In just a couple of years, the NFL’s wide receiver landscape has completely changed. Entering the 2021 season, Tyreek Hill was still in Kansas City, Cooper Kupp was perceived as a good-not-great player, and A.J. Brown was a centerpiece for the Titans to build around. It’s easy to forget amidst all this that former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley had his career put on hold. Now just months away from making his debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars, there’s hope Ridley will continue where he left off.
Calvin Ridley – Fantasy Football’s Dark Horse WR1
Ups and Downs of Calvin Ridley’s Young Career
Ridley’s first two seasons in the NFL were solid, clearing 60 receptions and 800 receiving yards each year. His third season was when he truly broke out as an elite player, posting career highs in receptions (90) and receiving yards (1374), scoring nine touchdowns. Ridley had proven himself to be one of the best of the best at just 25 years old, with Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs being the only WRs in the league with more receiving yards per game.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen Ridley play much football since then. He played just five games during the 2021 season before stepping away from football to address various mental health issues. 2022 wasn’t much kinder to Ridley. The NFL gave him a season-long suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy. That’s nearly two full seasons we’ve gone without seeing Ridley play, and many questions have arisen.
A New Home in the Sunshine State
Luckily for Ridley, some of the optimism regarding his outlook for the upcoming season has less to do with his abilities and more to do with his up-and-coming teammate. This player is Trevor Lawrence. Widely regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects of this generation, Lawrence has already made massive strides in the early stages of his career. He improved in countless statistics from his rookie season to year two, throwing twice as many TDs while cutting his interceptions in half. Improvements made from Lawrence’s disastrous rookie season to where he is now are obvious to those who watched him play and bodes very well for the imminent return of Ridley.
When looking at the Jaguars depth chart, the situation appears even better for Ridley. Wide receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram are seemingly the only legitimate competition for targets Ridley faces. While Kirk and Engram are both talented players, neither pose much of a threat to the Ridley’s role. Ridley is a true outside receiver, lining up near the boundary on the vast majority of his plays with Atlanta. Contrarily, Kirk lives in the slot, lining up there on roughly half of his snaps with Jacksonville and Arizona.
Engram plays an entirely different position than Ridley, so there shouldn’t be much interference. But Engram’s style of play is favorable for a player like Ridley, anyways. Engram operates closer to the line of scrimmage, hurting defenses with his run-after-the-catch ability. Among all tight ends last season, he ranked 2nd in yards after the catch. Kirk and Engram will damage on shallow concepts towards the middle of the field. Ridley will be able to shred defenses on intermediate and deep routes, as he did in Atlanta.
It’s simple. Calvin Ridley showed elite ability the last time he was on the field. He’s now accompanied by a quarterback many called “generational” upon entering the league. It remains to be seen whether sitting out an entire season results to rest or rust for Ridley. A pro athlete of his caliber deserves the benefit of the doubt. Roughly 15 wide receivers go ahead of Ridley in fantasy football drafts this season. This price is more than palatable given his league-winning upside. Calvin Ridley’s Fantasy Football ceiling is the wide receiver one overall.
Main Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
