Chicago Bears: 2021 NFL Draft late-round quarterback targets

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati

Desmond Ridder is my personal favorite late-round target at quarterback. Ridder has all the traits to be an elite quarterback at the next level, but he hasn’t completely put them together just yet. He has been the starter at Cincinnati since his redshirt freshman year in 2018, so he has plenty of experience as well.

Ridder is a dual-threat quarterback with incredible arm talent. He is a great athlete with great explosion as a runner and the ability to run out of the pocket and make plays. His strong arm allows him to make crazy throws to anywhere on the field he wants sometimes even on the run. He is arguably one of the most physically-gifted quarterbacks in the class.

Where he struggles is accuracy and consistency. Sometimes he makes throws that make your jaw drop with incredible placement, but he’s rarely consistent. He is extremely raw in terms of decision-making, accuracy, and ball placement. This makes him the perfect late-round quarterback.

His upside is great that you can draft him and have him sit hoping he corrects those mistakes in the NFL. If he cleans up those issues, he could develop into an elite starter. He just needs a situation in which he can sit and be groomed and corrected.