first crack at running the show for the post-Matt Ryan Falcons.

Mariota is twice the QB Ridder will ever be. Ridder is just the new toy and we have seen Mariota fail. I am not saying Mariota solves your QB issues but he can be a bridge gap for you. Raw or not, if you can be a franchise QB you will be drafted before the 3rd round. Ridder is a project that more than likely will never be anything.

Does Tom Brady (6th rd), Roger Staubach (10th round), Bart Starr (17th round), Joe Theisman (4th round), Mark Rypien (6th round), Rich Gannon (4th round) or Mark Brunell (5th round) ring a bell? Just to name a few.

Mariota is on his 3rd team in 7 years. He can be good, but he gets hurt a lot. If he doesn’t stay healthy and have a good year, I’d say that he’s in “bust” territory. I watched a lot of Ridder’s college games. He will figure it out and the roles could be reversed between him and Mariota. Just my opinion…

Giants would have had Mariota and he would way ahead of Daniel Jones except Jones would have taken every rep. The media has limited access to these practices, take everything with a grain of salt here in early July.

How can a GM be so confident of a 3rd round QB becoming a good starter? He might, but lets see how he’s doing by the end of the season, unless Mariota is bad.

Mariota is my pick for NFL Comeback Player of the Year 2022.

For every Brady, Staubach, Starr, Theisman, Rypien, Gannon, or Brunell type QB drafted after the 4th round there are hundreds of QBs drafted in these rounds who never made it or or were just journeymen.

Gonna be rooting for Marcus this year, ngl.

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.