FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons’ offensive line should get a boost from the return of Elijah Wilkinson, the preferred starter at left guard.
The Falcons’ offensive line, which must pass block a little longer to help rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder open up the passing game, will be on the hot seat against the Saints.
Wilkinson, who had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, has missed the past five games. The Falcons have started Matt Hennessy, Chuma Edoga and Colby Gossett in his place.
Wilkinson’s return should boost the interior of the passing pocket.
He’s ready to block for Ridder.
“I think he’s ready for it,” Wilkinson said. “At some point, you have to rip the band-aid off and let him go at it. I think everybody is handling it well. We’re all helping him out, and he’s ready to go.”
Ridder has command of the huddle.
“He’s on top of his stuff out there,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson pronounced himself ready to go after a practice in pads Wednesday.
“You need to feel it,” Wilkinson said. “You need to block somebody, drive somebody and that type of stuff. It was good to have some full contact.”
The Falcons didn’t try to take the line calls away from Ridder, which is sometimes passed on to the center.
“We’ve tried to prepare Desmond that he was one snap away at all times,” offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said. “As the backup quarterback, you are. No way did we sit there and say if Desmond has to play in Week 3 or 4 because something happened to Marcus, let’s just do this because we haven’t prepared him that way.”
The Falcons believe the line will help Ridder run the entire offense.
“When we drafted him, the intent was to make sure he was capable of running the offense in a way that if something happened to the guy ahead of him, if he wasn’t the starter, that he would be able to go in there and the other 10 guys wouldn’t have to back off,” Ragone said.
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24
Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13
Dec. 4 Steelers 19, Falcons 16
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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