Ahmad Gardner and Desmond Ridder Selected in Top-20 of Latest Mock Draft

Ridder earned his highest projection of any major mock draft to date.

CINCINNATI — The college football bowl season is winding down and that means it's time to set sights on the 2022 NFL Draft. Running back Jerome Ford was the first Bearcat to announce their NFL plans on Monday.

Players like quarterback Desmond Ridder and cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner are expected to unveil their NFL paths soon, and PFF's Anthony Treash is very high on both prospects. The analyst slotted Gardner to the Minnesota vikings at No. 12 in PFF's latest mock draft, a significant rise into the top-15 for Gardner after his stellar performance against Alabama.

"The pass defense was the only glaring positive for the Bearcats in their CFP semifinal loss to Alabama," Treash wrote about Gardner. "They held the Crimson Tide to their lowest successful pass rate since Week 1 of 2017.

"The impact of Sauce Gardner, who allowed zero yards to Alabama, played a big part in that. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound corner’s performance in that final outing capped off what will forever be known as one of the best seasons — and careers — from a collegiate defensive back. He allowed 117 yards across 14 games and 482 coverage snaps this year. And what makes that even more impressive is that he did that playing mostly on an island in press-man coverage.

"Gardner closed out his three years playing over 1,100 coverage snaps without a touchdown allowed. He has the length, movement skills and mentality that NFL teams covet."

Ridder struggled to consistently make plays against Alabama but Treash isn't shaken by the result. He mocked Ridder to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 17. That is the QB's highest draft position in any major mock draft so far.

"Very few players have seen their draft stock rise as much as Ridder's has over the last four months," Treash said about UC's greatest passer. "The Bearcats quarterback took his physical gifts and put them into action this year, ending 2021 with a 90.4 PFF grade that sits 13 grading points above his previous career-best.

"Ridder ranks among the nation's top-10 quarterbacks in accurate-pass rate and deep passing grade this season, and he tossed 24 deep big-time throws without recording a single turnover-worthy play on those passes."

Cincinnati projects to set a program record for players drafted in one year after the historic run to the College Football Playoff.

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