Desmond Ridder: 2021 Devy Profile

Quarterback, Cincinnati, Eligible for 2022 NFL Draft

At 6’4” 215 lbs. Desmond Ridder was in the conversation with Mac Jones and Kyle Trask to be the QB5 in the 2021 draft class. However, he opted to return to Cincinnati for his senior season. The former three-star-recruit has come a long way and enters the 2021 season with hopes of making a case for himself as a top-three QB.

Past Production

In his freshman season, Ridder proved to be a serviceable QB surpassing 300 yards passing twice and 100 yards rushing once. While he did have his down games (two 42% completion percentage losses against Temple and UCF), he seemed to fit well enough into the offense and didn’t

His sophomore season saw a dip in production, but the Bearcats upped the difficulty of their schedule adding Ohio State, Houston, and Memphis in 2019. While never throwing for more than 263 yards in an outing, Ridder was able to post three 100-yard rushing games.

Ridder was the 2020 AAC Offensive Player of the Year and led the conference with 12 rushing TDs and the highest completion percentage. While the opponents were restricted to conference play, the Bearcats nearly went undefeated, losing by three to Georgia in the Peach Bowl.

2021 Outlook

Ridder returns for his senior season with hopes of knocking off Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell as the best QB in the draft class. What shines through in Ridder’s game is his ability to improvise and use his legs to get out of trouble. While he is a great rusher, Cincinnati doesn’t call many designed runs for him. Most of his yardage comes from broken plays and escaping the pocket. 

Playing in the American Athletic Conference may be a knock against Ridder, but he’ll have opportunities to prove himself against Indiana and Notre Dame in the 2021 season. If he puts up a good performance against a tough Irish defense, his draft stock will increase.

The majority of his offensive weapons will return in 2021. While 2020 rushing leader Gerrid Doaks will leave, he will be replaced by Alabama transfer Jerome Ford, so the offense could even see a slight upgrade.

Devy Analysis

What shines through in Ridder’s game is his ability to improvise and use his legs to get out of trouble. While he is a great rusher, Cincinnati doesn’t call many designed runs for him. Most of his yardage comes from broken plays and escaping the pocket. This ability to improve is what is pushing Zach Wilson up draft boards, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t do the same for Ridder.

Overall he’s shown enough flashes to be in the talks for top-five in the class. He’s got a high ceiling but a low floor. Since there is still a lot of unknowns, I’m not going to put him above Rattler or Howell, but I’m willing to have him in the conversation with Daniels, Slovis, and Shough as the possible QB3. I would be willing to draft him in the late 2nd of SF devy leagues, but unless it’s a startup, there’s a possibility he is already rostered since he was expected to come out in 2021.

Bonus

As a passer, there are some concerns because he doesn’t check down and take what defenses give him all the time and can often get into trouble trying to do too much. He has consistency issues with hitting targets, an issue that came up again in the back half of his 2020 season. Ridder also suffered a shoulder injury in 2020 that may be concerning going forward.

He has shown an ability to place the ball in tight windows downfield and the ability to extend plays with his legs will be where all his upside comes from. Ridder is also going to get a bump because he’s been a winner in college. He led Cincinnati to an undefeated regular season and almost got them in the playoffs in 2020. If he can keep them in the national conversation, his stock will likely increase.

Thanks for reading! If you have any fantasy questions, reach out to me on Twitter @fantasyonefive, and be sure to check out the rest of our devy profiles!