Raiders Film breakdown: Desmond Ridder has potential but is not the long term answer

Newest quarterback shouldn’t stop the Raiders exploring in the draft

The Las Vegas Raiders missed on drafting a quarterback in the NFL draft, leaving them with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell to battle for the starting job. The training camp battle was underwhelming, with Minshew falling into the starting job by Week 1.

When the Raiders started the season, the quarterback’s struggles continued. Minshew is tied for the league lead in turnovers, with ten on the year. This has led to the offense ranking 27th in dropback EPA per play.

Minshew was benched for O’Connell, who broke his thumb vs. the Los Angeles Rams. He was put on IR for four weeks, and the Raiders were left with just Minshew and undrafted free agent Carter Bradley. Tom Telesco decided to add Desmond Ridder from the Cardinals practice squad outside of the organization.

Ridder has had 17 starts to his career with an 8-9 record. He got the chance to start for the Falcons but didn’t give enough confidence after struggling with turnovers. He had a 3.1 interception percentage in 2023, and the Falcons decided to sign Kirk Cousins to take over the reins.

The former Cincinnati Bearcat was traded to the Cardinals this offseason. However, he lost the battle for a backup quarterback to Clayton Tune. He was cut but added to the practice squad. Ridder does have potential with speed and arm talent but has to reign in the turnovers to be successful.

The play below gives us a good look at his overall arm talent. He has a choice concept with a dig over the top vs. the Tampa Buccaneers. The choice route isn’t open for Ridder, but he can drive the football eagerly to the dig route. He fits the ball in between the zones for a first down.

Vs. the Commanders late in the game. He has a similar choice route concept but with a corner over the top this time. He is playing against Cover 2, and he is aggressive and takes the honey hole shot to the corner route. His arm talent allows him to get the ball to Mack Hollins before the flat corner can converge the pass, leading to a first down.

Ridder can also get the ball out on time with a quick release. He has a designed out route to Drake London in the red zone vs. the Buccaneers. He can scan it and get first down with a quick read and accurate pass.

Of course, one of the main aspects of Ridder’s game is his legs. At the scouting combine, Ridder ran a 4.5 40-yard dash. This ability is evident in the film, where he is explosive and uses his legs for first downs. He had five rushing touchdowns last season.

One way he can be used is with the zone read. The Raiders are struggling in the red zone, and he could help. In the play below, he runs a zone read against the Bucs. He reads it correctly with the defensive end crashing, keeps it, and takes it in for six.

Ridder’s most significant issue is turnovers. With a 3.1% INT percentage, he can be turnover-prone at the quarterback position. One of the reasons this happens for Ridder is attempting to be a hero in a play. In the play below, he faces blitz pressure quickly. Instead of realizing the play is dead and throwing it away, he tries to throw it to Drake London, who appears open. However, it’s an awful throw, which leads to an interception in a big moment for the offense.

The former Atlanta Falcon also tends to stare down targets. He sometimes doesn’t come off his pre-snap read and throws the ball into traffic, leading to interceptions. Here is an example: The Falcons will be doing the sticks concept, a quick hitch and out route to Ridder left. The Commanders are playing cover 3 but sitting on the short route. Ridder doesn’t recognize it and unthinkingly targets London, which leads to an interception.

Ridder does have an upside as a quarterback, but there is nothing to stop the Raiders from looking to the draft. While he might be able to produce better than Minshew at this moment, his inconsistencies at the position won’t put the team over the top.