Desmond Ridder QB Cincinnati

STRENGTHS
Desmond has good arm strength and velocity along with excellent accuracy to be a starting quarterback in the NFL for the team that selects him. He is an excellent athlete and can be dangerous when running the ball and able to pick up first downs in long-yardage situations. When given the time in the pocket, Desmond has the arm talent to pick a defense apart because of his accuracy. His ability to make plays with his legs along with his arm strength and accuracy makes him one of the most intriguing quarterbacks in this draft.

CONCERNS
My biggest concerns are that Desmond doesn’t have confidence in his own talent under adverse conditions. He doesn’t “create” plays to get himself and his team out of trouble when under pressure in the pocket. He struggles to manipulate the pocket and panics under pressure and throws off his back foot losing velocity. Desmond is very robotic and needs to have more confidence in his own athletic talents.

BOTTOM LINE 1.83
Right now, Desmond is successful because of the offensive system and coaching but he has the overall talents to be much better. He has the size, speed arm strength, and accuracy equal to any quarterback playing in the NFL right now. He reminds me a lot of Jimmy Garoppolo when he came out. Desmond’s talent is 1st round talent. Do not mistake my concerns for less but, his lack of confidence and leadership skills have to be developed or he will not make it for the team that selects him. He might make it for the next team after his first contract is up because players coming out with a lack of confidence in themselves seem to struggle and take longer to develop. I like him being selected in the 1st round because I would like that 5th-year option on him to give him time to develop. Desmond will move up very quickly in this draft because of his workouts and it will not surprise me if he is selected in the top 10 but for me personally, that is too high and too much pressure for him to develop the confidence he needs to develop on the field. The key to this draft is that there are teams with multiple picks in the 1st round so selecting Desmond at some point would be very smart. The question for teams will be, can Desmond develop like Jimmy or not develop his confidence and not be able to “create” like Drew Luck? Desmond’s talent suggests, that at some point in the 1st round you have to take that chance…just not in the top 10 for me. The label says, select early but handle with care.