Finding Broncos: Desmond Ridder | QB | Cincinnati

Finding Broncos scouts the 2022 NFL Draft with one of the top quarterbacks.

Measurements

• Height: 6-foot-3
• Weight: 211 pounds
• Arms: 32-3/4 inches
• Hands: 10 inches

Combine Results

40 Yard Dash: 4.52

Vertical Jump: 36 inches

Broad Jump: 127 inches

3 Cone Drill: 7.15

20 Yard Shuttle: 4.29

Stats

Pros

• There is no questioning the leadership and desire for Ridder. 
• When he uses his eyes, he has shown he can stop a safety and open the shots that he has to be more consistent connecting on. 
• His base and throwing platform are consistently balanced. 
• His athleticism is fantastic and creates a threat with his legs that defenses must be cautious of. 
• He knows how to work the pocket laterally to avoid sacks when he doesn't climb too high. 
• His best route is the out route, and it isn't close. 
• He doesn't wait in the pocket too long when his danger sense is going off and will turn to his legs. 
• He doesn't pull his eyes from looking downfield when he is scrambling. 
• He has shown a high football IQ with how he can read the defense pre and post-snap. 
• When he sees an opportunity to throw it when scrambling, he quickly resets his base instead of throwing off a poor base. 
• Ridder has a good pump fake with a strong grip to keep control of the ball and reset. 
• He has plenty of speed when he uses his legs to be a significant play threat. 
• When he has sound mechanics, his placement is top-notch. 
• Ridder remained poise throughout college no matter the circumstances, and he thrived in front of the home crowd. 

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Cons

• His lower body mechanics are a complete mess and are a big reason for the inconsistent placement issues. 
• Ridder has a decent arm, but tight window throws are a risk as he doesn't have consistent zip. 
• There are issues with Ridder going through all of his progressions. 
• He has a bad habit of staring down his targets. 
• His deep pass attempts are inconsistent and will often fall up short. 
• There has to be work to improve his timing and tempo for the NFL as in college, he gave enough time to safeties often. 
• NFL teams will have to limit the type of throws they're asking him to make early on. 
• He has a bad habit of climbing too high in the pocket, straining the tackles, and leading to sacks. 
• There are multiple instances of leading his receivers into danger instead of throwing them open. 
• His windup time can be slow, which leads to jumped routes and batted passes. 
• While he can work as a runner, he isn't the type to avoid contact and opens himself up for a lot of contact. 
• He has a bad habit of being a slow starter in games. 

Overall

Desmond Ridder is an interesting quarterback to evaluate. He can deliver a great ball when he uses his mechanics and works them in sync. However, the biggest issue with his college tape is how rare it was for him to use his mechanics consistently. 

The biggest knock against him is the placement issues, directly related to improper mechanics. During the pre-draft process, that has been the focus of what he has worked on, and it showed at the combine, or did it? 

Throwing at the combine is the perfect setting because there isn't a defense coming after you, and Ridder would consistently break down when pressure was nearing. So it could be the setting was what set him up to look good there. 

Outside of that, teams will be intrigued because he has the physical traits that you can't teach. He is a great athlete, and coaches love that because the issues when working as a passer they can always coach that up, or so they believe. 

Fit with Denver

If the Denver Broncos didn't land Russell Wilson, Desmond Ridder was a name to watch. The team was linked to him as a late first/early second-round option as they would look to add to the quarterback room. The coaching staff has said they want to focus on the teaching side of things, so Ridder would make sense. 

The scheme fit was good, and Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett has consistently talked about building the offense to the quarterback. While it could have been rough with Ridder, he needs a coaching staff willing to build around what he can do. They would have to limit the throws they are asking him to make, move the pocket, limit the reads, and use his athleticism to help out. 

Round Grade: Early Second Round.

Where he goes: Late First to Early Second Round.

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