2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: DL John Ridgeway, Arkansas

Arkansas interior defensive lineman John Ridgeway has much to offer as a two-down defender. Nick has the breakdown of those traits.

Nick Falato | Apr 15, 2022

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Arkansas Razorbacks

John Ridgeway, DL

Height: 6’5 ⅛”
Weight: 321 lbs.
Class: RS-Senior
School: Arkansas
Arm length: 33 ⅜”
Hands: 10”

A former two-star recruit out of Bloomington High School in Bloomington, Illinois, Ridgeway was the 202nd ranked offensive tackle and the 70th ranked prospect from Illinois during the 2017 cycle.

Ridgeway was recruited as an offensive tackle but switched to the defensive side of the football while at Illinois State; Ridgeway transferred to Arkansas after the 2020 season, and was productive in the SEC.

Notables

Ridgeway played the majority of snaps as the nose tackle in Arkansas’ defense. He recorded 24 tackles, 11 pressures, 23 STOPs, two sacks, and four tackles for a loss in 2021.

Ridgeway ate double team blocks and did a solid job maintaining balance while anchoring the middle of the defense. He finishes his college career with 74 tackles, 64 STOPs, 28 pressures, and two sacks; his 2020 season was cut short because of COVID-19 (while playing at Illinois State).

Ridgeway attended the Reese’s Senior Bowl where he did an excellent job imposing his presence in the 9-on-7 rushing drills. Ridgeway isn’t a premier pass rusher, but his run defense shined during practices. He then attended the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis at the beginning of March.

40-yard-dash: 5.30s
10-yard-split: 1.80s
Broad jump: 101”
Short-shuttle: 4.73s

Strengths

Long, good well-distributed girth
Not a great athlete; however, does move well laterally
Solid overall flexibility to bend through contact (for someone of his size)
Solid first step off the line laterally while using his hands well to gain an advantage
Quick hands to fits inside to either restrict space or keep OL at bay
Hands are quick and heavy - can jolt OL
Does well to shed and break OL contact as a run defender
Good overall upper body strength to shed
Played with pursuit and always hustled
Leveraged his run gaps well and showed excellent mental processing

Weaknesses / Can Improve

Only an adequate athlete
Not very sudden or explosive - much more strength-based
Pad level gets high which leads to balance issues
Lower body strength doesn’t match upper body strength
Won’t offer much as a pass-rusher
For a nose tackle, he struggles to anchor down against very good OL (balance issues due to pad level)
Will struggle to anchor against double teams at the next level if he doesn’t sink his center of gravity
Only had SEC experience as a nose-tackle

Summary

Overall, John Ridgeway is a solid run defender with good hand technique to shed and good upper body strength. I wish he was a bit stronger in his lower half; he struggles to anchor against double teams, and his pad level tends to get a bit high.

He doesn’t offer much as a pass-rusher, but he is a solid developmental player who can slide into a 1-shade or 4i-shade in a TITE front because his lateral agility, but that success will primarily be contingent on lower-body strength improvements and a focus on lowering his center of gravity as he moves.

GRADE: 5.86