Raiders Draft: John Ridgeway, DT, Arkansas scouting report

The Las Vegas Raiders new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham likes big-bodied defensive tackles who can two-gap, and Arkansas’ John Ridgeway matches that invoice. Ridgeway carries a mid-round projection for this yr’s NFL Draft, so he’s actually on the desk for the Raiders.

DT | Arkansas | 6’5 1/8” and 321 lbs | Bloomington, IL | Could seventh, 1999 (22.9)

Overview:

Popping out of highschool, Ridgeway was a two-star recruit and the 202nd ranked offensive deal with within the nation for the 2017 class, per 247 Sports activities. He obtained no FBS scholarship gives and enrolled at FCS Illinois State, the place he flipped sides of the ball, was an FCS Freshman All-American, and honorable point out and first-team All-Convention picks. The previous Redbird transferred to Arkansas for his last season of eligibility and collected 39 whole tackles, 4 for loss, two sacks and 11 pressures in 2021.

Strengths:

• Good measurement for an NFL defensive deal with with 33 3/8” arms, and he carries his body effectively with little dangerous weight
• He’s proven the flexibility to place facilities on skates and power the ball out with a bull rush when he makes use of his fingers and initially of drives when he isn’t drained
• Has the energy to develop a push-pull transfer down the street
• Towards the run, he has some pop along with his fingers to shock the offensive lineman and get some elevate to assist get higher leverage on the block
• Is also quick along with his fingers to make contact first and has stable placement on the entrance of the offensive lineman’s shoulder
• Will get fingers on offensive linemen after they work as much as the second degree to disrupt their path to the second-level
• Bends his knees and has low pad degree for his top when taking over blocks
• He has loads of energy to get extension and lockout facilities, and when he does preserve his toes transferring he can stroll facilities into the backfield along with his energy and leverage
• Towards double groups, he does a superb job of attacking the lineman he’s lined up throughout from
• IS hole disciplined and locates the ball within the backfield effectively to assist put himself ready to make the play
• Block shedding isn’t a lot of a difficulty along with his energy and extension
• He wraps up the legs and has no points tackling operating backs, solely missed two tackles final yr, and he could make tackles with blockers hanging on him

Areas of Enchancment:

• Poor athletic testing numbers with a 4.73 RAS rating
• Doesn’t cross rush with a lot of a plan, he simply runs into individuals and if he does work a transfer, it normally doesn’t work and he quits
• He tires and loses his cross rush motor shortly, particularly towards no-huddle
• When bull-rushing, he hardly ever makes use of his fingers to get three factors of contact and stands up by his third step. Working to get on an edge may even assist him get a push extra persistently, he tries to go straight by way of the offensive lineman’s chest.
• On finesse strikes, he both doesn’t use his fingers or is inaccurate with them to defeat the lineman’s fingers, and he’s just a little stiff within the hips to clear his decrease half
• Because the looper in line video games, he’s gradual and lacks the agility to take an environment friendly path to the quarterback when working laterally
• Whether or not he’s two-gapping or penetrating towards the run, he false steps and stops transferring his toes, inflicting his nostril to recover from his toes and ruining his base. Usually he received’t even take a primary step and his toes look caught in cement.
• Along with his poor get off and late block recognition, he’ll get sealed versus attain blocks and on scoops
• Facilities who can match his physicality and at the least keep their pad degree on the level of assault will be capable of flip their hips and create a dashing lane or get some drive on him as a result of he stops his toes
• Towards double groups, he doesn’t anticipate the second blocker coming and consistently will get his shoulders turned or knocked out of his hole
• When going through offensive linemen with good hand placement who get their fingers inside his, he doesn’t work to get the lineman’s fingers off him earlier than shedding
• Total, his block destruction could be very reliant on him successful on the level of assault
• His conditioning may use work, effort diminishes all through the sport and tires throughout drives simply. Not a man who’s going to issue right into a ton of gang tackles down the sphere.

Accidents:

Projection:

NFL Mock Draft Database consensus massive board rank: 152nd total, fifth spherical

Being a two-down participant with low athletic testing numbers is bringing Ridgeway’s draft inventory down. Minimal cross rush manufacturing and never exhibiting a lot potential to develop as a rusher will push nearly any defensive lineman into the Day 3 class. That being stated, he’s a powerful sufficient run defender to warrant an early Saturday choice for groups which might be on the lookout for a rotational defensive deal with.

Schematically, the Arkansas product could be greatest as a two-gapper and may lineup anyplace from a zero- to two-technique. That manner his energy on the level of assault can be greatest utilized, and his sub-par get-off can be considerably negated.

What do we have to know?

Can he begin to maintain his floor higher towards double groups? If Ridgeway goes to carve out a job as a run stuffer within the NFL, this can be by far his greatest space of enchancment and potential downfall. There have been far too many situations on tape the place he obtained washed out of his hole by doubles, and he has the energy to carry his floor, however his points with false stepping and anticipating the second blocker coming should get higher on the subsequent degree.

Match with the Raiders:

As talked about above, new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham loves his massive, two-gapping defensive tackles and that has confirmed with a few of Las Vegas’ free agent signings. Ridgeway matches that description and would add some youth to the place group, which might be particularly helpful because the gamers introduced in to fill that function are on the older aspect. It’s actually only a matter of if the group needs somebody who’s extra of a cross rusher, schematically at the least.

So far as the draft goes, the previous Razorback could be a stable possibility for the Raiders with both the 126th, 164th or one hundred and sixty fifth total picks.

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