Falcons snag Julio Jones’ sidekick in Calvin Ridley

The Atlanta Falcons used the twenty-sixth pick in the 2018 NFL draft on wide receiver Calvin Ridley. A top recruit at Alabama, Ridley…

---

Falcons snag Julio Jones’ sidekick in Calvin Ridley

Ridley is the new Roddy White in Atlanta keeping defenses from rolling coverages to Julio Jones.

The Atlanta Falcons used the twenty-sixth pick in the 2018 NFL draft on wide receiver Calvin Ridley. A top recruit at Alabama, Ridley showcased his natural talent breaking out as a true freshman. His final two years he failed to live up to that early production, before declaring for the NFL draft with a year of eligibility left. A quick, fast, route runner that excels on the slant & go routes off play action. Ridley reminds me of Jeremy Maclin, a tactician, who paired with a strong counterpart and a better (top 15) quarterback, will be a reliable and productive receiver. With decent college production, solid film and testing results, Ridley is a talent that has to be considered in all fantasy formats. Landing in Atlanta makes him fantasy relevant immediately, and from a dynasty, perspective couldn’t have been a better fit.

WR Calvin Ridley

• Size: 6’1” / 189
• Draft Selection: #26 (2018)
• Depth Chart: WR2 (Competing w/ Mohammad Sanu for #2 role opposite Julio Jones, and secondarily Taylor Gabriel)
• ’18 Outlook: WR3 (WR2 if Julio Jones misses time and/or Falcons offense turns back the clock to Roddy White/Julio Jones tandem years)
• Athletic Profile: OK (Player Profiler)
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justdoit_cb3/
• NFL Comparison: Jeremy Maclin

Outlook: The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the most prolific, wide receiver dominant passing attacks over the past decade. Ridley brings a dimension to their offense that they’ve lacked since the retirement of Roddy White. Ridley brings quick-twitch ability to take advantage of single coverage and play action pass opportunities. Ridley has a low ceiling (secondary to Julio Jones) and high floor (lots of targets in a high-quality passing offense). Near-term Ridley likely will have the highest rookie fantasy production of any wide receiver, resulting in likely WR3 production (initial projection is WR4). Long term I predict DJ Moore, James Washington, and Dante Pettis to have more value (they appear to have more upside).

Opportunity: The Atlanta Falcons during the Roddy White era funneled 120+ annual targets to both their starting outside wide receivers (Julio Jones + Roddy White). Ridley is a White type of clone, a player who had four straight 1k yard seasons with Matt Ryan at the helm. Atlanta has used an assortment of options next to Julio Jones, yet this is their first high investment pick at the position since Jones in ’11. The likely scenario is Ridley gets near 100 targets, catches approximately 60 balls for 700+ yards and 5 TDs. Those aren’t fantasy relevant but they are on the cusp of a WR4 with upside to achieve WR3 production.

Long-term: Ridley due to his college production & athletic testing, doesn’t project to be an all pro at the NFL level. Yet his situation and talent projects out to a perennial 1,000-yard producer, which is good for a low-end WR2 or high end WR3 in ’19 or beyond. The key to him reaching his potential is to refine his craft to win at the line of scrimmage and maintain health. That combination will give him the best chance of achieving a productive career and fantasy relevance for the next decade.