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The number 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft belonged to the long QB starved Chicago Bears, and with it they selected Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields. Fields came into the league with high expectations placed on him, given that in his last full college season, he racked up a solid 3,334 passing yards with 30 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions. His yards-per-attempt sat at an above average 8.6 per, and he rushed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also led his team on an improbable run to the College Football Playoffs. Not too shabby.
Actually, those aren’t Justin Field’s stats at all. In actuality, those stats belong to Cincinnati Bearcats QB Desmond Ridder, who will be entering the 2022 NFL Draft. While Ridder has largely been considered to be one of the “second-tier” quarterback prospects for this upcoming draft (behind the likes of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis), his stats are in many ways comparable to some of the higher-picked quarterbacks of last year’s draft, Fields included.
In reality, in his last full season at Ohio State, Fields passed for 3,273 total yards, just slightly below Ridder’s 3,334 and they both had fairly comparable total completion percentages. In Fields’ best rushing season, he racked up 484 yards and 10 total touchdowns. He averaged 3.5 yards a carry. Ridder’s best rushing season came in 2020, when he rushed for a total of 592 yards and 12 touchdowns, with an average of 6 yards a carry (though, he did rush for slightly more yards in the 2019 season, but had far fewer touchdowns to show for it).
There are also a few physical comparables between the two, with Ridder standing at 6’4 and Fields at 6’3. While Fields did not participate in the NFL Combine, when comparing his Pro Day stats with Ridder’s combine results, a few more similarities arise. For example, they came within .06 seconds of each other’s 40-yard dash time, and Ridder actually outperformed Fields in the broad jump by 8 inches (119” to 127”). Both also had comparable wingspan measurements (32 ¾ for Ridder to Fields’ 32 ½).
Now, am I saying that Ridder is going to have as much potential as Fields? No, not at all. You will never catch this Ohio State alum making that argument; however, the difference between the two is that no one is seriously projecting Ridder to be a first round pick. The draft capital that it would take to get him is considerably lower than it was for Fields, and I cannot imagine the Steelers making the choice to take Ridder with the 20th overall pick, let alone if they hypothetically had the 11th pick as Chicago did. But, given that there are some comparables between the two, both being key to leading their respective teams to the College Football Playoffs, and the upside of Ridder getting a year to develop while Fields had to deal with Matt Naggy’s seemingly incoherent week-to-week plan for the team, you can’t tell me that there isn’t a comparable relative return on investment given their projected disparities in draft position.
In all likelihood, the Steelers are not going to be in a position to draft the higher tier quarterbacks of this draft, and in my view, Ridder offers the Steelers an interesting enough opportunity that I would consider taking him with the 52nd pick of the NFL Draft. Especially if they think that Mason Rudolph isn’t the future of the franchise, or their future backup for that matter, bringing in a high-upside guy like Ridder to compete, refine his skills, and learn seems to me to be a prudent and realistic option to at minimum establish a younger backup option.
What do yinz think? Should the Steelers take Ridder? Should they go for one of the other second-tier guys? Should they potentially trade up for Pickett or Willis? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Actually, those aren’t Justin Field’s stats at all. In actuality, those stats belong to Cincinnati Bearcats QB Desmond Ridder, who will be entering the 2022 NFL Draft. While Ridder has largely been considered to be one of the “second-tier” quarterback prospects for this upcoming draft (behind the likes of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis), his stats are in many ways comparable to some of the higher-picked quarterbacks of last year’s draft, Fields included.
In reality, in his last full season at Ohio State, Fields passed for 3,273 total yards, just slightly below Ridder’s 3,334 and they both had fairly comparable total completion percentages. In Fields’ best rushing season, he racked up 484 yards and 10 total touchdowns. He averaged 3.5 yards a carry. Ridder’s best rushing season came in 2020, when he rushed for a total of 592 yards and 12 touchdowns, with an average of 6 yards a carry (though, he did rush for slightly more yards in the 2019 season, but had far fewer touchdowns to show for it).
There are also a few physical comparables between the two, with Ridder standing at 6’4 and Fields at 6’3. While Fields did not participate in the NFL Combine, when comparing his Pro Day stats with Ridder’s combine results, a few more similarities arise. For example, they came within .06 seconds of each other’s 40-yard dash time, and Ridder actually outperformed Fields in the broad jump by 8 inches (119” to 127”). Both also had comparable wingspan measurements (32 ¾ for Ridder to Fields’ 32 ½).
Now, am I saying that Ridder is going to have as much potential as Fields? No, not at all. You will never catch this Ohio State alum making that argument; however, the difference between the two is that no one is seriously projecting Ridder to be a first round pick. The draft capital that it would take to get him is considerably lower than it was for Fields, and I cannot imagine the Steelers making the choice to take Ridder with the 20th overall pick, let alone if they hypothetically had the 11th pick as Chicago did. But, given that there are some comparables between the two, both being key to leading their respective teams to the College Football Playoffs, and the upside of Ridder getting a year to develop while Fields had to deal with Matt Naggy’s seemingly incoherent week-to-week plan for the team, you can’t tell me that there isn’t a comparable relative return on investment given their projected disparities in draft position.
In all likelihood, the Steelers are not going to be in a position to draft the higher tier quarterbacks of this draft, and in my view, Ridder offers the Steelers an interesting enough opportunity that I would consider taking him with the 52nd pick of the NFL Draft. Especially if they think that Mason Rudolph isn’t the future of the franchise, or their future backup for that matter, bringing in a high-upside guy like Ridder to compete, refine his skills, and learn seems to me to be a prudent and realistic option to at minimum establish a younger backup option.
What do yinz think? Should the Steelers take Ridder? Should they go for one of the other second-tier guys? Should they potentially trade up for Pickett or Willis? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
