It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We’ve run through 20 quarterbacks and 40 running backs; that means it’s time to get to the deepest and most varied position! That’s right, we’re on to the wide receivers! 2021 Calvin Ridley has a chance to end the season as the top dog among fantasy football wide receivers. Should we worry about him losing his Julio Jones protection?
Calvin Ridley ADP & AAV:
Average Draft Position (HPPR): WR6, Pick 22
Average Auction Value: $32.4 (WR8)
Calvin Ridley Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Rec% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec |
| 2020 | 15 | 15 | 143 | 90 | 1374 | 9 | 9.53 | 6.00 | 62.9% | 9.61 | 15.27 |
| 2019 | 13 | 10 | 93 | 63 | 866 | 7 | 5.81 | 3.94 | 67.7% | 9.31 | 13.75 |
| 2018 | 16 | 5 | 92 | 64 | 821 | 10 | 5.75 | 4.00 | 69.6% | 8.92 | 12.83 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tgt | HPPR Pts/Tgt | PPR Pts/Tgt |
| 2020 | 191.5 | 236.5 | 281.5 | 12.8 | 15.8 | 18.8 | 1.34 | 1.65 | 1.97 |
| 2019 | 134.0 | 165.5 | 197.0 | 10.3 | 12.7 | 15.2 | 1.44 | 1.78 | 2.12 |
| 2018 | 142.8 | 174.8 | 206.8 | 8.9 | 10.9 | 12.9 | 1.55 | 1.90 | 2.25 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | YAC | YAC/Tgt | YAC/Rec | AYMS | Tgt MS |
| 2020 | 1918 | 13 | 375 | 2.62 | 4.17 | 41% | 25% |
| 2019 | 1246 | 13.4 | 138 | 1.48 | 2.19 | 27% | 17% |
| 2018 | 931 | 10.3 | 357 | 3.97 | 5.67 | 17% | 15% |
2021 Calvin Ridley Fantasy Football Overview:
Calvin Ridley kicked the door down on the NFL last year, averaging 91.6 yards per game on 6 receptions. He also led the NFL with eight games of 100+ yards. Not only did Ridley have high highs (#1 wide receiver twice), but he played with remarkable consistency. Out of 15 games last year, Ridley finished as a weekly WR1 six times, and a weekly WR2 or WR3 six times. He fell out of the top-36 at wide receiver just three times last year. That meant that even if Ridley disappointed you, he didn’t really kill your week. It’s all a remarkable step forward for the third-year pro, who had just three 100+ yard games in his first two years in the league before taking that step forward.
Some who want to Chicken Little the Falcons losing Julio Jones, and what that means for Calvin Ridley. Have no fear; Ridley has 8 games played without Julio Jones, and he averaged 107 yards per game, compared to 69.2 yards with Julio over the last two seasons. The Falcons just rotate everything over to Ridley, so a Jujufication (post-Antonio Brown) isn’t in the cards for Calvin Ridley. He averaged a 29.9% target share without Jones; it’s clear they just bump him up in the WR depth chart ranks, and it doesn’t matter what the defense does because Calvin Ridley is good at football.
2021 Calvin Ridley Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Calvin Ridley Auction Value: $35
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
Calvin Ridley’s ADP sits at the back end of the second round. If you like Calvin Ridley, go for it! I wouldn’t take him in the second round, however. And this is where we get into nitpicking. Ridley is a tier-one wide receiver for me, a tier that includes Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown. Brown goes with the next pick and I have him slotted as my WR1. That’s pretty much the long and the short of why I probably won’t have Calvin Ridley on any of my rosters. If he falls into the third, I am going to trip over myself to draft him. But, I doubt that happens.
These are the decisions we have to make at the top of the draft. If you’re a Calvin Ridley guy, go for it. Go get him. Me, personally? I’m going to get A.J. Brown every single time there. Then, if there’s a miraculous bounce back, I am going to have a lot more A.J. Brown than Calvin Ridley.
There’s also the matter of “what if A.J. Brown is gone?” I’d rather take the stud tight end going there (both Kittle and Waller have ADP near Ridley and Brown) or whatever potential RB1 falls there. I like Najee Harris there.
However, this does represent a tier fall-off at all positions. After the tight ends, Ridley, AJ Brown, and Najee Harris, there’s a tier dropdown to guys like Michael Thomas and D’Andre Swift for me. I am more than happy to wait and see who falls back to me after the turn in that tier if I am in the late second.
Best Case Scenario:
WR1. Calvin Ridley has the talent and the makeup to be the best wide receiver in all of fantasy football.
Worst Case Scenario:
Kyle Pitts takes all of Julio Jones’ targets, and Calvin Ridley’s, and Russell Gage’s. And everyone else’s. He is Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. Matt Ryan is his herald.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
[Header Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlanta_Falcons_(45674483812).jpg under CC BY SA 2.0]
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