2022 NFL Draft: Desmond Ridder a legit dual-threat at QB

Outlook going forward

Desmond Ridder’s senior season at Cincinnati is going to determine where he goes in the draft. Coming back to school was likely a smart move for four reasons.

One, there were five quarterbacks taken in the first round last year, and he would have likely slid way down draft boards if had elected to forgo his senior season.

Two, there are multiple areas that Ridder can improve, like making better and quicker reads, and enhancing his ball placement, and being more consistently accurate on intermediate and deep throws.

Three, by coming back to school, Desmond Ridder is betting on himself. He’s betting that he’ll improve as a player enough that he’ll be able to help his draft stock. If he shines this year, he’ll have shown that he can come through with the pressure on and when he has a lot to gain.

Four, coming back shows a commitment to his team. In his announcement that he was coming back, Ridder talked about how hard he wanted to work and how he wanted to grow as a teammate. His stated goals for the upcoming season are a second consecutive conference championship for Cincinnati and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Desmond Ridder has all the tools to be a prototypical modern dual-threat quarterback in the NFL, but he just needs a little more polish and some time to tighten up some of his mechanics.

I’ve seen projections everywhere from the first round to the fifth round for Desmond Ridder, but I think he’ll be good to great his final year in Cincinnati and ultimately land in the mid-to late-third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.