Ahmad Gardner Lands in Top-Five, Desmond Ridder Cracks First Round in Latest Mock Draft

CINCINNATI — The Athletic's Dane Brugler unveiled his first mock draft since the NFL Combine wrapped up, and he has two former Bearcats coming off the board in the first round.

He kicked things off with the New York Giants selecting Ahmad Gardner at No. 5 following his 4.41 40-yard dash at the combine.

"In Joe Schoen’s first season as the assistant general manager in Buffalo, the Bills drafted cornerback Tre’Davious White in the first round," Brugler wrote. "Now the general manager with the Giants, Schoen could follow a similar path with Gardner, who ran a 4.41 40-yard dash with his impressive size (6-3, 190 pounds, 33 1/2-arms)."

Gardner is the consensus sixth-best player in the 2022 NFL Draft, and this is the highest any major mock draft has placed him. Desmond Ridder cracked the first round of a Brugler mock for the first time this year. He went off the board to the Detroit Lions at No. 32.

"A quarterback at No. 2 overall would be a surprise, but not as much if the Lions take a passer here," Brugler wrote. "The Lions have been doing their homework on several quarterbacks in this class, including a formal meeting with Ridder at the combine. With Jared Goff the starter in 2022, the Lions would be able to develop Ridder at his own pace instead of forcing him into immediate action."

Ridder is the consensus 39th-ranked player in the class and is going in the first round of 29% of mock drafts so far. Myjai Sanders cracked the second round in Brugler's last two-round mock, but he didn't appear on this list after dropping weight between the Senior Bowl and combine.

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