Mel Kiper sounds like he’s a big fan of Desmond Ridder.
The Cincinnati quarterback currently has the Bearcats undefeated, sitting at fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings and he’s primed to be a first round pick in the 2022 draft. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
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Well, Kiper likes what he sees and during a recent episode of “Get Up,” he said he has the most upside of any quarterback in the 2022 draft.
.@MelKiperESPN says Desmond Ridder at Cincinnati is the QB with the most upside in this year’s NFL Draft, and reminds him of Josh Allen 👀
“Physically, athletically, he has it all!” pic.twitter.com/WEwmbJbAls
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 10, 2021
Here’s the issue with the 2022 NFL draft class: it’s absolutely awful when it comes to quarterbacks. It might be the weakest quarterback class in recent memory.
Outside of Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder, I’m not sure you have any other quarterbacks who are locks for the first round.
So, it’s not exactly difficult to have the most upside in a group that isn’t filled with much talent.
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Having said that, there is a lot to like about Ridder. He’s got a solid arm, he’s athletic and he’s a proven winner. Granted, he’s winning mostly against G5 teams, but winning is still winning.
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Will he turn out to be the best QB in the 2022 class? Well, it’s down to him or Sam Howell. He’s not facing a ton of competition. I’m sure he’ll do fine, but I’m definitely not sold on him being a star.