Public draft discourse obsessively favors volume starters, prospects who logged thirty-plus collegiate games. That preference often blinds evaluators to high-pedigree backups who spent years sharpening fundamentals against elite SEC defenses in practice. Riddick consistently challenges this convention. His front-office tenure taught him that mental resilience, baseline athleticism, and throwing motion efficiency matter far more than raw snaps against overmatched non-conference competition.
The Ty Simpson pick reflects an understanding that rookie quarterback development works best away from the spotlight. Thrown into immediate fire, rookie passers often develop fatal pocket habits, scrambling prematurely and drifting into blitz lines. Learning behind Stafford gives Simpson a masterclass in field vision, game manipulation, and hard-count management, all without absorbing the physical beatings that derail young careers.
