Mel Kiper Jr. on Desmond Ridder's Fall Down Big Board: 'There Were Opportunities to be had' Against Alabama

Ridder dropped outside of Kiper Jr.'s overall Big Board.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Jan 27, 2022 11:46 AM EST

CINCINNATI — We are just a few days away from the start of 2022 Senior Bowl practices, and it prompted a discussion of all the top quarterbacks on the "First Draft" podcast.

Of the top-six consensus quarterback prospects, five are participating in the game. Matt Corral is the lone high-level prospect not playing. One of the five is UC quarterback Desmond Ridder, who ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. gushed over early in the process but is now less bullish on his NFL future.

"Then four, Desmond Ridder," Kiper said, describing his current QB rankings heading into the Senior Bowl. "Todd [McShay] will say, 'What about Ridder? You had him up there as maybe QB1?' If he'd have played well against Alabama, I would've been right there to champion his cause and say he deserves to be right there in the discussion, but he didn't. And it wasn't like the team was overwhelmed.

"Yes up front, they couldn't block Alabama that well, but there were opportunities to be had there, and he struggled. So he's right now at four. Needs a good Senior Bowl week to maybe move up."

Ridder was Kiper's No. 2 quarterback behind Kenny Pickett and No. 21 overall on his Dec. 7 big board. He is down to No. 4 in Kiper's latest update and is outside of the top-25 prospects.

Ridder had his worst game of the season at the wrong time against Alabama. He finished 17-of-32 for 144 yards and took six sacks against a measuring stick defense. He posted his worst QBR of 2021 in the game (28.3) and passed for his second-fewest yards all season.

The questions surrounding Ridder largely revolve around accuracy issues and playing weak competition. He didn't do enough to quell those worries in the Cotton Bowl, but he gets another chance next week.

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