Why Washington should draft Desmond Ridder

Howdy, Washington Football Team fans, we are back with our second installment of this brand new series, “Why Washington should draft (enter 2022 QB prospect’s name)”. Maybe we should come up with a cool slogan or hashtag for this, but we’ll leave that to the actual team that’s going through a brand reconstruction.

In our first piece, we tackled Nevada’s Carson Strong. The prototypical dropback passer, Strong has a unique arm and true command at the line of scrimmage that lead you to believe not only is he NFL-ready but he can be a nice fit in the Scott Turner offense.

Today, we’re looking at Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder. A four-year starter that only received two big-time offers as a high school senior, Ridder has learned the ropes like the best of them throughout his football journey.

From a broad view, he checks a lot of the boxes that you’re looking for from the modern-day franchise quarterback. He’s big, mobile, experienced, with an NFL-caliber arm that’s capable of making high-level throws at all three levels of the passing game.

The Washington Football Team is in need of their franchise signal-caller. With four years of solid production under his belt and a ceiling that intrigues teams, here is why Washington should draft Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder.

There’s a lot to like in Ridder’s game and he’s steadily risen in the ranks throughout this draft process. He’s improved every year and has made the most out of the strong talent around him. Like every QB prospect, nobody is perfect, but Ridder’s strengths lead you to believe that with proper development and a strong offensive system in place, he can be the guy that raises the ceiling of your favorite team as a franchise quarterback.

Desmond Ridder has been one of the most intriguing quarterback prospects over the last two years. He’s been on the NFL’s radar and continuously has his name thrown into the mix as potentially a guy that could develop into becoming a franchise quarterback.

When it comes to flashing off the screen, Desmond Ridder is the king of flashing his ability to become what we all think is possible. He’s put together some solid stretches of football where he looks like the best quarterback in the nation. His final four regular-season games at the collegiate level showed him at his peak form.

He threw for 270+ yards in each of those games with a total of nine touchdowns through the air, 11 big-time throws to just two turnover-worthy plays, and an average passing grade from Pro Football Focus of 86.07 throughout that stretch.

He’s been as consistent as they come at the collegiate level, continuing the trajectory of improvement with every season he played as a Bearcat. In every year, head coach Luke Fickell put more and more on the plate of Desmond and as the stakes got higher, Ridder’s play elevated.

He’s been someone that continuously improves and has worked at his craft every season, and the results prove that. While he isn’t the greatest quarterback prospect to ever live, he gives you a lot to work with as a play-caller and he has proven that no matter the situation he can thrive under whatever comes his way.

To add to that last thought, we will look at his numbers while under pressure and against the blitz this season.

Blitzed at a near 32% rate during his senior season, Desmond Ridder torched opposing teams when they sent the heat. He threw for 877 yards and 16 touchdowns against the blitz in 2021, while when he was pressured, with or without the blitz, the results stayed consistent.

While his decision-making needs work, he’s not gun-shy and sometimes has too quick of a trigger while relying on his sheer arm talent to make up for what the defense is or isn’t giving him.

His release, arm strength, and quick decision making especially under pressure excites some in the scouting process. It should excite Washington’s front office, as Ridder has not only the tools but the experience in crucial situations like being under pressure, where he’s thrived and been able to identify what’s coming and make defenses pay.

That’s the next step in this piece. There’s one big thing that many in the pre-draft process like, and it’s an active quarterback pre-snap. Similarly, with Carson Strong, Desmond Ridder has shown high levels of pre-snap decision-making that leads to Cincinnati’s success.

One play, in particular, where he slides his protection into the corner blitz, tells his running back where his eyes should be, and then he delivers a quick strike into the hole against the blitz.

Experience at the collegiate level, coupled with his sheer arm talent excites you, especially so if you’re in the business of looking for that next guy under center. Washington is in that boat, but there’s one more thing that I believe should interest Washington and specifically Scott Turner.

Washington’s offense loves to move the pocket around, rely heavily on the run game, execute timing concepts, and eventually hit the big passing plays at the second and third level. Though it may not seem to be the case due to Washington’s largely lackluster play under center over the last two years, I believe Turner is looking for a guy that can not only benefit from some of the things Turner loves to do as a play-caller, but also has the tools to make those high-level throws that are necessary.

Ridder checks those boxes for Washington as well. He will benefit from Turner’s manufactured throws and heavy structure within the offense, but he also has the tools to raise the ceiling of that offense in the long run. Washington’s offensive line and rushing attack have been a steady force for success in the Nation’s Capital, and while Ridder may not immediately be ready to play, his development will be benefited by a group both behind and in front of him that can do a lot of heavy lifting early on in his career.

In addition, Ridder’s a true dual-threat option under center that we haven’t discussed much of in this piece. He rushed for over 2,300 yards in college and had 84 runs of 20+ yards at that level. Fumbles are a little bit of a concern, but he executed very well in Cincinnati’s zone-blocking designed QB runs, a blocking concept that Washington thrives with as well.

Lastly, Washington is likely looking for a veteran to play, right now. It seems as if Washington wants a mobile quarterback that has a big-time arm that can just play consistent football under center. That’s the one thing it seems like Rivera and Co. are most frustrated with when it comes to their play at quarterback, it’s consistency more so than ability.

If you’re looking to add a veteran and have a quarterback sit for a year, Desmond Ridder seems like a guy that could benefit from something like that. At the same time, Washington’s offense is very quarterback-friendly as we stand here today.

If it came to the point where Ridder must play early on, he will not look like a deer in the headlights. He has a solid foundation of strengths and weaknesses that Scott Turner as a play-caller could seriously exploit despite Ridder’s somewhat raw ability.

In closing, Washington should draft Desmond Ridder if they’re looking for a quarterback that has all the tools that you want in the book from your franchise quarterback. Not only that, he fits Turner’s offense as well as you could think, but how good of a player he is, is ultimately up to Washington’s developmental staff.

Ridder isn’t a guy that can play from day one but he certainly can be someone that produces at an admirable level in years two and three with proper development and growth in his game. He’s a second-round guy, but given time to develop, he could be a guy that Washington fans love for years to come.